Digital theology or cybertheology is the study of the relationship between
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
and the
digital technology Digital technology may refer to:
* Application of digital electronics
* Any significant piece of knowledge from information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange a ...
.
Terminology
In Catholic discourse, the more dominant term has been cybertheology. There has also been the yearly Theocom symposium since 2012 at
Santa Clara University, which has explored topics related to theology and digital communications.
In more recent discourse related to
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
and
digital religion, some scholars have begun to use the term "digital theology." They identify four kinds of digital theology:
# Digital technology as a pedagogical tool to teach theology
# Digital technology that opens new methods for theological research
# Theological reflection on digitality or digital culture
# The reappraisal and critique of digitality based on
theological ethics
They also suggest a fifth aspect of digital theology, which offers a more integrated yet critical use of digital technology in the study of theology and religious belief and practice.
However, as digital theology is a burgeoning field, much of the literature has been critiqued as having a poor understanding of technology and digital culture.
Digital church
Much of the research on digital theology relates to
church communities online. Some studies have explored churches which only have online existence, whereas others explore the relationship between how people connect through online and offline communities. Often the conversation is around the nature of Christian worship and how it changes when in an online format.
In the midst of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, many churches have needed to implement social distancing measures and make choices to run services online. However, these decisions were often made quite haphazardly and for practical reasons, as opposed to more considered choices about the implications of digitizing church services. This has resulted in growing revived discussions around what it means to be a church and what being socially distant and being online does to
ecclesiology
In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church (congregation), Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its ecclesiastical polity, polity, its Church discipline, discipline, its escha ...
.
See also
Douglas Groothuis
Douglas R. Groothuis ( ; born January 3, 1957) is professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary. Groothuis was a campus pastor for twelve years prior to obtaining a position as an associate professor of philosophy of religion and ethics at Denver S ...
References
Digital humanities
Theology
{{Christian-theology-stub