The Oxford Handbook of Digital Religion
Top Insights
New York: Oxford University Press (2024), xiii, 661 pp.
Contains index
ISBN 978-0-19-754983-4 (ebook); 978-0-19-754980-3 (print)
Signature commbox: 70-Religion-E 2024
"Digital Religion refers to the contemporary practice and understanding that religion takes place in both online and offline contexts, and how these contexts intersect with each other. Scholars in this growing field of Digital Religion studies recognize that religion has been influenced by its engagement with computer-mediated digital spaces, including not only the Internet, but other emerging technologies, such as mobile phones, digital wearables, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. The Oxford Handbook of Digital Religion provides a comprehensive overview of religion as seen and performed through various platforms and cultural spaces created by digital technology. The text covers religious interaction with a wide range of digital media forms (including social media, websites, gaming environments, virtual and augmented realities, and artificial intelligence) and highlights examples of technological engagement and negotiation within the major world religions (i.e., Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism). Additional sections cover the global manifestations of religious community, identity, ethics, and authority, with a final group of chapters addressing emerging technologies and the future of the field." (Publisher description)
1 Introduction to the Study of Digital Religion / Heidi A. Campbell and Pauline Hope Cheong, 1
PART I: RELIGIOUS ENGAGEMENT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
2 Christianity and Digital Media: Different Traditions and Different Aims / Stefan Gelfgren, 17
3 Buddhism and Digital Media / Daniel Veidlinger, 34
4 Islam and Digital Religion / Ibrahim N. Abusharif, 52
5 Past, Present, and Potential Futures of Digital Hinduism Research / Xenia Zeiler, 68
6 Digital Judaism / Oren Golan, 85
7 Sikh Digital Media / Jasjit Singh, 101
8 New Religious Movements and the Internet / Margarita Simon Guillory, 117
9 Secularism, Atheism, and Digital Media / Teemu Taira, 135
PART II: EXPLORATIONS IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AND THE INTERNET
10 Digital Contours of the Black Church in North America and Community Online / Erika Gault, 153
11 Mosques, Churches, and Technology in Southeast Asia / Tan Meng Yoe, 169
12 Religion and Online Community in African Contexts / Bala A. Musa and Agnes Lucy Lando, 184
13 Digital Diasporas and the Religious Reproduction of "Home" / Orlando Woods, 201
PART III: PERFORMING RELIGIOUS IDENTITY ONLINE
14 Navigating Religious Identity and Embodiment in Digital Games / John W. Borchert, 221
15 Gender and Agency in Digital Religion / Mia Lövheim, 237
16 Hidden Religious Identities Online: Digital Religion and LGBTQIA+ Individuals / Ruth Tsuria, 254
17 Islam, Digital Media, and Identity / Fazlul Rahman, 272
18 Muslims Enacting Identity: Gender Through Digital Media / Eva F. Nisa, 289
19 Digital Materiality in Protestant Evangelical Christianity / Robbie B. H. Goh,306
PART IV: QUESTIONS OF RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY IN DIGITAL CONTEXTS
20 Authority and Communication: Dialectical Tensions and Paradoxes in Religious Organizing / Pauline Hope Cheong, 325
21 Approaching Religious Authority Through the Rise of New Leadership Roles Online / Heidi A. Campbell, 344
22 Challenges in Jewish Communities Online / Chen Sabag-Ben Porat, Hananel Rosenberg, and Menahem Blondheim, 361
23 Mediatization and Religious Authority in Scandinavia / Henrik Reintoft Christensen, 378
24 Religious Populism in the Digital Age / Magali do Nascimento Cunha, 395
25 Religious Authority and Participatory Social Action in Indian Networks / Benson Rajan, 414
PART V: VIRTUE FORMATION AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY
26 Value Formations through Digital Gaming / Gregory Price Grieve, Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, and Xenia Zeiler, 437
27 Building Virtue Through App Cultures: How Do Digital Religions Provide the Resources as Ideological, Social, and Transcendent Contexts? / Sarah A. Schnitker, 453
28 Bible Reading and Interpretation in a Digital Age / Peter M. Phillips, 472
29 Considering Religious Education and Online Pedagogy: The (Trans)Formative Potential of Theological Higher Education / Kutter Callaway and others, 490
PART VI: RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND OUR DIGITAL FUTURE
30 Digital Religion: A Methodological Approach / Johanna Sumiala, 509
31 Theoretical Approaches in Digital Religion Studies / Giulia Evolvi, 527
32 Posthumanism and Digital Religion / Oliver Krüger, 544
33 Robots, Ethics, and Digital Religion: Initial Considerations / Simon Balle and Charles Ess, 562
34 Death, Religion, and Digital Media / Maggi Savin-Baden, 580
35 Pocket Memorials: Digital Death and the Smartphone / Candi K. Cann, 597
36 Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Religion / Mohammad Yaqub Chaudhari, 611
37 Digital Religion Futures: Propositions and Complexities in the Now and Not Yet / Pauline Hope Cheong and Heidi A. Campbell, 630
PART I: RELIGIOUS ENGAGEMENT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
2 Christianity and Digital Media: Different Traditions and Different Aims / Stefan Gelfgren, 17
3 Buddhism and Digital Media / Daniel Veidlinger, 34
4 Islam and Digital Religion / Ibrahim N. Abusharif, 52
5 Past, Present, and Potential Futures of Digital Hinduism Research / Xenia Zeiler, 68
6 Digital Judaism / Oren Golan, 85
7 Sikh Digital Media / Jasjit Singh, 101
8 New Religious Movements and the Internet / Margarita Simon Guillory, 117
9 Secularism, Atheism, and Digital Media / Teemu Taira, 135
PART II: EXPLORATIONS IN RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY AND THE INTERNET
10 Digital Contours of the Black Church in North America and Community Online / Erika Gault, 153
11 Mosques, Churches, and Technology in Southeast Asia / Tan Meng Yoe, 169
12 Religion and Online Community in African Contexts / Bala A. Musa and Agnes Lucy Lando, 184
13 Digital Diasporas and the Religious Reproduction of "Home" / Orlando Woods, 201
PART III: PERFORMING RELIGIOUS IDENTITY ONLINE
14 Navigating Religious Identity and Embodiment in Digital Games / John W. Borchert, 221
15 Gender and Agency in Digital Religion / Mia Lövheim, 237
16 Hidden Religious Identities Online: Digital Religion and LGBTQIA+ Individuals / Ruth Tsuria, 254
17 Islam, Digital Media, and Identity / Fazlul Rahman, 272
18 Muslims Enacting Identity: Gender Through Digital Media / Eva F. Nisa, 289
19 Digital Materiality in Protestant Evangelical Christianity / Robbie B. H. Goh,306
PART IV: QUESTIONS OF RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY IN DIGITAL CONTEXTS
20 Authority and Communication: Dialectical Tensions and Paradoxes in Religious Organizing / Pauline Hope Cheong, 325
21 Approaching Religious Authority Through the Rise of New Leadership Roles Online / Heidi A. Campbell, 344
22 Challenges in Jewish Communities Online / Chen Sabag-Ben Porat, Hananel Rosenberg, and Menahem Blondheim, 361
23 Mediatization and Religious Authority in Scandinavia / Henrik Reintoft Christensen, 378
24 Religious Populism in the Digital Age / Magali do Nascimento Cunha, 395
25 Religious Authority and Participatory Social Action in Indian Networks / Benson Rajan, 414
PART V: VIRTUE FORMATION AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY
26 Value Formations through Digital Gaming / Gregory Price Grieve, Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, and Xenia Zeiler, 437
27 Building Virtue Through App Cultures: How Do Digital Religions Provide the Resources as Ideological, Social, and Transcendent Contexts? / Sarah A. Schnitker, 453
28 Bible Reading and Interpretation in a Digital Age / Peter M. Phillips, 472
29 Considering Religious Education and Online Pedagogy: The (Trans)Formative Potential of Theological Higher Education / Kutter Callaway and others, 490
PART VI: RELIGIOUS REFLECTIONS ON EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND OUR DIGITAL FUTURE
30 Digital Religion: A Methodological Approach / Johanna Sumiala, 509
31 Theoretical Approaches in Digital Religion Studies / Giulia Evolvi, 527
32 Posthumanism and Digital Religion / Oliver Krüger, 544
33 Robots, Ethics, and Digital Religion: Initial Considerations / Simon Balle and Charles Ess, 562
34 Death, Religion, and Digital Media / Maggi Savin-Baden, 580
35 Pocket Memorials: Digital Death and the Smartphone / Candi K. Cann, 597
36 Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Religion / Mohammad Yaqub Chaudhari, 611
37 Digital Religion Futures: Propositions and Complexities in the Now and Not Yet / Pauline Hope Cheong and Heidi A. Campbell, 630
