Religion & Politics. Michael Hoelzl has published "Die imaginierte Gemeinschaft von Nachfolge und followers. Ein politisch-theologischer Vergleich" in: Lukas Bormann, Ansgar Kreutzer (eds). Politische Theologien. Aufbrüche und Neukonzipierungen (Herder, 2025) pp. 469-486. The aim of this essay is to confront the theological and sociological concept of fellowship in Johann Baptist Metz Neue Politische Theologie with the social media phenomenon of followers. It is argued that both the traditional understandings of discipleship as well as the virtual communities of followers can be conceived as imagined communities, despite some fundamental differences between them. In the conclusion it will be argued that both conceptions of fellowship need to be taken into account for pastoral reasons but also for the sake of a further development of political theology today. Further information.
