eprintid: 10135586 rev_number: 16 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/13/55/86 datestamp: 2021-10-11 11:23:51 lastmod: 2021-10-11 11:23:51 status_changed: 2021-10-11 11:23:51 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Gaddini, KC title: ‘Wife, Mommy, Pastor and Friend’: The Rise of Female Evangelical Microcelebrities ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B16 divisions: B14 divisions: J81 note: © 2021 MDPI. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). abstract: The popularity of digital media has spurred what has been called a “crisis of authority”. How do female evangelical microcelebrities figure in this crisis? Many of these women belong to churches led by male pastors, have amassed a large following online, and are sought-after speakers and teachers. This paper analyses how gender, religious authority, and the digital sphere collide through the rise of female evangelical microcelebrities. Bringing together ethnographic data, textual analysis, and social media analysis of six prominent women, I emphasize the power of representation to impact religious practices and religious meaning. This article examines how evangelical women are performing and negotiating their legitimacy as the Internet and fluid geographical boundaries challenge local models of religious authority. Moving away from a binary perspective of “having” or “not having” authority, this paper considers the various spheres of authority that evangelical microcelebrities occupy, including normative womanhood, prosperity theology, and politics. Finally, by examining the social media content put forth by female evangelical microcelebrities, I interrogate the political stakes of evangelical women’s authority. date: 2021-09 official_url: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090758 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1891380 doi: 10.3390/rel12090758 lyricists_name: Gaddini, Katie lyricists_id: KCGAD73 actors_name: Gaddini, Katie actors_id: KCGAD73 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Religions volume: 12 number: 9 article_number: 758 citation: Gaddini, KC; (2021) ‘Wife, Mommy, Pastor and Friend’: The Rise of Female Evangelical Microcelebrities. Religions , 12 (9) , Article 758. 10.3390/rel12090758 <https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090758>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135586/1/religions-12-00758.pdf