Religion, Culture and Spirituality in a Digital World
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 510
Special Issue Editors
Interests: digital culture;transmedia storytelling;mediatisation of religion; public cyberspace; ethics and communi-cation; education communication and technology
Interests: medieval and modern history in Western Europe; history of women; mentalities; tangible and intangible heritage; Judaism; history of religions; education; ethics
Interests: the religious phenomenon, especially concerning thought; the question about God: the reasonableness of this question; metaphysical questions in general; the thought of authors such as Pascal and the context of the 17th century in France (Grand Siècle), Søren Kierkegaard, Miguel de Unamuno, or Simone Weil
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Faith, culture, and technology have converged into what is now known as the mediatisation of religion. This term refers to the increasing influence of the media and media narratives on how religious beliefs and practices are understood, practised, and disseminated in contemporary society. Research on religious mediatisation has always captured the interest of the scientific community, as reflected in recent studies (Korpics, Béres and Hommer, 2023; SteRpniak, 2023; Halafoff, 2020; Bastien, 2020; Sbardelotto, 2016). However, in the current context of a digital and hyperconnected society, new questions see themselves being raised. Therefore, in this Special Issue of Religions, we invite researchers from various fields of knowledge to offer valuable perspectives on the mediatisation of religion, with the aim of addressing and discussing these topics of interest to society.
Our aim is to foster critical and multidisciplinary reflection on the relationships among media, faith, culture, spirituality, and religious practices. This Special Issue of Religions aims to be a theoretical and empirical meeting point for scholars and researchers interested in exploring how information and communication technologies influence, transform, and even construct religious experience in a contemporary context. It seeks to promote a rigorous and well-founded dialogue, as well as present an interdisciplinary and interreligious view on the topic of religious mediatisation. Moreover, its aim is to contribute to the understanding of faith, spiritual practice, and religious identity in a 'liquid modernity' (Bauman, 2003), techno-humanist (Sanguinetti, 2023), mediatised, and networked context that faces multiple questions.
The mediatisation of religion, which encompasses the growing influence of the media and media narratives on the understanding, practice, and dissemination of religious beliefs in contemporary society, constitutes a phenomenon of interdisciplinary interest. This field of study, involving disciplines such as sociology, communication, theology, education, philosophy, and cultural anthropology, seeks to understand the complex interactions among faith, culture, and technology in the modern era. To enrich our understanding of this phenomenon, it is relevant to consider the concept of 'mediations' in the current technological context and from a philosophical perspective, inviting us to explore the depth of the word and the idea of 'logos'. This philosophical approach strengthens our understanding of religious mediation and leads us to reflect on its nature and scope. Moreover, the inclusion of philosophical anthropology can offer invaluable insights by raising fundamental questions about human nature. The human need for beliefs, as noted by Ortega y Gasset (1970), leads us to explore the phenomenon of religion and its contemporary implications from a broader perspective. The meaning of life, along with the phenomenon of meaninglessness, also emerge as relevant themes in this context. Religion, in its role of providing meaning, deserves a phenomenological analysis that examines its role in today's society. Likewise, ethical and existential challenges invite us to reflect on the impact of religion and mediatisation on our daily lives.
We welcome contributions to research areas that may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Audiovisual narratives in religious mediatisation;
- Rites, rituals, and liturgies in the digital age;
- Digital spirituality;
- Artificial intelligence and religion;
- Mass media and religion;
- Public cyberspace and religion;
- Social media, religious influencers, and evangelisation;
- Technology in the service of interreligious dialogue;
- Digital transcendence and spirituality;
- Intangible religious heritage in the digital age;
- Content analysis of online religious media—messages and religious narratives;
- Influence of networks on religion, analysis of social media platforms, and messages conveyed;
- Secularization and mediatisation— the transformation of religious practices and influence of the media;
- Digital media of the church;
- New digital spirituality;
- Media images of religious leaders—religious influencers;
- Encyclicals and pastors regarding media;
- The role of technology in religious experience and transcendence;
- Interreligious dialogue, interculturality, and plurality of faith;
- Religious philosophy, philosophical anthropology, and networked society research.
References
- Bauman, Z. Modernidad líquida. Taylor & Francis Group: España, 2003, ISBN 978-95-0557-513-8
- Bastien, F. The Mediatization of Politics, Religion, and Science. In Reimagining Communication: Experience, 1st ed.; Filimowicz, M., Tzankova, V., Eds.; Routledge: New York, USA, 2020; Chapter 10, ISBN 978-13-5101-535-6
- Korpics, M.K.; Béres, I.J.; Hommer, A.V. Tradition-Driven Religiosity on the Internet. Religions 2023, 14, 1430. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14111430
- Ortega y Gasset, J. Ideas y creencias y otros ensayos de filosofía. Editorial: Revista de Occidente, Madrid, España, 1970
- Sanguinetti, P. Tecnohumanismo. Editorial La Huerta Grande: Madrid, España, ISBN 978-84-1865-737-5
- Sbardelotto, M. Mediatización de la religión: La relación entre lo ‘religioso’ y lo mediático en tiempos de red. In Mediaciones de la Comunicación 2016, 11, 113-137. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/6698263.pdf
- Stępniak, K. Communicating the Sacred in Religious Advertising in Light of the Mediatization of Religion Theory and Research on Digital Religion. Church, Communication and Culture 2023, 8, 2. 285–307. doi:10.1080/23753234.2023.2244537.
- Weng, E.; Halafoff, A. Media Representations of Religion, Spirituality and Non-Religion in Australia. Religions 2020, 11, 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11070332
Prof. Dr. Víctor Manuel Pérez Martínez
Prof. Dr. Miguel Ángel Motis Dolader
Prof. Dr. Carmen Herrando Cugota
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- religious mediatisation
- communication and faith
- religious culture
- cyberphilosophy
- cybertheology
- digital religion
- online religious practices
- media influence on spirituality
- virtual religious communities
- theology and artificial intelligence
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: The transcendental style in the cinema of Paul Schrader: grace and redemption in First Reformed (2017), The Card Counter (2021) and Master Gardener (2022)
Author: Huerta-Floriano
Highlights: The trilogy consisting of First Reformed, The Card Counter and Master Gardener continues Paul Schrader's obsession with redemption stories.
The trilogy partially participates in the traits of the “transcendental style in cinema”.
The concept of “grace” remains key to the redemptive resolution of Paul Schrader's cinematic stories.
Title: All for One and One for All: On the Mediating Role of Religious Attribution in the Relationship between Collective Resilience, Social Media-Related Secondary Traumatic Stress and Anxiety in the Post-Earthquake Process
Author: Vural
Highlights: This study explores how collective resilience and religious attribution impact social media-related secondary traumatic stress and anxiety following recent earthquakes in Turkey. Findings indicate that collective resilience reduces both, while negative religious attribution mediates the impact on traumatic stress but not anxiety. Higher stress and anxiety levels were noted among those in active seismic zones.
Title: Use of digital tools in the religious and spiritual sphere. Impact and barrier analysis
Author: Izquierdo-Iranzo
Highlights: Digitalization in religion-spirituality finds: structural barriers: more reluctance in the “The Church” (institutional secrecy) than in individuals (clergy); in the hierarchy (bishops) than in the base (priests); more religiously than spiritually; also personal (age, digital illiteracy) and cultural barriers: more reluctance in Spain than in LatinAmerica. Difficulties (pandemic, natural disasters) help to break down barriers against digitalization
