Messianism

Messianism is a tendency of worldview or ideology that is related to a particular interpretation of history where the change in a state of development of a society or group of believers will be caused by the arrival of a "messiah" or hero, who is responsible for establishing a new order that will give rise to the utopian world.

Although the best known of messianisms is that of the Judeo-Christian tradition, its development is frequent in other contexts, especially those where social oppression is strong. Examples of messianism include—in addition to Jewish messianism—Christian messianism, Adventism, Islam, particularly Shiite Islam, the cargo cults of Melanesia, various native churches with a Christian or Islamic base that are developed in sub-Saharan Africa after the decolonization process during the 20th century, etc.

In the modern secular world, especially in politics, messianism is related to populism and the cult of personality.

Biblical Messianism

In the book of II Samuel, messianism is seen as an idea that manifests the hope of complete happiness. This idea has a soteriological aspect because it sees hope in God's future intervention on behalf of the chosen people. There is an eschatological aspect, since this divine intervention is seen as the definitive intervention. The messianic idea also has a mediational aspect, that is, it will be realized by a Messiah-mediator.⁹