When Facebook Becomes Faithbook: Exploring Religious Communication in a Social Media Context

Åhman, Henrik; Thorén, Claes

doi:10.1177/20563051211041644

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…Some authors emphasize the benefits of integrating social media into RE as an enhancement compared to traditional instruction, predicting potential improvements in student achievements (Minarti et al 2023, p. 287). Åhman and Thorén (2021) wrote about the positive, functional and non-threatening effect of Facebook within religious communication in the Church of Sweden. They considered the positive outcome of using social media in the Church as "levelling hierarchies and including more people into a process through which they can voice their different opinions in a democratic manner" (p. 10).…”

Section: Teaching Suggestions For Re Teachersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Education as a Platform for Pupils’ Social Development and Prevention of Internet Addiction: The Case of Slovakia

Niklová,

Hanesová

2024

Religions

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The authors present changes in the content and teaching methods of religious education (RE) in the third decade of the 21st century, as proposed by the current curricular reform of compulsory education in Slovakia. First, they analyse the reform documents in terms of social competence development as one of the RE content requirements. Second, they seek a teaching methodology that applies a balanced approach to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) while protecting RE pupils and their building of healthy human relationships from the potential threat of digital addiction. The authors based their teaching ideas on the findings from their research. To explore the relationship between addictive Internet behaviour and social intelligence, they used a questionnaire including the Internet Addiction Test and the TSIS Scale. The Mann–Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. Data on 386 adolescent respondents revealed a statistically significant difference between males and females in social awareness, with males performing significantly better. A weak positive relationship (ρ = 0.240) was identified between social awareness and addictive Internet behaviour. In the discussion, the authors suggest teaching methods for developing social competence via RE without resisting the opportunities provided by ICT, while also avoiding an increase in the risk of online social media addiction. They suggest that even denominational RE should prioritize cultivating healthy relationships not only with God but also relationships with other people, the outside world, and oneself.

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Section: Teaching Suggestions For Re Teachersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religious Education as a Platform for Pupils’ Social Development and Prevention of Internet Addiction: The Case of Slovakia

Niklová,

Hanesová

2024

Religions

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“…Journal of Media and Religion Studies 2022; Wolf et al, 2022). Furthermore, more specialized inquiries provide insights into the execution of religious rituals through social media platforms (Åhman & Thorén, 2021;Anwar & Mujib, 2022;Eken, 2020;Ferguson et al, 2021). However, the predominant trend in recent years within digital ritual studies in DRS has been an exploration of how religions grapple with the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Ben-Lulu, 2021;Cornejo-Valle and Martin-Andino, 2023;Huygens, 2021;Jacobi et al, 2022;Kapoor et al, 2022;Lorea, 2020).…”

Section: Medi̇admentioning

confidence: 99%

Framing the Study of Digital Religion: Waves of Academic Research, Theoretical Approaches and Themes

ERGEN

2023

Medya Ve Din Araştırmaları Dergisi

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The phenomenon of “digital religion” has emerged as a research field over the past quarter century as religious experiences integrate into the digital sphere. Within this field, researchers have adopted various theoretical frameworks and empirical methodologies to illuminate the complex dynamics that arise from the interaction between digital culture and religion. However, the existing literature on this topic is characterized by fragmentation, which makes a comprehensive understanding of its trajectory difficult. This fragmentation is particularly noticeable in the absence of a coherent narrative that outlines the field’s development. This study aims to provide a scholarly framework for understanding the trajectory of Digital Religion Studies (DRSs), encompassing successive waves of academic research, theoretical paradigms, and thematic foci. This study provides a qualitative assessment of existing literature on the relationship between digital culture and religion through a comprehensive review. A thorough literature review reveals that research in the field of digital religion can be classified into four distinct phases: descriptive, categorical, theoretical, and integrative. The prominent theoretical frameworks that have emerged media ecology, mediation, mediatization, religious-social shaping of technology (RSST), and hypermediation. Finally, the thematic categorization of research primarily revolves around topics, such as rituals, authenticity, identity, community, authority, and embodiment.

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“…The Church of Norway is the only church that publishes regular worship on Facebook. An emerging ritual behaviour on Facebook is to show acknowledgement and indicate participation through emojis and short comments (Åhman and Thorèn 2021). Worships on Facebook generate little user interaction (CoN Facebook 29 Nov, 6 Dec, 19 Dec, 24 Dec, 25 Dec, and 26 Dec 2020, and 1 Jan, 3 Jan, and 9 Jan 2021).…”

Section: Regular and Vicarious Religionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecclesial Online Identities during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Johnsen

2023

Temenos

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The majority churches in Europe are paradoxically considered to be both powerful and weak religious institutions. Their complex position in secular society makes it important for them to communicate who they are to the public. The Covid-19 pandemic was a situation in which churches and other religious institutions were ‘forced’ to use digital media as a primary arena of outreach. This article investigates how three Scandinavian majority churches negotiated their ecclesial identities on Facebook during 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic. The following question is explored: did ‘online’ enactments represent their religious identities and core values in new ways to the public? The data material consists of material from the official Facebook pages of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark (the ELCD), the Church of Norway, and the Church of Sweden, as well as interviews with Facebook editors from each church. The study demonstrates how the Church of Norway and the Church of Sweden enact church practices on Facebook, while the ELCD tries not to be too ‘churchy’. Facebook emerges as a hybridized third space where Scandinavian majority churches pursue new logics and forms of meaning making to retain their position in secular societies. Overall, the churches’ online identities on Facebook are not new representations but intensified versions of their distinct offline identities as ‘folk churches’ for the whole population.

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When Facebook Becomes Faithbook: Exploring Religious Communication in a Social Media Context

Cited by 6 publications

References 41 publications

Religious Education as a Platform for Pupils’ Social Development and Prevention of Internet Addiction: The Case of Slovakia

Religious Education as a Platform for Pupils’ Social Development and Prevention of Internet Addiction: The Case of Slovakia

Framing the Study of Digital Religion: Waves of Academic Research, Theoretical Approaches and Themes

Ecclesial Online Identities during the Covid-19 Pandemic

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