Religious influencers are gaining traction on TikTok
- Religious influencers are using the popular social media platform TikTok to spread their messages, according to the Daily Beast.
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Christian influencers are gaining traction on TikTok, the popular social platform that has helped launch certain popular figures to mega-celebrity status, particularly in the eyes of Gen Z followers.
While TikTok is mostly known for short-form video clips featuring influencers engaged in viral dances, comedy skits, or offering beauty advice, a new report from the Daily Beast found that religious influencers have also turned the platform as a way to spread the gospel or talk about Jesus.
"I think God gave me this audience because he's giving me a message to share," Nick Touma, a 17-year-old non-denominational Christian with over 28,000 followers, told the Daily Beast. "I'm not going to force it to people. When I make videos of Christianity, I integrate it into what's trending. I feel that's a better opportunity to make the message relevant, versus saying it outright."
Eighteen-year-old Nakelle Garrett, who posted a TikTok involving a diss at Satan and a shot of Christ rising, told the Daily Beast "I realized that this could be a light for the kingdom, so I started uploading a bunch of Christian content." She describes herself in her TikTok profile as "just[t] a gal who loves Jesus."
And Chani Davis, who is 30, lives in Utah, and has more than 280,000 followers, said "I would like others to feel loved, or if they're being bullied for their religion, they can remember 'Oh, Chani's a Christian too.'"
As noted by the Daily Beast, it isn't just Christian influencers: #Islam has over a billion views, the tag "Hinduism" has an audience of more than 3 million, and more than 110,000 people have seen videos tagged "Judaism."
However, the content isn't always so wholesome. For example, last month, an influencer who goes by the name of KylerLovesJesus was banned from the platform after making anti-abortion remarks. While he did apologize via an Instagram caption, he included in that comment "I do not stand for any type of sin or support the LGBTQ community," according to HollywoodLife, bringing attention to the church's sometimes turbulent views on abortion and gay rights.
Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, told the Daily Beast that "it's problematic to give children 15 seconds of someone who is their age talking about how Jesus is love, glossing over other things like theology or what the religion teaches." Dr. Lauren J. Hoffman, a clinical psychologist at Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, attributed the trend to how "teens and tweens are looking for belonging and a sense of connection."
"They are looking for role models to shape their behavior, look up to, and help figure out their own identity. Teens are more likely to be influenced behaviorally to people who are easy to identify with in some way," she said.
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