Pop Politics and Pop Religion: The Rise of “Authentic” Political and Religious Celebrities
摘要
In Western society, religion and politics face comparable challenges, as traditional messaging struggles to resonate within an oversaturated and polarized media environment. Both are increasingly required to adapt to growing demands for attention—capturing, authentic, and personalized discourse. Politics has responded to these challenges by adopting trends of celebritization, self-scandalization, and populist discourse, which led to the emergence of widely studied celebrity politicians and celebrity populists. In online environments, these figures have further evolved into political influencers, particularly engaging younger audiences and mobilizing interest in political issues through social media platforms. Simultaneously, similar trends can be seen in religion, with this chapter narrowing its focus to the Catholic Church, and examining its unique response. The growing demand for authenticity and personalized religious discourse is reflected in the rise of Catholic celebrities, especially Church representatives becoming famous Catholic influencers and celebrities entering in the Catholic sphere. This chapter offers an original conceptual distinction between celebrity Catholics, Catholic celebrities, celebrity Catholic populists, and Catholic celebrity populists. This chapter presents the case study of a member of Croatian parliament and a Catholic influencer Marin Miletic as a representative example of a Catholic celebrity populist. His highly transparent approach to social media—extending to the point of self-scandalization—and his use of celebrity style and populist discourse have reinforced the perception of his authenticity, helping to attract the attention of both his religious and political fans.