Exploring Authority and the Role of Religious Digital Creatives in New Media Culture
Heidi Campbell, Texas A&M University

It is argued that the Internet allows new forms of leadership and structures of interpretation to emerge online that challenges tradition institutional authorities, especially within religious contexts (Campbell & Golan 2011; Cheong 2012). Designers of digital resources and environments may emerge as authorities as their online work provides them with social prominence and influence. The user-oriented, individualized control of new media also means traditional religious leaders are often forced to rethink their spheres of influence online and act in ways that shore up this perceived loss of power. This lecture explores the shifting nature of religious authority in digital culture through a study of the work and accounts of Religious Digital Creatives (RDCs) in the USA and Europe and their relationship to traditional religious structures. Religious Digital Creatives (RDCs) are technology innovators and entrepreneurs whose development of online resources or social media for religious users grants them unique status within their religious communities. This investigation will demonstrated how RDCs become intentional, unintentional and even reluctant religious leaders, how they navigate their positions in relation to their offline religious communities and the challenge this poses to religious institutions.