THE CHURCH, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND POLITICS IN AFRICA: FROM PASSIVITY TO PERFORMATIVITY?
The Catholic Church’s pastoral leaders in Africa, especially bishops, have been slow to take full advantage of the social media for the work of evangelization. This article notes that this attitude hinders the effectiveness of the Church’s evangelical mission in the public sphere, considering the huge moral capital that Catholic leaders in Africa have to influence and shape public discourse. Taking into consideration that millions of Africans, especially young people, use social media and that it offers incredible opportunities for reaching a wider sphere of society, this article argues that it is of great importance that Catholic leaders in Africa begin to effectively appropriate and use the social media for mobilizing and harnessing Catholic resources for the evangelization of politics.
Keywords: africa, church, media, passivity, performativity, politics, social