commbox Youth & Religion

Amicable communication with today's young people: Social communication serving the Salesian mission in the Church

Rome: Direzione Generale Opere Don Bosco (2025), 120 pp.

Analisi dell’attività delle comunità giovanili nella Chiesa Greco-Cattolica Ucraina e proposta di un piano di comunicazione per l'evangelizzazione dei giovani sui social media

Viktoriia Havaleshko

Roma: Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, Tesi di Licenza (2025), 91 pp.

"Lo studio presentato in questo lavoro può essere considerato come un contributo al campo della pastorale giovanile nell'Arcidiocesi di Ivano-Frankivsk, nel contesto della Chiesa Greco-Cattolica Ucraina (CGCU). Particolare attenzione è rivolta all'uso dei media digitali come strumento efficace di ... more

An Ecosystemic Approach to Digital Christianity: How Faith and Identity Formation Evolve Among Youth in Singapore

Wayne Choong

Religion and Social Communication, volume 23, issue 2 (2025), pp. 322-346

"This sociological and ethnographic study develops and employs an ecosystemic approach to examine the effects of digitalization on religious beliefs and practices among young Christians in a Pentecostal megachurch in Singapore. Through extensive fieldwork and qualitative data analysis, this paper un ... more

Influence of Malawi's Cybersecurity Act 2016 on Online Evangelisation among Young Catholics in Blantyre

Frank Mwinganyama

Nairobi: Daystar University, Master Thesis (2024), xi, 89 pp.

"The youth are ardent users of digital media and there is no much difference between virtual and real life for them. So, the Catholic Church has persistently invited the faithful, especially the youth who are the true natives of the digital world, to adopt online platforms for evangelization. Concer ... ns, however, arise from cyber security issues which are part of the online experiences of the users of digital technologies. The prevalence of abuses of digital technology generated a need for legislation to foster a safe environment for those who use online platforms. Malawi’s Electronic Transactions and Cybersecurity Act 2016 is one such legislation aimed at creating a free and safe online environment. Nevertheless, concerns arise regarding the influence and relevance of this Act in Malawi, with certain sections blaming its application for curtailing freedom of expression online. This study sought to investigate the influence of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Act 2016 on online evangelisation among young Catholics in Blantyre. The study had three objectives. First, to explore the motivations and experiences of young Catholics in Blantyre as they engage in online evangelisation. Secondly, to investigate the influence of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Act 2016 on online evangelisation efforts by young Catholics. Thirdly, to assess the perceptions of young Catholics regarding the relevance of Malawi’s Cybersecurity Act 2016 in fostering safe online evangelisation. The researcher employed two theories; Diffusion of Innovation and the Chilling Effects theory of social conformity to rigorously explore the purpose of the study. Participants in this study were purposively sampled and four focus group discussions (FDGs) comprising five and seven participants were chosen for the study. The findings have revealed that there is a significant presence of the youth online platforms that are adopting online evangelisation. It also discovered that there are chilling effects resulting from the political weaponisation of the cyber laws contained in the Act. Consequently, the relevance of the Act in fostering a safe environment was questioned as it is compromised. The researcher recommended further research on other demographics and using different research methods may give a more comprehensive picture of the influence of cyber law on online evangelisation." (Abstract) more

The Pop Theology of Videogames: Producing and Playing with Religion

Lars de Wildt

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press (2023), 158 pp.

"Young people in the West are more likely to encounter religion in videogames than in places of worship like churches, mosques or temples. Lars de Wildt interviews developers and players of games such as Assassin’s Creed to find out how and why the Pop Theology of Videogames is so appealing to mod ... more

Fictional Practices of Spirituality I: Interactive Media

Leonardo Marcato, Felix Schniz (eds.)

Bielefeld: transcript (2023), 476 pp.

"Fictional Practices of Spirituality" provides critical insight into the implementation of belief, mysticism, religion, and spirituality into worlds of fiction, be it interactive or non-interactive. This first volume focuses on interactive, virtual worlds - may that be the digital realms of video ga ... more

Walking with young people in our digital culture

Salesians, Social Communication Sector (2023), 15 pp.

External Link (12)

Becoming Tapestry: A Multimodal Ethnographic Podcast Exploring Storytelling and Belonging in a Faith-Adjacent Foster Youth Mentoring Network

Kyle Matthew Oliver

Columbia University, Teachers College, Doctoral Thesis (2022), v, 108 pp.

"In this study of Tapestry, a church-run foster youth mentoring network, and St. Sebastian’s Summer Camp, a predominantly Latinx church-run community day camp, I develop and document one promising pairing in response to this quandary: an adapted form of Digital Storytelling (Lambert, 2012) as a co ... more

2022 SWC Youth Forum Booklet: SIGNIS World Congress 2022

Seoul: Signis Korea (2022), 128 pp.

Radikalislamische YouTube-Propaganda: Eine qualitative Rezeptionsstudie unter jungen Erwachsenen

Lino Klevesath, Annemieke Munderloh, Joris Sprengeler, Florian Grahmann, Julia Reiter

Bielefeld: transcript (2021), 248 pp.

"In der öffentlichen Debatte wird Online-Videos aus dem Spektrum des radikalen Islam zugeschrieben, einen großen Einfluss auf junge Menschen auszuüben. Doch wie nehmen junge Muslim*innen und Nicht-Muslim*innen diese Videos tatsächlich wahr? Wie stark wird ihre Sicht auf die Inhalte von ihrem Rel ... more

Story-Sharing for Church Youth Groups: A Resource to Build a Stronger Sense of Community and Connectedness Among Young People

Brian Helsby, Fana Ndhlovu, Olefile Masangane et al.

Heartlines Centre (2021), 25 pp.

WorldCat (12)

O sagrado nos jogos digitais: Arquétipos do sagrado no game Dragon Age: Origins

Luis Carlos de Lima Pacheco

Recife: Universidade Católica de Pernambuco, Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências da Religião, Doctoral Thesis (2021), 234 pp.

"A tese parte da constatação de que existem componentes do sagrado que podem determinar ou não as narrativas dos jogos eletrônicos, para investigar os elementos religiosos presentes nos operadores audiovisuais dos games, a partir dos referenciais teóricos da transdiciplinaridade-complexidade e ... more

External Link (15)

Digital Media, Young Adults, and Religion: An International Perspective

Marcus Moberg, Sofia Sjö (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2020), xi, 179 pp.

"Utilising results of an unprecedented global study, this volume explores the ways in which young adults in seven different countries engage with digital and social media in religiously significant ways. Presenting and analysing the findings of the international research project Young Adults and Rel ... more

External Link (10)

WorldCat (10)

The Bible and Digital Millennials

David G. Ford, Joshua L. Mann, Peter M. Phillips

Milton: Routledge (2019), xi, 126 pp.

"Explores the place of the Bible in the lives of 18 to 35 year-olds who have been born into the digital age. As the use of digital media becomes increasingly pervasive, it should follow that it will have a significant effect on people’s engagement with religion and the sacred texts associated with ... more

WorldCat (10)

Tutorial: Como evangelizar nativos digitais

Aline Amaro da Silva

In: Escolhendo Jesus: jovens cristãos para uma nova sociedade

Aline Amaro da Silva; Antonio Ramos do Prado; Elias Silva; Welder Lancieri Marchini

Petrópolis: Vozes (2018), pp. 57-89

"Primeiro, precisamos de uma 'Metanoia digital', isto é, uma mudança de mentalidade, uma visão de mundo que amplie nossa compreensão da realidade, especialmente no que se refere à fé e à rede. Depois de uma experiência transformadora nós temos a tendência a nos tornarmos seguidores e espal ... more

Catolicismo midiático, televangelismo, testemunho e o programa PHN da TV Canção Nova

Virgínia Diniz Ferreira, Viviane Viviane Borelli

ALCAR Sul 2018 - 7° Encontro Regional Sul de História da Mídia (2018), 13 pp.

"A evolução da sociedade dos meios para sociedade midiatizada fez com que as práticas de sentido alterassem as formas de estabelecimento de práticas sociais. Assim, o campo religioso altera seus modos de funcionamento em função de lógicas midiáticas e o catolicismo midiático é percebido co ... more

External Link (11)

Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion

Vít Sisler, Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, Xenia Zeiler (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2018), xviii, 221 pp.