Weird byways in American Orthodoxy

 ‘Democracy is a tool of Satan’: The murky world of Orthodox
influencers
Euronews comp
By Joshua Askew  •  Updated: 31/07/2023

A small, slick contingent of young Orthodox stars are harnessing
social media to spread extreme messages around the globe.

“Democracy is a tool of Satan that has been perfected by Jews and
their gentile allies in secret societies to take sly control of
nations while allowing citizens to feel that they have a choice in the
matter, keeping them compliant and dumb.”

These are the written words of Roosh Valizadeh. 

In his rampantly anti-Semitic online writings - which parrot the
classic line that Jews run the world – the former pickup and alt-right
blogger, turned Orthodox zealot, talks about a once Christian West
transformed into a state of “Jewish pornographic sewage”.

Alleged national decline is a prominent theme in the American’s
writings, believing untold millions in the Western world have sold
their “souls for comfort, money, and sex”.

"America’s “moral sickness” is in its terminal stage,” he wrote in one
blog post. “The boomers are busy counting their money, Gen X is trying
to keep their 2.1 children from becoming gay, millennials opened
Pandora’s box on degeneracy… and the zoomers may not be able to keep
their brains intact from being exposed to hardcore pornography at the
age of eight.”
‘They’re done with democracy’

Roosh V is just one of a small clique of more radical Orthodox
internet celebrities.

Orthodox Christianity in the United States is a very complex religious
scene, with each influencer having their own particular brand.

Historically Orthodoxy was the faith of Eastern European immigrants.
However, Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, assistant professor of religion and
anthropology at Northeastern University, told Euronews the religion is
being pulled to the right, "even alt-right", by a rising cohort of
home-grown converts.

“They go by labels like traditionalist, America First, patriots or
monarchists. They use all sorts of different political descriptors.
But one of the things they have in common is that they’re largely
far-right. They're kind of done with American democracy,” she said.

Many tap into disaffection within religious communities that
mainstream church leaders and right-wing politicians have let society
turn its back on religion and morality.

Using meme culture, their own websites and social media platforms,
such as Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, the Orthodox celebs reach tens
of thousands of people on a daily basis.

“What’s drawing people specifically to Orthodoxy is they see it as a
faith that is unchanged, one that has kept to traditional gender
roles, forms of patriarchy and hierarchy,” Riccardi-Swartz explained.
“That's really appealing to a community that feels like society and
gender roles are shifting rapidly.”

“It's fascinating that they use social media to expand their base and
movement, which is a lot about getting back to the land... and going
offline,” she added, pointing out how modern technologies were
ironically being used to revive deeply traditional societies.
‘Alpha male versions of only fans girls’

Much far-right Orthodox influencer chat focuses on what it means to be
a man in modern society, with their listeners mostly young,
university-educated white men, hailing from upper-middle-class
backgrounds, explained Riccardi-Swartz.

One example is 30-year-old David Patrick Harry, a PhD student at the
University of Berkley and founder of the so-called Church of the
Eternal Logos.

In stripped-down live streams, introduced with ethereal religious
hymns overlapped with hip-hop beats, he delivers speeches on the
manosphere – an umbrella term for male supremacist ideas and groups –
to his nearly 20,000 subscribers.

His Instagram - again followed by tens of thousands - is a mix of
esoteric Orthodox musings, gym videos and glitzy churches.

In one illuminating video, he criticises the misogynistic internet
star Andrew Tate as an example of morally disreputable men who are
“self-absorbed”,” materialistic” and ”hedonistic” – instead arguing
for a “true patriarchy” of spiritual principles.

“Men are the castle walls, women and children are the jewels inside…
when men don't have values that transcend the physical world… they
collapse,” he said in one live stream, published in June. 

Contradictions blight some Orthodox influencers' messages, however.

A prevalent theme across some of their online content is a critique of
capitalism and how it has helped unleash malevolent forces in society.

However, according to Riccardi-Swartz, “many of them are
micro-celebrities. They have created brands, promote their content,
have ads, monetise their podcasts and YouTube videos, and often sell
things.”

Harry, for example, touts his own branded caps, drawstring bags,
premium video sponsorship ($250) and one-on-one education and
consulting for up to $380. Other influencers earn income from
streaming services, like iTunes and Spotify, and one even hawks CBD
gummies.

“It's just all a grift at some level,” Riccardi-Swartz told Euronews.
“They're promoting what they perceive as an idyllic utopia of
traditionalists. But in reality, they're just recapitulating
capitalism, over and over again.”
‘The Orthodox youth can only be entertained by memes for so long’

Though spread over a large diffuse area, the Orthodox church’s
far-right micro stars are taking action and trying to bring about
change.

Dissident Mama – focused on the alleged cultural genocide of US
southerners and “anti whiteness” – writes put-downs of critics,
railing against “scardey cat socialists”, “paid propagandists posing
as historians” and “progressives Greta Thunberg-ese”.

Darker actions have been taken by some followers of the clique, such
as abusing social groups they oppose and doxxing critical Orthodox
priests, revealing personal details about their families. 

All this radicalism is creating a rift within the church between
younger vocal upstarts and the established powers, many of whom are
older men who have little understanding of digital technologies,
explained Riccardi-Swartz.

“I get emails on the regular from older ethnic Russians and Greeks and
Eastern European Orthodox Christians who are very concerned about how
their parish demographics are changing. They don't understand why when
they go to coffee hour, there's now a young white man telling them
that they're gonna go to hell if they don't vote for the Republican
Party,” she said.

“Things are shifting. You now have a minority religious faith, which
is sort of being colonised by white American men.”

“It's very scary.”

Despite their online hubris, many were still doubtful their movement
could take the streets by storm.

“Even if you wanted to assemble a movement to combat the Jewish
cultural terrorist, you would not be able to find many men who (1)
still possess the cognitive ability to perceive the truth and accept
it, (2) have enough physical stamina to endure a fight that requires
them to stand for more than two hours a day, and (3) won’t be taken
down by the Feds in an unseemly sting operation on trumped-up charged
instigated by a loser infiltrator,” wrote Orthodox blogger Roosh V.

“We cannot speak the truth, we cannot organise, we cannot even
identify the enemy with our speech, and if we dare do so, we will be
utterly destroyed and made to whisper it on the fringes." 

"Can you imagine what would happen to you if you went into the bars
and slapped every Jew you saw," he added.

Source:
<https://www.euronews.com/2023/07/31/democracy-is-a-tool-of-satan-the-murky-world-of-orthodox-influencers>

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