Document details

The Bible, Social Media, and Digital Culture

New York: Routledge (2020), 129 pp.

Contains 4 figures, 6 tables, bibliogr. pp. 114-124, index

Series: Routledge Focus on Religion

ISBN 978-0-367-78792-9 (pbk); 978-0-429-00099-7 (online

Signature commbox: 70-Religion-E 2020

"This book [...] examines the shift from a propositional to a therapeutic approach to faith from a sociological standpoint. The book covers two research projects in particular: the Twitter Gospels and Online Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. It explores the data as it relates to Abby Day's concept of performative belief, picking up on Mia Lövheim's challenge to see how this concept works out in digital culture and social media. It also compares the data to various construals of contemporary approaches to faith performative faith including Christian Smith's concept of 'Moralistic Therapeutic Deism'. Other research is also compared to the findings of these projects, including a micro-project on Celebrities and the Bible, to give a wider perspective on these issues in both the UK and the US." (Publisher description)
1 The contemporary context of Bible engagement, especially in the UK and USA, 6
2 The Bible, Social Media and Digital Culture, 20
3 Popular Bible verses on social media, 35
4 Analysis/reflection, 64
5 Some potential contributory factors: performative belief, MTD and media ecology, 91
Conclusion: an ordinary canon within social media engagement? 111