KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION-CONSUMPTION: A COMPARATIVE OF TWO FAMOUS ONLINE PREACHERS IN INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES
Abstract
The manners of expressing religious identity have changed rapidly
over the past decade. It resulted in the emergence of the online global
community. The also known ‘networked religion’ is used to recognize how
religion functions online. This study applies comparative research intended to
explore the distinction between two popular online preachers in Indonesia and the Philippines, i.e. Abdul Somad and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle respectively. Through their social media, it analyses their popul
arity, religious spectacle, and political issues. A comparative analysis between th
e two popular preachers gives findings of the current internet and religious situ
ations in the Philippines and Indonesia. First, that Indonesians are more suscept
ible to digital religious
preaching compared to the Filipinos. Second, both t
he preacher’s religious
spectacles touched and convinced the heart of the F
ilipino and Indonesian people
through their words and wisdom as the product by th
eir strategy of unique
preaching style and charisma. Third, the Indonesian
religious preacher is more
vulnerable to political issues. The Philippine reli
gious preacher’s influence is
limited by the law of the country’s separation of C
hurch and the state.