Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses preliminary results of three in-depth case studies in a Roman-Catholic Diocese, a Muslim and a Hindu community in Germany with insights to the engagement with digital technology in religious communities since the pandemics and its affects on the structures of religious life.

Paper long abstract:

This conference paper will present preliminary results of studies on the engagement of religious communities in Germany with dynamics of digital communication and representation since the covid-19-pandemic.

The digitization has led to processes of refiguration of religion (Knoblauch 2020). Structures of authority, decision-making and ritual order are challenged by new transformations of the structure of the public sphere (Habermas 2022). The social and political response to the pandemic forced religious communities to consider digital forms of religious gatherings and served as a catalyst for ongoing transformations. Religious communities that used to engage with technology on their own terms (Campbell 2010) had to decide between locking down, defying restrictions or adapting (to) digital technology.

The German sub-project conducted three in-depth case studies in the Roman-Catholic Diocese of Limburg (Hesse), a Muslim and a Hindu community in the region of Rhine-Main. Drawing from the preliminary results from these case studies this paper presents insights on how the social conditions brought on by the pandemic changed the structures of religious life and influenced the engagement with digital technology of these religious communities. These insights will inform a methodological reflection on the RSST approach by Heidi Campbell and hybrid ethnography.

Project ReCoVirA is supported by BMBF, Germany, under the CHANSE ERA-NET Co-fund programme, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, under Grand Agreement No 101004509.

Campbell, Heidi (2010): When religion meets new media: Routledge.

Habermas, Jürgen (2022): Ein neuer Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit und die deliberative Politik: Suhrkamp.

Knoblauch, Hubert (2020): Einleitung: Die Refiguration der Religion. In: Hubert Knoblauch (Hg.): Die Refiguration der Religion : Perspektiven der Religionssoziologie und Religionswissenschaft: Beltz Juventa, 7-28.