Catholic Public Theology on YouTube: The Articulation of Public Theology on Social Media

Abstract

This study explores the articulation of Catholic public theology on the social media platform YouTube. To do this it works with both a minimal and maximal definition of public theology and establishes several markers and tasks associated with its identification. It uses Content Analysis to systematize selected materials from four Catholic YouTube channels and establish their status as composite content adapted for computer-mediated communication. This entails looking at manifest and latent content as coherent performances that derives its meaning from both direct speech and associations recruited into it. The study establishes how the content it examines can be characterized as a fragmented form of public theology that is articulated for a social media platform.