Danish priest draws TikTok audience with Christian comedy

A Danish parish priest has attracted more than one million views with humorous TikTok videos about Christianity, DR reports. Rasmus Peytz Stephansen, who works at Skelgård Church in Kastrup, uses jokes, dance videos and energy drinks to introduce young people to Danish theology and Christianity.

On his TikTok profile, Pastor Peytz, he explores questions such as how to dance the sign of the cross, whether altar wine can help with a moral hangover and whether water can be transformed into an energy drink.

Stephansen has posted the videos since January and says he hopes they will show that the Danish national church is not simply an old and dusty institution.

“I am very pleased that so many people find my videos entertaining. But I also hope the videos show that the Danish national church is not just an old and dusty institution,” he says.

Reaching young people online

Although the videos are deliberately silly, Stephansen says they have a serious purpose. He wants to introduce Danish young people to Danish theology and Christianity in the online spaces they already use.

“They have not really been able to find that online before, so I would like to be present in the forums where they already are,” he says.

He adds that many young people spend a great deal of time online looking for advice and guidance on religious, existential and spiritual questions. For that reason, he says, parish priests need to be online to reach them.

The Danish national church has also created an official TikTok profile featuring videos about Danish Christianity. It says this is important because Danish young people mainly encounter Christian content from American megachurches, Russian Orthodox priests and other religious communities when they search online for answers to life’s major questions.

Energy drinks as a way into the church

One of the more controversial elements in Stephansen’s videos is a white Monster energy drink, which appears repeatedly on his profile.

“For many young people, having an energy drink now and then is completely normal. When they see a priest making silly dance videos with an energy drink in his hand, it makes the Danish national church seem more lively and relatable,” he says.

The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration advises children under 15 not to drink energy drinks and recommends that young people aged 15 to 17 consume no more than 0.5 litres a week. Adults are advised to consume a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, equivalent to about two 500 millilitre cans of energy drink.

Stephansen says it is not appropriate to promote energy drinks to children, but argues that children are not the target audience for his videos. He says his content is mainly watched by people aged 20 to 35, who are not harmed by drinking energy drinks in moderation.

He has added written warnings to some videos stating that the Danish Health Authority does not recommend energy drinks for anyone under 18.

His TikTok profile has received almost 200,000 likes, and he says many young people have contacted him privately to ask about his videos and seek guidance on how to practise their faith.

However, he has not noticed more young people attending Skelgård Church.

“But if my confirmation students ever bring an energy drink into church, I will take it away from them,” he says.