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Description
The Greek economic crisis (2009–2018) triggered not only financial hardship and political unrest, but also a profound cultural and spiritual rupture. This paper explores how the crisis was interpreted through religious narratives, conspiratorial thinking and digital folklore. Many Greeks framed the crisis as divine punishment or a spiritual trial, echoing Orthodox themes of national sin and moral decline. Clergy and believers often described the austerity period as a wake-up call allowed by God to restore piety, family values and humility. Simultaneously, conspiracy theories flourished, often entangled with apocalyptic and religious motifs. The crisis was interpreted by some as a step toward a “New World Order”, with fears of the Antichrist, the “mark of the Beast” (666) and global financial control. Elder Paisios, a revered monastic figure, became central to this narrative landscape, with his alleged prophecies circulating widely online.
Social media, YouTube and blogs emerged as new arenas for religious commentary, prophecy-sharing and conspiratorial thinking, blending traditional oral forms with digital formats. Using folkloristic and ethnographic tools, this paper examines how contemporary Greeks made sense of crisis through stories, symbols and digital practices. The research will be based on interviews, online content analysis and observation of religious discourse both in physical and virtual spaces.
Religion and folklore gave people comfort and meaning during the crisis, but at the same time, they sometimes encouraged passivity, social division and mistrust. This research contributes to interdisciplinary understandings of crisis by highlighting how digital religion and folk belief adapt to socio-economic upheaval in late modernity.
| Keywords | Greek economic crisis, religious narratives, digital folklore, conspiracy theories, apocalyptic discourse, ethnographic research |
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| mvarv@otenet.gr, katerinasxoina@gmail.com |