"Divided into five parts, the Handbook opens with a state-of-the-art overview of the subject’s intellectual landscape, introducing the historical background, theoretical foundations, and major academic approaches to communication, media, and religion. Subsequent sections focus on institutional and
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functional perspectives, theological and cultural approaches, and new approaches in digital technologies. The essays provide insight into a wide range of topics, including religious use of media, religious identity, audience gratification, religious broadcasting, religious content in entertainment, films and religion, news reporting about religion, race and gender, the sex-religion matrix, religious crisis communication, public relations and advertising, televangelism, pastoral ministry, death and the media, online religion, future directions in religious communication, and more." (Publisher description)
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"The contributions in the form of research articles and essays come from a variety of religious perspectives – Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim, Jain, Hindu, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox. Despite coming from different religious worldviews, the underlying message fundamentally affirms that promoting ecol
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ogical flourishing requires an approach that centers on both praxis and spirituality in order to prevent the task of caring for our common home to become simply a series of dry mechanical calculations, purely theoretical propositions, or clever policy enactments. Religions at their best inspire and infuse external acts that are consistent with authentic interior virtues ordered to the wellbeing of both humanity and the natural environment. In this respect, religions must undergo its own self-examination in order to adequately speak to the present context." (Page 176)
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"Despite the wide-ranging topics presented in this collection, this volume takes ‘communication’ as the keyword for the various research and reflections on the life and mission of the Catholic Church during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as post-crisis. The reader will readily recognize that what
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is referred to as ‘communication’ here is an extremely elastic and multi-dimensional category. Within the context of the Church, particularly as discussed in this book, communication refers to words and images that the Church transmits to the faithful and to the world to help the people cope with issues brought about by the crisis. This communication helps contextualize these dramatic events in sound theological principles which need to again and again be creatively restated and reaffirmed with every human happening, both big and small, that takes place. Second, communication also refers to pastoral and evangelizing actions carried out by the Church and its members to sustain the life of the Church amid the grave situation of imposed isolation, pastors and members of the flock succumbing to COVID-19, shuttered church doors, and unlit altar candles. Third, communication refers to the models and strategies by the Church and its leaders to employ technological means to promote ecclesial communion, nourish the faith life of the people, and to dialogue with individuals and groups to create a truly synodal Church. Finally, communication also refers to ways that the Church discerns and engages with the signs of the times in order to transform raw experiences into valuable lessons, human suffering into salvific grace, and pandemic isolation and division into greater post-pandemic interculturality, interdependence, and collaboration." (Introduction, page xx-xxi)
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"Study days is one of the most important programs to communicate the meaning of SIGNIS World Congress. In Seoul, we have keynote speakers, panel speakers and discussants participating from fifteen countries to discuss 'Peace in the Digital World', the theme of the World Congress, composed of three s
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essions titles 'Hyperconnected yet alone', 'Fake news and loss of trust' and 'Protection of our common home." (Welcome Message)
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"This volume contains a collection of 12 chapters discussing the theme of the book, which focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic and the implications that this crisis holds for the church in the future. The main matter being examined in this book is the ecclesiological challenges and opportunities present
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ed by digital technology in relation to its widespread use in the life of the church during the health crisis. The book is divided into three sections. “The first part re-examines traditional vocabulary and understandings of digital church. The second section explores specific examples of ecclesiological shifts during the pandemic. The final section looks to the future of the Church in the digital age, offering insight and recommendations for a way forward.” One of the highlights of this book is that it gathered the wisdom and insights from scholars from a variety of disciplines and theological traditions as well as geographical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, the theology of the Church in the digital age being considered and deepened in this volume is not of a particular denomination, but of Christianity taken as a whole." (https://www.asianresearchcenter.org)
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"The content of the book is organized into four sections. The first three sections are essays recounting real-world experiences of pastoral agents. These essays are roughly divided into three sub-groups. The first group of essays focus on the parish setting and the ministries that each parish attemp
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ted to implement in response to the crisis. The second group of essays highlight the education and formation ministry, which includes both catechism teaching and other educational settings such as theology schools and formation houses. The third group of essays primarily depict outreach ministries such as those with the poor, migrants, and other marginalized groups. The pastoral workers carrying out these ministries may do so in context of a parish/diocesan setting or as part of a nonparochial program. The final section, comprised of five essays are responses to the experiences presented in the previous three sections. The aim of this section is to dialogue with the experiences recounted in the essays originating from a variety of countries around the world. Some of the issues that the writers of the responses were asked to consider include presenting theological insights gained from these experiences; lessons to be learned from what has been shared; the understanding of “pastoral creativity” in the contemporary world; and implications that these experiences hold for the post-pandemic Church." (Preface, page viii-ix)
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"This paper proposes that Asian religions can address the challenges of the post-truth mindset by resorting to powerful images within their traditions to communicate within and across traditions in order to promote religious unity and harmony. It asserts that the images employed by Jesus to refer to
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himself, namely, the Way, the Truth, and the Life are images that hold not only rich spiritual significance for Christians but can also resonate deeply with the Asian religious and spiritual outlook. These images may be explored by religious traditions in their own particular contexts and communicated to adherents (intrareligious communication). These images can also serve as the foundation upon which Asian religions can enter into dialogue with one another to build mutual understanding and collaboration (interreligious communication). The thesis is when Asian religions are able to employ shared images to communicate within and across religious traditions, they are able to reaffirm the important role of religion/spirituality in the present social milieu, at the same time resist the negative impact brought about by trends of thought that seek to degrade and relativize religious and spiritual truths." (Abstract)
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"Chapters are extended works of papers presented at Communication/Culture and The Sustainable Development Goals (CCSDG): Challenges for a New Generation, an international conference held in Chiang Mai University in December 2015. The chapters address assessments of Millennium Development Goals in se
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veral Asian countries and the region as a whole. The book also identifies and discusses the changes and potential improvements in the transition from Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) to Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030). Areas that are covered in the book, which are illustrated with case studies, include Corporate Social Accountability, Information and Communications Technologies, and Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)." (Publisher description)
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