Influencer katolicki: tożsamość i posłannictwo w kontekście misji Kościoła

• Published in: Verbum vitae : półrocznik biblijno-teologiczny 2023, Vol.41 (1), p.175-200
• Main Authors: Wyrostkiewicz, Michał, Sosnowska, Joanna, Wójciszyn-Wasil, Aneta
• Format: Article
• Language: Polish
• Subjects: Theology and Religion
• ISSN: 1644-8561; 2451-280X

Influencership has recently gained popularity as a form of media activity. These online influencers, as creators of media content, not only enjoy the attention and trust of recipients, but often assume true leadership roles within digital communities. More and more, these individuals are raising topics related to religion, God and the Church, and issues concerning the Catholic faith and moral tenets. This new form of transmitting the Church’s teaching is the subject of this analysis. After outlining the context and methodological assumptions of the described research, we examine an influencer’s status as viewed through contemporary research, the identity of the influencer, and the communication models that influencers use. Next, the paper shows the effects of juxtaposing knowledge about an influencer with the Church’s mission. We address the question of whether influencer activity can constitute evangelization and community-building. Within our results and conclusions, a Catholic influencer is defined as a person identifying themselves with the Church and gathering a group of followers not around them, but around Christ living in the ecclesial community. A Catholic influencer’s specific tasks and place within the Church structure is also pointed out, with references to the brand promotion typical of an influencer, which here means the “ecclesiastical brand”. A Church that wants to fulfill its mission in our contemporary, media-saturated information society is a Church open to new solutions in the area of digital media and communication. At the same time, it should not accept new trends uncritically, but instead consider them with academic reflection at the intersection of interdisciplinary ecclesiology and media studies.