Abstract

This article examines how digital technologies are reshaping religiosity in Kazakhstan through changes in religious practices, authority, and community formation within digitally mediated environments. Drawing on theories of digital religion, mediatization, and networked communication, the study explores how online platforms transform religious engagement in a post-Soviet context shaped by institutional regulation and religious revival. The research employs a qualitative interpretivist approach integrating digital ethnography, semi-structured interviews, and qualitative content analysis across Instagram, YouTube, Telegram, and TikTok. The findings show that digital platforms have become important spaces for religious learning and interaction, enabling continuous access to religious knowledge beyond traditional institutional settings. Religious authority is increasingly negotiated through visibility, audience engagement, and platform-specific communication styles, while institutional legitimacy and state regulation continue to shape credibility and trust. The study also identifies the emergence of hybrid religiosity in which online and offline religious practices function as interconnected dimensions of everyday life, particularly among younger generations. The article introduces the concept of constrained pluralization of religious authority to explain how digital media expand religious participation and interpretive diversity while remaining embedded within institutional and regulatory structures. By focusing on Kazakhstan, the study contributes to broader discussions on digital religion beyond Western contexts and advances a context-sensitive understanding of religiosity in the digital age.