Orlando Patterson and the critique of eurocentrism: religion, social death and black nihilism

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between religion, slavery and the concept of "social death", focusing on the studies of Orlando Patterson. As a method, it uses bibliographic research. Despite the consolidation of democracies, black genocide still persists. Patterson's work is specific in analyzing the issue of anti-black violence, associating it with the category of social death. Historically, social death was legitimized through religious rituals in ancient civilizations. In modern societies, it is reproduced by social exclusion, racism and anti-black violence. Based on Patterson, we dialogue with recent debates, such as Afro-pessimism and black nihilism, which expand the concept of social death to include modern violence, such as police brutality, mass incarceration and psychic violence. The idea of ​​social death is also present in Brazilian authors who study black genocide. In conclusion, the present study identified relevant theoretical contributions, which question the foundations of Western humanism and propose a radical critique of the social structures that perpetuate anti-black violence.