Social media and religion: Missiological perspective on the link between Facebook and the emergence of prophetic churches in southern Africa

Abstract

Recent works on social media and religion have paid particular attention to the role of social media in the development of religious values, improvement of social values and gratification of faith-based content by using various methodologies. A missiological perspective or approach to social media and religion will assist in exploring the role of Facebook in the emergence of prophetic churches. The background of prophetic churches is discussed here to demonstrate the growth of these churches and how such growth is linked to the use of Facebook. The shortcomings of the use of Facebook are highlighted and recommendations are made on how such shortcomings can be addressed in future.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article demonstrates the link between social media and religion on one hand and a link between Facebook and the emergence of prophetic churches on the other.