Marta Kołodziejska    

Majority and minority Churches as media settlers in Poland: collective mobilization and community maintenance through digital media  

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During the Covid-19 pandemic in Poland, most religious organizations were faced with a similar dilemma: how to offer services and maintain the community through digital media, despite theological and practical challenges, and despite the fears of declining follower engagement. Based on the findings from case studies from the Roman Catholic Church and the Jehovah’s Witnesses during the pandemic in Poland (2020-2023, Recov-19 research project), it will be shown how a different understanding of the purpose of digital practices (e.g. online meetings, transmissions of services, etc.) among the leaders translated into different digital offers with varying forms of activities. Qualitative analyses of interviews with leaders and followers, combined with mixed-methods study of Church documents and media content from 2020-2023 will be used to expand on the media settlers concept (Hall, Kołodziejska, Radde-Antweiler, 2023). The paper will argue that the majority Church can also be considered a media settler, and that a new strategy can be identified, i.e. hybridization (hybrid engagement), whose aim is to maintain the authority of leadership and keep the community united and mobilized, despite internal and external challenges.