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Conor right here: The next piece compares the hagiography surrounding Kirk to that of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Kobe Bryant, and Queen Elizabeth. Maybe the writer is treading fastidiously as a result of “sensitivity” across the challenge, however it appears painfully apparent that the Kirk case is in an altogether completely different stratosphere. Whereas the memes and quantity of social media posts is perhaps comparable, the variety of highly effective forces aiming to profit should not, which within the case of Kirk, embody at the least the next: the Trump administration, Israel, the army, nationwide safety state, ICE, non-public jail trade, tech accelerationists, Christian nationalists, and possibly extra I’m forgetting. One other apparent distinction is that these people died of pure causes, or within the case of Bryant, an accident. Kirk was assassinated, and the official narrative has numerous holes which will by no means be stuffed.
That being mentioned, the next does present a reminder of the standard baseline American hagiography for public figures, in addition to its digital supercharge—each of that are being exploited now.
By Arthur “Artwork” Jipson, an Affiliate Professor of Sociology within the Division of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work on the College of Dayton. Initially revealed at The Dialog.
An AI-generated picture of Charlie Kirk embracing Jesus. One other of Kirk posing with angel wings and halo. Then there’s the considered one of Kirk standing with George Floyd on the gates of heaven.
When distinguished political or cultural figures die within the U.S., the remembrance of their life typically veers into hagiography. And that’s what’s been occurring for the reason that ugly killing of conservative activist and Turning Level USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.
The phrase hagiography comes from the Christian custom of writing about saints’ lives, however the apply typically spills into secular politics and media, falling underneath the umbrella of what’s referred to as, in sociology, the “sacralization of politics.” Assassinations and violent deaths, specifically, are usually interpreted in sacred phrases: The individual turns into a secular martyr who made a heroic sacrifice. They’re portrayed as morally righteous and spiritually pure.
Effectively performed, My good and devoted servant. pic.twitter.com/GIcJ6HjRK8
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 14, 2025
That is, to some extent, a pure a part of mourning. However taking a better have a look at why this occurs – and the way the web accelerates it – gives some vital insights into politics within the U.S. in the present day.
From Presidents to Protest Leaders
The development of Ronald Reagan’s postpresidential picture is a first-rate instance of this course of.
After his presidency, Republican leaders steadily polished his reminiscence right into a image of conservative triumph, downplaying scandals similar to Iran-Contra or Reagan’s early skepticism of civil rights. In the present day, Reagan is remembered much less as a posh politician and extra as a saint of free markets and patriotism.
Amongst liberals, Martin Luther King Jr. skilled a comparable transformation, although it took a unique kind. King’s critiques of capitalism, militarism and structural racism are sometimes downplayed in most mainstream remembrances, forsaking a softer picture of peaceable dreamer. The annual vacation, scores of avenue renamings and public murals honor him, however additionally they tame his legacy right into a universally palatable story of unity.
Much more contested figures similar to John F. Kennedy or Abraham Lincoln present the identical sample. Their assassinations have been adopted by waves of mourning that elevated them into near-mythic standing.
A long time after Kennedy’s dying, his portrait hung in the properties of many American Catholics, typically adjoining to non secular iconography similar to Virgin Mary statuettes. Lincoln, in the meantime, grew to become a type of civic saint: His memorial in Washington, D.C., appears like a temple, with phrases from his speeches etched into the partitions.
Why It Occurs and What It Means
The hagiography of public figures serves a number of functions. It faucets into deep human wants, serving to grieving communities handle loss by offering ethical readability within the face of chaos.
It additionally permits political actions to consolidate energy by sanctifying their leaders and discouraging dissent. And it reassures followers that their trigger is righteous – even cosmic.
In a polarized atmosphere, the elevation of a determine right into a saint does greater than honor the person. It turns a political wrestle right into a sacred one. In the event you see somebody as a martyr, then opposition to their motion will not be merely disagreement, it’s desecration. On this sense, hagiography will not be merely about remembering the useless: It mobilizes the residing.
However there are dangers. As soon as somebody is framed as a saint, criticism turns into taboo. The extra sacralized a determine, the tougher it turns into to debate their flaws, errors or controversial actions. Hagiography flattens historical past and narrows democratic debate.
After Queen Elizabeth II’s dying in 2022, for instance, public mourning within the U.Ok. and overseas rapidly elevated her legacy into an emblem of stability and continuity, with mass tributes, viral imagery and international ceremonies reworking a posh reign right into a simplified story of devotion and repair.
It additionally fuels polarization. If one facet’s chief is a martyr, then the opposite facet have to be villainous. The framing is easy however highly effective.
A supporter of Charlie Kirk holds banners outdoors State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., throughout Kirk’s public memorial service on Sept. 21, 2025. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP through Getty Photos
In Kirk’s case, lots of his supporters described him as a reality seeker whose dying underscored a deeper ethical message. At Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona, President Donald Trump referred to as him a “martyr for American freedom.” On social media, Turning Level USA and Kirk’s official X account described him as “America’s biggest martyr to free speech.”
In doing so, they elevated his dying as symbolic of bigger battles over censorship. By emphasizing the truth that he died whereas merely talking, additionally they bolstered the concept that liberals and the left usually tend to resort to violence to silence their ideological enemies, at the same time as proof exhibits in any other case.
The Digital Supercharge
Treating public figures like saints will not be new, however the velocity and scale of the method is. Over the previous 20 years, social media has turned hagiography from a sluggish cultural drift right into a rapid-fire manufacturing cycle.
Memes, livestreams and hashtags now permit anybody to canonize somebody they admire. When NBA Corridor-of-Famer Kobe Bryant died in 2020, social media was flooded inside hours with devotional pictures, murals and video compilations that forged him as greater than an athlete: He grew to become a religious icon of perseverance.
Kobe Bryant#KobeBryant #Kobe #RIP pic.twitter.com/5FaNIavkU6
— Addictive AI 🖼️ (@AddictiveAI) August 14, 2024
Equally, after Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying, the “Infamous RBG” meme ecosystem immediately expanded to incorporate digital portraits and merchandise that forged her as a saintly defender of justice.
The similar dynamics surrounded Charlie Kirk. Inside hours of his assassination, memes appeared of Kirk draped in an American flag, being carried by Jesus.
Within the days after his dying, AI-generated audio clips of Kirk styled as “sermons” started circulating on-line, whereas supporters shared Bible verses that they claimed matched the precise timing of his passing. Collectively, these acts forged his dying in spiritual phrases: It wasn’t only a political assassination – it was a second of religious significance.
Such clips and verses unfold effortlessly throughout social media, the place narratives about public figures can solidify inside hours, typically earlier than details are confirmed, leaving little room for nuance or investigation.
Simple-to-create memes and movies additionally allow strange customers to take part in a sacralization course of, making it extra of a grassroots effort than one thing that’s imposed from the highest down.
In different phrases, digital tradition transforms what was as soon as the sluggish work of monuments and textbooks right into a residing, versatile folks faith of tradition and politics.
Towards Clearer Politics
Hagiography is not going to disappear. It meets emotional and political wants too successfully. However acknowledging its patterns helps residents and journalists resist its distortions. The duty is to not deny grief or admiration however to protect house for nuance and accountability.
Within the U.S., the place faith, tradition and politics steadily intertwine, recognizing that sainthood in politics is at all times constructed – and sometimes strategic – can higher permit folks to honor loss with out letting mythmaking dictate the phrases of public life.
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