Abstract
Over the last three decades Pentecostal Charismatic Evangelical (PCE) style
churches have used cutting-edge media technologies in their ministry. They
have also become increasingly politically engaged. This paper shows how
three PCE churches in Gauteng used select social media sites, particularly
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp as well as sermons to explain
what they believed a Christian’s role was in the 2014 elections. By analysing
the messages of these churches on some social media sites and in pastor’s
sermons the ideal of civic society and political engagement of these churches
is brought to the fore. All three churches believed that Christians should be
politically active, pray for the country’s leaders, vote in the elections and
obey the rules of government. The churches had different political reasons for
supporting democracy which ranged from seeing political engagement as a
way to access government and municipal grants, to seeing themselves as the
‘chaplains’ to those in the highest offices of government and thus able to
influence the way in which the country was governed.