[Air-L] New Publication: Social Media and Hong Kong Christian Communities: Diversity and Equality

[Gillian Chu]

Hi all

We published a new journal article titled "Social Media and Hong Kong
Christian Communities: Diversity and Equality." Open access here:
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/17/5/608

Abstract: Social media in Hong Kong Christian communities has been viewed
in terms of social equalization, allowing laity to shape theology and
community practices. But how is social media an equalizer for religious
communities, and along which social dimensions? Drawing on Heidi A.
Campbell’s “layers” and Pauline Hope Cheong’s “logics” of power, we offer a
framework for examining how social media affects leadership roles,
community practices, ideology and identity, and approaches to religious texts,
in terms of whether these impacts are continuous with and complementary to
existing power structures, displace traditional authority, or involve a
dialectic between the two. Through case studies of Hong Kong Christian Key
Opinion Leaders (KOL), we show displacements of official roles by lay
leaders interacting with an underlying logic of continuity along
traditional lines such as gender, social class, and sexual orientation.
Online structures of community practice complement existing power
structures, reinforcing traditional hierarchies of identity, ideology, and
religious texts. We conclude by considering how theological approaches to
dispossession may help Hong Kong Christian communities to enter a dialectic
of challenges and opportunities for equality.

Thanks

Gillian
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