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.