Abstract
This article offers a psychoanalytically informed discursive analysis of the teachings of two leading Christian digital evangelists in the field of Christian ‘Self-help’ texts: Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen. Meyer and Osteen both have global popularity and multimedia presences. Influenced by psychosocial theory, we combine linguistic analysis with the ideas of Kleinian and post-Kleinian object relations. Exploring Meyer’s and Osteen’s media usage, we argue that digital and online tools have enhanced their connective ability with their immense audiences. It is argued that such discursive spaces create new psychosocial possibilities and contradictions for their messages of emotional health and self-governance through a combination of scripture and psychological approaches common in secular self-help communication. Both preachers focus on changing ‘language’ and ‘thought’, employing techniques and scripture that require the believer to excessively self-focus, and this process revolves emotionally around the construction of images of an omnipotent, good God and the mind as a spiritual battleground between ‘good’ objects (God) and ‘bad’ (Satan).
Highlights
This article offers a psychoanalytically informed discursive analysis of the teachings of two leading Christian digital evangelists in the field of Christian ‘Self-help’ texts: Joyce Meyer and Joel Osteen
In 2016, religious think tank THEOS41 conducted a meta-analysis of research on faith and wellbeing, concluding that generally faith is good for wellbeing
They note that the overall findings must be tentative, as it is recognised that religion may not support wellbeing
Summary
‘Digital religion’ (Campbell, 2012), is the study of contemporary religions’ use of and response to digital communication technologies: and has been largely sociological in its approach. Our interest is on the possibilities the digital creates for new forms of engagement with traditional structures such as on-line churches and seeks to explore new ways of connecting with believers through various forms of ecommunication such as social media, blogs, websites, apps and emails This project emerged initially out of the author’s viewing of prime-time evangelical ministry programming on traditional media: broadcast TV. This article, develops a theoretical and critical understanding of the materials analysed, arguing that there is textual evidence for a specific communicative model being employed by Meyer’s and Osteen’s ministries This model maps onto the audience-believers’ psychological and psychic processes, which we call a ‘psychotheological process’ presented later in the article (see Figure 1). The section discusses the research methodology, followed by a critical-theoretical analysis of the evidence, the presentation of the psycho-theological process and further discussion followed by the conclusion, in which we summarise our findings
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