Table Of ContentDigital Religion
This book offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and
digital media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of digital media
forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all fve of the major
world religions. From mobile apps and video games to virtual reality and social
media, the book:
• provides a detailed review of major topics including ritual, identity,
community, authority, and embodiment;
• includes a series of engaging case studies to illustrate and elucidate the
thematic explorations;
• considers the theoretical, ethical, and theological issues raised.
This unique volume draws together the work of experts from key disciplinary
perspectives and is the go-to volume for students and scholars wanting to
develop a deeper understanding of the subject area. Thoroughly updated
throughout with new case studies and in-depth analysis of recent scholarship
and developments, this new edition provides a comprehensive overview of this
fast-paced, constantly developing, and fascinating feld.
Heidi A. Campbell is Professor of Communication, Presidential Impact
Fellow, and affliate faculty in Religious Studies at Texas A&M University, USA.
She is also director of the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital
Culture Studies and a founder of Digital Religion studies, which explores how
religious belief and practices are performed online and offine in digital culture.
Ruth Tsuria is Assistant Professor at the College of Communication and the
Arts at Seton Hall University, USA. She has been given an Emerging Scholar
Award by Religion in Society and received the inaugural Digital Religion
Research Award from the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital
Culture Studies for her contributions to Digital Religion studies.
9
Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group
http:// taylo ra ndfra ncis.com
Digital Religion
Understanding Religious Practice
in Digital Media
2nd edition
Edited by Heidi A. Campbell and
Ruth Tsuria
Second edition published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 selection and editorial matter, Heidi A. Campbell and Ruth
Tsuria; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Heidi A. Campbell and Ruth Tsuria to be identifed as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2012
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Campbell, Heidi, 1970– editor. | Tsuria, Ruth, editor.
Title: Digital religion : understanding religious practice in digital media /
Heidi A. Campbell, Ruth Tsuria.
Description: Lanham : Lexington Books/Fortress Academic, [2021] |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2021011743 | ISBN 9780367257767 (hardback) |
ISBN 9780367272364 (paperback) | ISBN 9780429295683 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Digital media—Religious aspects.
Classifcation: LCC BL638 .D54 2021 | DDC 204/.402854678—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021011743
ISBN: 978-0-367-25776-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-27236-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-29568-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9780429295683
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Contributors viii
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Introduction to the study of digital religion 1
RUTH TSURIA AND HEIDI A. CAMPBELL
PART 1
Themes in the study of religion and new media 23
2 Religion 25
GREGORY PRICE GRIEVE
3 Ritual 40
CHRISTOPHER HELLAND AND LISA KIENzL
4 Identity 56
MIA LöVHEIM AND EVELINA LUNDMARK
5 Community 71
HEIDI A. CAMPBELL AND zACHARY SHELDON
6 Authority 87
PAULINE HOPE CHEONG
7 Embodiment 103
KERSTIN RADDE-ANTwEILER
vi Contents
PART 2
Thematic case studies 121
8 Religion: fnding your true self: YouTubing the
South Korean temple stay 123
SAM HAN
9 Religion: a little birdie told me something about
religion: religion on Twitter 132
DANIEL VEIDLINGER
10 Rituals: a case study in digital religion: That Dragon, Cancer 141
JOHN w. BORCHERT
11 Rituals: prayer app rituals: how Islamic participants
engage with technological and religious affordances
in Muslim Pro 150
wENDI BELLAR
12 Identity: #EmptyThePews: ex-evangelicals’ identity
on Twitter 159
RUTH TSURIA
13 Identity: “The Niqab Is a Beautiful Extension of
My Face”: niqab adoption as meta-conversion in
YouTube lifestreaming videos 167
ANNA PIELA
14 Community: dual production for dual publics:
Chabad’s inward and outward online presence 176
OREN GOLAN
15 Community: stillness on the hillside: worship online
with British Quakers 186
TIM HUTCHINGS
16 Authority: the passive-aggressive Haredi campaign
against the smartphone 196
HANANEL ROSENBERG AND MENAHEM BLONDHEIM
17 Authority: maintaining and establishing authority
on Facebook: a case study on Catholic priests 205
BRIAN ALTENHOFEN
Contents vii
18 Embodiment: gamifed embodiment experiences
in Indian video games 213
XENIA zEILER
19 Embodiment: the digital afterlife 221
AMANDA LAGERKVIST
PART 3
Refections on studying religion and digital media 231
20 Theoretical frameworks for approaching religion
and new media 233
KNUT LUNDBY AND GIULIA EVOLVI
21 Ethical issues in the study of religion and new media 250
MARK D. JOHNS
22 Theology and the new media 266
STEPHEN GARNER
Index 282
Contributors
Brian Altenhofen is an assistant professor in the Department of Communica-
tion at Truman State University, USA. He is also the director of the Harry S.
Truman Leadership Scholars. He teaches in social media, interpersonal, and
leadership. His research revolves around social media, authority, and identity
construction as leaders.
Wendi Bellar is an assistant professor of Communication Studies at University
of wisconsin La Crosse where she teaches media studies. Her work explores
evolving religious understandings and practices in digital contexts and focuses
on religious mobile application design and use in religious digital spaces.
Menahem Blondheim is the Newhouse Professor of Communication in
the Department of Communication and the Department of History at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also serves as the academic director
of undergraduate studies at the university’s Rothberg International School.
He studies and teaches communication, history, and religion, as well as their
intersections, with a focus on media technologies, both old and new.
John W. Borchert is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Religion at
Syracuse University. He is interested in how religious practices and media
technologies intersect across American religious histories, particularly their
impact on embodiment and death. He teaches on American religion,
embodiment, death, Christianities, and religion and media/technology.
Heidi A. Campbell is Professor of Communication and Presidential Impact
Fellow at Texas A&M University. She is also director of the Network for New
Media, Religion & Digital Culture Studies and author of numerous articles
and books in the area of digital religion studies, including When Religion
Meets New Media (2010), Digital Religion (2013), and Digital Creatives & the
Rethinking of Religious Authority (2020).
Pauline Hope Cheong, PhD, is Professor and Director of Engagement and
Innovation at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona
State University. Her research examines the socio-cultural implications of
Contributors ix
digital technology, including knowledge and authority practices linked to
big data, the internet of things, and artifcial intelligence for non-proft and
spiritual collectivities.
Giulia Evolvi is a lecturer in Media and Communication at Erasmus Univer-
sity, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Previously, she worked as research associate
at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at Ruhr University Bochum,
Germany, coordinating the focus group Media and Materiality. Giulia
obtained her PhD in Media Studies from the University of Colorado Boul-
der, US, where she was affliated with the Center for Media, Religion and
Culture, and she also holds an MA in Religious Studies from the University
of Padua, Italy. She published the book Blogging my Religion: Secular, Muslim,
and Catholic Media Spaces in Europe (Routledge) in 2018.
Stephen Garner is Academic Dean and Senior Lecturer in Theology at Laid-
law College, New zealand. with backgrounds in both computer science and
theology, his research focuses on the relationships between theology, technol-
ogy, media, and popular culture. He is co-author (with Heidi Campbell) of
Networked Theology (Baker 2016).
Oren Golan is a faculty member of the University of Haifa’s Faculty of Edu-
cation. His work focuses on digital religion and online self-educating com-
munities. He studies tensions and social manifestation of new media activity
among religious communities, exploring cases such as ultra-Orthodox Jewry
in the US and Israel, the zionist religious variant, and, of late, monastic
Catholics’ media production.
Gregory Price Grieve is Head and Professor of the Religious Studies Depart-
ment at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Author of many
books, edited volumes, and articles, he has helped pioneer the study of digital
religion. He is currently researching the subject of video games, women, and
the problem of evil.
Sam Han is Senior Lecturer of Anthropology and Sociology in the School of
Social Sciences at the University of western Australia. He is the author of
(Inter)Facing Death: Life in Global Uncertainty (Routledge, 2020) and several
other books.
Christopher Helland is Associate Professor of Sociology of Religion in the
Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University
in Canada. His research focuses upon religion in contemporary culture. His
primary work examines the impact of the internet and world wide web on
a variety of religious traditions and practices. Helland’s research examines
the role of new media in relation to issues of religious authority and power,
religious information-seeking behavior, ritual practices, and even changing
belief systems. His current research project is examining 3D VR ritual activi-
ties and 3D VR sacred spaces online.
