Graphic featuring the covers of the four books in the Four Books essay

Four Books on Digital Theology

By Ilona Nord

What exactly is digital theology? Sounds like a trendy term without having theoretical depth? By looking closely at four recent books located in this emerging field, it becomes apparent that digital theology is an international, interdisciplinary, and interdenominational undertaking that is dedicated to the constructive critique of the impact of digital technologies on churches. Digital Theology is therefore focused on contemporary ecclesiology, the study of the practices of the church, and seeks to understand how digital technologies and spaces have become transformational.

The selected books draw conclusions from the Covid 19 pandemic, which pushed digitalization worldwide in the church communication. The authors of these empirical and conceptual studies come from the fields of theology, religious studies, media and communications, and computer science. They often have dual qualifications, which from a technical point of view makes their religion-related contributions very realistic.

Ecclesiology for a Digital Church: Theological Reflections on a New Normal (SCM Press, 2022)

First, the work of Heidi A Campbell, here together with John Dyer, has succeeded in providing a clear programmatic overview of this new area with their anthology Ecclesiology for a Digital Church: Theological Reflections on a New Normal (SCM, 2022). The book theorizes about the digital church, collects and systematizes research results on churches during pandemic lockdowns, and offers New Digital Practices for the Future Church. It makes clear that the digital church has existed for many years, and also illustrates how theological reflection helps guide the digital transformation of communication and economic structures that is already taking place within churches. Theological criticism and work on a better future are closely related. Following Paul Tillich, the church can be understood in a principally participatory way, which follows from an anthropological conviction deeply rooted in the Reformation: It is always only the people themselves, in their dignity and vulnerability, who constitute the church (Schlag, Müller, 81). Therefore, the question arises more urgently than ever, when and how is a church suitable for children and young people will get on its way, which naturally includes digital communication (Kate Ott, 142ff.). Campbell and Dyer realitistically speak of the future church as hybrid. It will come to a truly hybrid church experience, “one that offers a range of online, offline and blended fellowship and outreach activities” (172).

Church after the Corona Pandemic: Consequences for Worship and Theology (Springer, 2023)

Next, the volume Church after the Corona Pandemic: Consequences for Worship and Theology (Springer, 2023), edited by Kyle K. Schiefelbein-Guerra, gathers also essays on digital theology. This is now explicitly done from the perspective of pandemic-affected ministries. It is an intensely reflective book about church practices that is structured according to the four-fold pattern of the historic Western Christian mass structure of worship, which is gathering, word, meal and sending. Instructive is also the use  of a strategic planning and management technique called SWOT-Analysis (identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) as a tool for process optimization within the church organizations. The objective is to inquire about what endures within the realm of digital practices post-pandemic. These contributions can be read as testimonies of faith for a global Lutheran church and exemplify how to live the gospel. It is fascinating to see how churches in the Global South have long used digital communication to share their stories around the world and thus achieve connectedness with one another. Intercultural connectedness is not seen as a novelty or as a new digital networking norm, but as a necessity long rooted in tradition.

Minority Churches as Media Settlers: Negotiating Deep Mediatization (Oxford Academic, 2023)

The third book which is recommend here titles with Minority Churches as Media Settlers: Negotiating Deep Mediatization (Oxford Academic, 2023). It is an international research group documenting results on the question how minority churches are dealing with digital communication in a mediatized world. One of its further thesis is that media uses depend on the social status of a church, and it examines this claim by looking at the media uses of the Adventists in the UK and the Orthodox Church in Poland. Again, the research for this project took place during the pandemic.
This book shows that the churches already practice digital strategies, but they are not always perceived as such. Talking about media settlers makes it possible to show how and that the different organizations studied adopt strategies, pursuing their organizational goals across structural and contextual differences. Now the focus is not on possible uses of individual media formats, but on media ensembles. It becomes obvious that  the churches shape their media ensembles to fulfill their own goals. Maintaining authority and fostering the unity of the congregation are two of the most important strategic goals. This project offers instructive insights to a digital theology that also addresses organizational aspects of the church’s digital development und explores its selfunderstanding as a corporate actor.

Digital Theology: A Computer Science Perspective (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2021)

Finally Erkki Sutinen and Anthony-Paul Cooper’s volume Digital Theology: A Computer Science Perspective (Emerald Publishing Limited, 2021) calls for the integration of digital communication and competence into the heart of church life. They spell out role models and tasks for people working in the church in concrete terms through: what kind of competences a digital theologian needs? What are the markers of a digital congregation and digital parishioner? Thus, the authors rewrite common ecclesiological ideas with transformational intent and develop concrete digital solutions to facilitate communication between leaders, technical experts, and users of a physical place. Sutinen and Cooper try to take a visionary approach to the future of the church, they propose to establish digital theology living labs and bubbles by experimenting with technological solutions in the churches. Speaking of a plug-in chapel, which is the same like a hybrid church, they vote for a shared church by exploring digital presence. They bring the worldwide church very close to the faithful by organzing global devotions for ubuntu and have the idea of gamifying interfaith dialogue. Especially the last one, gamification, will surely come more in the future. 

Two things finally to categorize the sense of the four books for ecclesiology: Firstly, theology is reminded of a very old topic for it: the relationship between technology and creation and the question of the significance of human creativity, innovation and its ambivalences. Furthermore theology is at the same time challenged by a task which isn´t unknown at all: Negotiating with tradition and innovation. Secondly, if we take a simple differentiation of the concept of church, then it is described as a an organization, a community of believers, and a movement. On all three aspects of the church, these four volumes offer a treasure trove of reflections for a sustainable church in a digital world.