Interest in digital ministry is growing as the internet becomes increasingly ubiquitous. Specifically, social media provide unique opportunities for outreach and community-building. The social media platform TikTok has grown in popularity since it became available in the United States in 2018. Its culture of authenticity and capacity to foster closer connections between users who do not otherwise know each other may make it a useful resource for ministry. Consequently, a number of Christian clergy have begun to use TikTok as a form of ministry. However, little is known about how clergy use the platform. Because progressive and conservative clergy may engage in outreach differently, and in the absence of prior knowledge about TikTok use, the current exploratory study focuses only on Christian clergy who identify as progressive.
TikTok contains exclusively video content, most of which is posted publicly, and videos range from a few seconds to a maximum of three minutes. To understand how progressive Christian clergy use TikTok, a qualitative content analysis was conducted on 90 TikTok videos produced by 9 different clergypersons who use the keyword hashtag #progressiveclergy. The clergy included in the sample all appeared in the top 100 videos listed under that hashtag. Each video’s transcription, caption, visual content and text appearing on the video, the date posted, and the number of lives, comments, and shares it received were all included in analysis.
Open coding was used to identify themes and emerging patterns. Results demonstrate that progressive Christian clergy are using TikTok for three main purposes: to share aspects of progressive Christianity; to respond to conservative Christianity, including church-related harm; and to provide spiritual formation and pastoral care. Secondary uses of the platform including sharing aspects of clergy life, humorous videos, and responding to criticism. Implications of these findings for evangelism and ecclesiology in the context of digital ministry are discussed, along with directions for future research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/46168 |
| Date | 05 May 2023 |
| Creators | Hill, Natalie Louise |
| Contributors | Stone, Bryan P. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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