Panel: DIGITAL RELIGION IN AN (IN)EQUAL WORLD: OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS



845.6 - GODFLUENCERS: THE DISAPPEARING MEDIUM AND THE MAKING OF DIGITAL RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY

AUTHORS:
De La Vega G. (Erasmus University Rotterdam ~ Rotterdam ~ Netherlands)
Text:
This paper argues that female Christian social media influencers mobilize the "disappearing" qualities of social media platforms to construct themselves as more than content creators, but legitimate tools of God. Drawing on media and materiality approaches to digital religion, the paper conceptualizes social media as "third spaces" where religious meaning, practice, and authority are actively negotiated through performative engagement. In these spaces, religious authority becomes fluid and is constructed through practice rather than formal institutional positions. The analysis is based on 11 months of digital ethnographic observation. The key focus is not only the circulation of Christian testimonies online, but the ways in which platforms and content creators themselves become accepted as legitimate conduits for divine action and influential actors in shaping contemporary religious landscapes. First, influencers mobilize the material characteristics of both religion and social media to frame online content as divinely sent. Second, influencers breach the boundaries of the platform by enacting immediate religious action, such as praying through the screen, positioning themselves as channels through which divine power flows. Thus, the platform appears to disappear, creating a sense of unmediated access to divinity. Third, influencers actively construct authority by defining what counts as the "right" kind of Christian influencer, often emphasizing self-effacement and moral responsibility by placing God before personal visibility. Ultimately, the paper shows how ordinary digital practices, such as recording a video or posting a reel, are transformed into moments of transcendence, reshaping religious authority, truth, and divine presence in increasingly mediated societies.