Religious Entrepreneurs and Social Media: Religious Influencers as Digital Entrepreneurs

Lead Researchers:

Lead Researcher: Di Di, PhD, Santa Clara University
Collaborator: Esther Chan, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Research Questions

Do religious and spiritual social media influencers (SMIs) experience a tension between authenticity and commerciality?
How do they navigate this paradox?

Methods

The study draws on 42 interviews with religious and spiritual SMIs on YouTube and TikTok. Participants were identified through systematic searches and snowball sampling. Interviews were conducted via Zoom between October 2023 and January 2024. The sample ranged from small creators to large-scale influencers with over 500,000 followers.

Key Findings: Religious Entrepreneurs and Social Media: Religious Influencers as Digital Entrepreneurs
Religious and spiritual SMIs employ three rhetorical strategies: Spiritualizing: presenting content as devotion rather than commerce. Distancing: differentiating themselves from profit-driven influencers. Branding: adopting entrepreneurial practices to grow audiences and sustain financially. These strategies reveal the entrepreneurial paradox of digital devotion, balancing authenticity with the entrepreneurial demands of digital platforms. Religious and spiritual SMIs embody a dual role: they are practitioners of faith and entrepreneurs of the digital economy. This finding highlights the growing overlap between spirituality and entrepreneurship in the digital age, where sustaining a devoted presence often requires the skills, strategies, and risks associated with entrepreneurial ventures.

Key Findings: Religious Entrepreneurs and Social Media: Religious Influencers as Digital Entrepreneurs

Religious and spiritual SMIs employ three rhetorical strategies:

Spiritualizing: presenting content as devotion rather than commerce.
Distancing: differentiating themselves from profit-driven influencers.
Branding: adopting entrepreneurial practices to grow audiences and sustain financially.

These strategies reveal the entrepreneurial paradox of digital devotion, balancing authenticity with the entrepreneurial demands of digital platforms. Religious and spiritual SMIs embody a dual role: they are practitioners of faith and entrepreneurs of the digital economy. This finding highlights the growing overlap between spirituality and entrepreneurship in the digital age, where sustaining a devoted presence often requires the skills, strategies, and risks associated with entrepreneurial ventures.

Future Implications:

The study highlights how religious influencers embody both faith practitioners and entrepreneurs. Future research should examine how religious and spiritual influencers track and respond to platform metrics, offering insight into the entrepreneurial skills that sustain their online presence. Audience perspectives are equally critical: understanding how viewers perceive authenticity and branding can illustrate how trust and credibility are built in digital religious spaces.

The framework of digital devotion may also apply to nonprofits and mission-driven creators facing similar pressures. Insights can inform policymakers and platform designers on supporting creators who add public value while navigating commercialization.

Ciocca Center Support

Ciocca Center funding supported undergraduate mentorship, co-author collaboration, and timely completion of project deliverables, strengthening both scholarship and public engagement.