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- Convenors:
-
Ariane Kovac
(Leipzig University)
Benedikt Römer (Bundeswehr University Munich)
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- Format:
- Panel
- Location:
- Beta room
- Sessions:
- Friday 8 September, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Vilnius
Short Abstract:
Our panel aims to foreground the multiplicity of conditions that prompt religious actors to move their activities to the digital sphere, thus opening up perspectives on “digital religion” that move beyond the current fixation on the COVID 19-pandemic.
Long Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented explosion of ideas on how to move social interactions to the digital sphere – and, correspondingly, to a multitude of interesting and relevant case studies for scholars engaging in the “digital religion” field. However, this focus on pandemic-related changes in religious groups’ online behaviour risks neglecting other reasons for technology use and blurring differences in digital practices and experiences. Going beyond the pandemic as an obvious reason for digitalisation does not only open up a variety of reasons for religious groups to go digital but also allows for a closer exploration of specific digital practices and of how these relate to social forms, demographics, or theologies, among others.
For this panel, we invite scholars to critically engage with existing presumptions on the relations between religion, digitalisation, and the pandemic. We welcome both empirical presentations based on case studies and conceptual or methodological reflections. Contributions can address, but are of course not limited to, the following questions: Why did and do religious groups or individuals explore digital methods and spaces? How do they justify them theologically? Do questions of authenticity matter for believers when it comes to digital practices? Who takes religious practice online and how do questions of authority relate to knowledge, networks, and technologies? What role do “secular” actors such as tech companies or consultants play in the digitalisation of religion? And lastly, which theoretical and methodological approaches are helpful in overcoming the current fixation on the COVID 19-pandemic regarding digital religion?
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Friday 8 September, 2023, -Paper short abstract:
This paper will use the example of Iranian Christian exile churches to demonstrate what benefits digitalisation offers for transnational religious communities with a history of forced displacement.
Paper long abstract:
Long before the COVID 19 pandemic already, Iranian Christian exile churches have made ample use of platforms like Zoom to move their religious activities online. Alongside the opportunity to keep in touch with co-religionists in their country of origin, the cyberspace offers them the means for a transnational integration of the Iranian Christian diaspora. By carrying out “media ministry”, pastors and church leaders also aim to reach potential converts who are enabled to passively take part in the services, irrespective of their geographic location.
This paper will first provide a historic contextualisation explaining the factors that have led to the emergence of a steadily growing Iranian Evangelical Christian exile community. It will then point to the “Persian Christian Community Church”, an umbrella organisation of Persian-speaking diaspora churches located in at least 17 countries, to exemplify the benefits that digitalisation offers religious actors in exile. Finally, the paper will demonstrate how Iranian Christian leaders abroad use the cyberspace to train individuals inside Iran as pastors and ministers who then serve in the persisting house church network of Persian-speaking Christians in the country.
Paper short abstract:
This paper discusses, based on qualitative research on an evangelical group in Switzerland, how media scandals forced the group to withdraw from the physical public and move its activities to the digital sphere, thereby modifying its structure and content.
Paper long abstract:
In 1999, Ivo Sasek founded the Organic Christ Generation (OCG), an evangelical congregation in Switzerland. After Sasek had publicly advocated for the corporal punishment of children, the OCG received an array of excoriating media coverage. In the course of this, the founder also came under scrutiny for the allegedly exploitative treatment of his followers. Thereupon, Sasek started his own media platforms to counter the negative reporting, elevating himself as a fighter for truth and justice. These online media outlets, operated by his congregators, have reached an audience beyond his initial following and particularly gained momentum amongst those who agree with his anti-media and anti-government stance. Subsequently, general repercussions against Sasek extended beyond unfavourable press: Event locations were no longer rented to him, and banks refused to grant loans. Hence, large-scale public meetings were no longer possible, further increasing Sasek’s shift to a far-reaching online presence long before the Covid-19-pandemic.
First, this paper discusses the conditions that allowed Sasek’s media outlets to become the figureheads of a controversial religious organisation in Switzerland. Second, the media outlets and their online content are examined. The analysis reveals how alternative spiritual ideas and conspiracy theories have influenced the formerly evangelical teachings by moving them to digital platforms. Finally, attention is drawn to the changes in OCG’s organisational structure, moving from a community to a network of like-minded believers, which has increased the reach of Sasek’s organisation. Therefore, this case study offers a distinct view on religious groups’ online possibilities centring on a shift enforced by external pressure but at a slower pace than pandemic-related restrictions on face-to-face interaction.
Paper short abstract:
In my presentation, I will explore recent changes in the modes of belonging to evangelical megachurches through the use of Zoom and other digital formats. I will show how my case study uses a rhetoric of “going beyond a building” to position itself in the evangelical field.
Paper long abstract:
In recent years, due to digitalization, believers’ changing “consumer behaviors”, and the Covid-19 pandemic, modes of belonging to evangelical churches have changed profoundly. The Seattle-based megachurch “Churchome” is a good example: In 2019, the previously named “City Church” decided to stream all its services online, build an app where people could pray for each other and chat with pastors, and offer its house groups the option to meet via Zoom. Church, as the name change to “Churchome” was supposed to illustrate, could and should be done from home. To them, “going beyond a building” is not only a convenient way to meet during a lockdown or with fellow believers in other countries but also something that God has intended. This has led to an entangled online-offline structure, a global network of digital groups, and many people who consider themselves active church members without ever having been to a physical Churchome location.
In my presentation, I will draw on Churchome as a case study to explore recent changes in the modes of belonging to non-denominational megachurches in the US. I will use material from interviews with both pastors and church members, participant observation of services and small groups, and an analysis of sermons. First, I will trace how Churchome’s new digital formats relate to broader developments and recent political alignments in the evangelical field and to changes in how believers perceive and choose churches to belong to and how they practice their faith. Second, I will examine how Churchome uses theological terms to legitimize and promote its digital formats. Combining both aspects, I will show that Churchome uses a theological rhetoric of “going beyond a building” to position itself in the evangelical field and to strengthen its identity as a “progressive” evangelical church.
Paper short abstract:
Besides globalising dynamics, the emergence of online social media created opportunities for Muslim content creators in Hungary. Social media empowers Muslim individuals, particularly women, who otherwise may not have the ability to play such a visible role in Muslim communities in Hungary.
Paper long abstract:
The advent of the internet and social media changed the way Muslims in Europe experience their religion and Hungarian Muslims are no exception. With the emergence of various online spaces, other channels of communication, such as printed magazines and journals, gradually ceased to exist. This paper shows how social media changed the way Hungarian Muslims experience and practice their religion with the help of online presence. The paper uncovers various online spaces where practicing Muslims including converts can turn to for information about Islam. It will demonstrate the competition of Muslim content creators for Hungarian Muslim audiences. It will also shed light on the way established Muslim communities, including Muslim churches, attempt to carve out their own online presence besides Muslim influencers. The paper will argue that social media empowers Muslim individuals, particularly women, who otherwise may not have the ability to play such a visible role in Muslim communities in Hungary. For this the paper will use qualitative content and discourse analysis of relevant online sources. By taking a look at a number of Muslim influencers, the paper will address the question of how social media helps to create a Hungarian Muslim space in an interconnected and globalized world.
Paper short abstract:
This presentation shows an analysis of the activities of an online Facebook-group, which serves as a connection point for participants of the Hungarian music festival, Fekete Zaj. The research question is whether an online platform can be an extension of an event-based, real-life "spiritual space".
Paper long abstract:
Many scholars have argued that event-based communities bear a lot of religious and spiritual characteristics through a collective, ritualistic experience (Olaveson 2004; St John and Gauthier 2015; Lucia 2020). Can an online platform be the extension of this “spiritual space” that a real-life event creates? (Pike 2022)
From a sociological perspective, it is interesting to see how whole communities are formed in the online world, especially when the personal encounters are temporary and ephemeral, such as a festival.
I followed the activities of a Facebook group of a music festival (Fekete Zaj, Hungary) I previously conducted empirical fieldwork on. My research question was how people stay connected and stay in the community after the temporary event ended. In contemporary times it is easier to stay updated and keep connection after such an event in the digital world.
The participants did not only use the online platform to share their programmes, concerts, and other similar events that were organised during the year, but also supported each other mentally after the 'post-event blues' that many have experienced. By sharing photos, posting stories they have lived through at the festival, and keeping contact, the participants created an online community and supported each other. A short online survey showed that most of the participants struggled of getting back to their daily lives after the event, and one of the coping mechanisms was to re-live some moments of the festival through this joint Facebook group. In this presentation, I will show the results of my analysis of the group activities, arguing that an online platform can be a space for keeping spiritual connection.