The digital touch and the untouched: a typology of vacuum versus proxy healing in Ghanaian Pentecostalism’s online prayer economy

This article identifies and theorises a critical divide within Ghanaian Pentecostal digital healing practices: between ‘proxy healing,’ in which supplicants touch screens as material conduits for divine power, and ‘vacuum healing,’ in which healing flows through screens without physical contact. Based on a three-month digital ethnography (May–July 2024) of six major online prayer services—three exemplifying vacuum healing (Alpha Hour, Flow Prayer, NSPPD) and three representing proxy healing (Pastors Hold, Touch, and an additional comparative case)—the article analyses over 45 livestream sessions and 1200 viewer testimonies. It argues that vacuum healing represents a theological and technological innovation, dematerialising the ‘point of contact’ and positing the screen as a porous interface rather than a sacred relic. The proxy/vacuum typology advances the study of digital religion by reframing debates over materiality and revealing how platforms generate distinct ontologies of mediation. By unpacking this divide, the article challenges prevailing assumptions in material religion and media studies, demonstrating how digital environments are actively reshaping pneumatic practice and charismatic authority.