Sacred Algorithms: Religion in the Digital Age
A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 18
Special Issue Editors
Interests: communities; cross media; digital; digital culture; digital identity; digital rhetoric; globalisation; information society; media ecology; religious studies; social networks; theological epistemology
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to invite proposals for the upcoming Special Issue “Sacred Algorithms: Religion in the Digital Age”, which seeks to explore the complex and evolving relationship between religion, spirituality, and algorithmic technologies. We welcome submissions from a broad range of disciplines, faith traditions, and cultural contexts.
The field of digital religion has matured significantly since its emergence in the 1990s, moving beyond the early distinctions between religion online (digitised religious content provided by traditional institutions) and online religion (novel practices born within digital environments). Current research increasingly acknowledges a “third space” in which the sacred circulates between digital and physical realms, forming hybrid expressions of belief and belonging.
This Special Issue aims to investigate how algorithmic technologies—including artificial intelligence, recommendation systems, automated liturgies, and immersive interfaces—are reshaping religious practice, authority, ritual, and community. Equally, we seek critical engagements with how religious actors, institutions, and traditions are interpreting, adapting to, or resisting these transformations.
This issue falls squarely within the scope of the journal, which is committed to examining contemporary intersections of religion, culture, media, and society. We particularly encourage contributions that offer comparative, global, or otherwise underrepresented perspectives, as well as those that combine empirical depth with theoretical innovation.
Original research articles and critical reviews are welcome. Suggested themes include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Algorithms and ritual: Automation, embodiment, and performativity in online religious practices;
- AI-generated religious content: Prayers, homilies, scripture reinterpretation, and sacred images;
- Digital spiritual authority: Influencers, livestream preachers, and TikTok theologians;
- Surveillance, ethics, and theology: Facial recognition, data ethics, and religious freedom;
- The sensory and affective dimensions of digital religiosity: VR churches, mobile prayer apps, and AI confession;
- Religious discourse and misinformation in the platform economy;
- Cybertheology and posthuman spirituality: Theological responses to the age of the machine;
- Religion and technology in the Global South: Perspectives from Latin America, Africa, and Asia;
- Marginalised and alternative spiritualities online: Queer theologies, indigenous digital rituals, and feminist liturgies.
We invite prospective authors to submit a proposed title and abstract (200–300 words) summarising their intended contribution. Abstracts should be sent to the Guest Editor or the Assistant Editor of the journal. Submissions will be reviewed for thematic relevance and scope. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.
Dr. Luís M. Figueiredo Rodrigues
Dr. Lana Kazkaz
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
- digital religion
- algorithms
- artificial intelligence
- faith and technology
- spiritual mediation
- online ritual
- religious authority
- cybertheology
- digital culture
- contemporary spirituality
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