‘Wife, Mommy, Pastor and Friend’: The Rise of Female Evangelical Microcelebrities

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‘Wife, Mommy, Pastor and Friend’: The Rise of Female Evangelical Microcelebrities

Gaddini, KC; (2021) ‘Wife, Mommy, Pastor and Friend’: The Rise of Female Evangelical Microcelebrities. Religions , 12 (9) , Article 758. 10.3390/rel12090758. Green open access

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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.

Type:	Article
Title:	‘Wife, Mommy, Pastor and Friend’: The Rise of Female Evangelical Microcelebrities
Open access status:	An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI:	10.3390/rel12090758
Publisher version:	https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12090758
Language:	English
Additional information:	© 2021 MDPI. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification:	UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute
URI:	https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135586