Knowledge Production-Consumption: A Comparative of
Two Famous Online Preachers in Indonesia and the
Philippines
C B Tenorio
1
, H Jubba
2
, Z Qodir
3
, M Hidayati
4
Department of Islamic Politics-Political Science, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta,
Indonesia
1,2,3,4
{christinebtenorio@gmail.com¹, hasse@umy.ac.id², zuliqodir@umy.ac.id³, megahidayati@umy.ac.id
4
}
Abstract. The manners of expressing religious identity have changed rapidly
over the past decade. It resulted in the emergence of the online global
community. The also known ‘networked religion’ is used to recognize how
religion functions online. This study applies comparative research intended to
explore the distinction between two popular online preachers in Indonesia and
the Philippines, i.e. Abdul Somad and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle respectively.
Through their social media, it analyses their popularity, religious spectacle, and
political issues. A comparative analysis between the two popular preachers gives
findings of the current internet and religious situations in the Philippines and
Indonesia. First, that Indonesians are more susceptible to digital religious
preaching compared to the Filipinos. Second, both the preacher’s religious
spectacles touched and convinced the heart of the Filipino and Indonesian people
through their words and wisdom as the product by their strategy of unique
preaching style and charisma. Third, the Indonesian religious preacher is more
vulnerable to political issues. The Philippine religious preacher’s influence is
limited by the law of the country’s separation of Church and the state.
Keywords: Network Religion, Social Media, Abdul Somad, Card. Antonio
Tagle
1. Introduction
The Internet for almost three decades has been utilized as a discussion for traditional
religious beliefs and as a space for spiritual rituals. In the early 1980s, ethical use of the
Internet was able to trace. Bulletin Board System (BBS) was the first religious-orientated
activity based upon the Rheingold documents [1];[2]. These were under a “create your own
religion” heading on the discussion area of CommuniTree. Usenet, during the 1980s period,
was online religious discussion surfaced. The religious computer enthusiasts that time began
to explore “ways to use this new means of communication to express their religious interests”
[3]. The first networked forum for discussion on the religious, moral and ethical implications
of human actions was known as “net.religion” [4]. Thus, in the mid-1980s it steadily grew
when it fragmented into the hierarchies of “alt.religion,” “soc.culture,” “alt.philosophy,” “talk.
Religion” and “soc.culture,” during the restructure of Usenet. Many other religious computer
enthusiasts throughout the 1980s designed online groups committed to their specific religion
such as the first Christian email newsletter “net.religion.Jewish Usenet group and “United
Methodist Information” [1];[2]. Furthermore, increasing numbers of religious groups and
AICIS 2019, October 01-04, Jakarta, Indonesia
Copyright © 2020 EAI
DOI 10.4108/eai.1-10-2019.2291749