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Networked Theology: Negotiating Faith in Digital Culture
2018 Clifford G. Christians Ethics Research Award
This informed theology of communication and media analyzes how we consume new media and technologies and discusses the impact on our social and religious lives. Combining expertise in religion online, theology, and technology, the authors synthesize scholarly work on religion and the internet for a nonspecialist audience. They show that both media studies and theology offer important resources for helping Christians engage in a thoughtful and faith-based critical evaluation of the effect of new media technologies on society, our lives, and the church.
This informed theology of communication and media analyzes how we consume new media and technologies and discusses the impact on our social and religious lives. Combining expertise in religion online, theology, and technology, the authors synthesize scholarly work on religion and the internet for a nonspecialist audience. They show that both media studies and theology offer important resources for helping Christians engage in a thoughtful and faith-based critical evaluation of the effect of new media technologies on society, our lives, and the church.
186 pages, Paperback
Published September 20, 2016
28 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Heidi A. Campbell
18 books8 followersHeidi A. Campbell is Professor of Communication, affiliate faculty in Religious Studies and a Presidential Impact Fellow at Texas A&M University. She is also director of the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies, and a founder of Digital Religion studies. Her research focuses on technology, religion and digital culture, with emphasis on Jewish, Muslim & Christian media negotiations. She is co-editor of Routledge’s Religion and Digital Culture book series and the Journal of Religion, Media & Digital Culture. She is author of over 100 articles and books including When Religion Meets New Media (2010), Digital Religion (2013, 2ⁿᵈ edition 2021) and Digital Creatives and the Rethinking Religious Authority (2021). She has been quoted in such outlets as the Houston Chronicle, USA Today, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, and on the BBC World Service. She also received the RCA Scholar of the Year Award and TAMU’s Transformational Teaching Award.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 11, 2022
This book has very useful and relevant information. It is a great reference book when looking into the inner components of online faith communities. However, I found it really hard to stay focused while reading
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November 16, 2022The author analyses how media studies and theology offer important resources for helping Christians engage in a thoughtful and faith-based critical evaluation of the effects of new media technologies on society, our lives, and the church.
“Networked Theology” gives helpful historical background on Christian’s responses to technology over the centuries, examines the philosophies behind accepting or rejecting certain technologies, and then to form a theology for a digital age.
The book serves as both an introduction to the terminology and big ideas in media and technology studies, attempting to open a dialogue between that field and the practical work of Christians. The authors hinted that, “much of the scholarly work on the intersection of new digital media and theology has taken one of two forms: either guides for Christians on how media should be used for purposes such as evangelism or worship, or appraisals of new media often often grounded in overly pessimistic or overly optimistic assumptions about the nature of new media and their potential religious and cultural impact “(16)). They also attempt to genuinely engage those categories with the theological and ethical impact of new media technology on society. In doing this, they argued for an interrogation of “how the use new media correlates with social and religious values “ (16), followed by a move to “construct a faith-based response to digital culture “ that takes into careful account “the revolutionary nature of new media “ (16). One of the authors’ key contributions is to remind their readers that digital technologies are more than just objects, but become whole environments in which people conduct their lives (35-37).
This book takes an almost entirely empirical approach to questions of digital technology and Christian practice. With a refreshing starting point of making “theology visible through the eyes of media studies and the network metaphor “ (12), the authors argue that theology is inherently networked. They explored this perspective by bringing the novice to this area of study up to speed by giving basic definitions of theology and new media, to ensure the readers understand their perspective and approach. Proceeding systematically, the authors description uncovers the nature of new media and suggests questions which need to be considered. What are the implications for the church if more people are living in augmented reality? If reality is a malleable concept, how should the church speak of Truth? If traditional logic matters not, how do we persuasively communicate? And how are the values of this new media culture shaping us? If interactivity is a norm and the freedom creativity with limited boundaries is the method, then how would theology look and sound differently? Ontologically, adapting one’s message to the audience takes on new dimensions. Interrogating what is normal and culturally preferable begins to take on new urgency. Doing these requires a thoughtful forefront of the attributes and values of digital life- which this book does well. Some of the narratives the authors used to drive home their points about how digital media complicates older patterns of Christian life may be over-elaborated- that a few thousands people in the world go to an online Anglican Church in Second Life (65-66) seems less culturally significant than that in the United States, where essentially everyone has internet and is completely accustomed to doing everything online, a 2015 Pew Research Center study found that half the population still goes to a church building at least once a month for worship.
The authors describe characteristics of networked religion, issues around the nature of the networked community, identity, merging and blurring practices, the irrelevance of authority, and the practice of multisite experiences emerge. Participating in this networked life comes with cost. Life online means giving up authorial ownership, offline living, communal authority, and privacy. This is a culture that is constantly in flux, mixing and re-mixing anything and everything. A culture where the expectations are that we will be in constant contact. A culture that assumes the individual “I” takes precedence over community. A culture where what I do online is not private and might be publicised. These are all conditions of this networked world.
The authors argue that people are taking their theology online with them, and they are discovering other stories and other practices, in the network which accords them new relationships in community that are flattened, less hierarchical and where geographical boundaries are crossed. Our neighbours are no longer easily defined, as digital relationships begin to trump spatial ones. Connectedness happens on screen. Barriers to entry are lowered if not removed, but because of the equalising effect, , appeals to authorities or orthodoxy are trivialised, and with freer assess safety becomes a concern. Traditions are mixed. The fluidity and fickleness of this community could easily lead to a loss of moral compass. While authors believe defining “neighbour” more broadly evidences an incarnational theology that goes beyond the immediately physical (92), I wonder how a message of Jesus’ incarnation is received when embodied presence is not central to online faith practice.
Once the characteristic assumptions are laid out, the authors address countermeasures that might need to be enacted. Despite the fact that the digital environment makes identifying who one’s neighbours are and where they they are found difficult, the authors believe a simple heuristic will empower appropriate use of technology: love God and love your neighbour.
Overall, the book makes the much needed argument for Christians communities to humbly and confidently question and engage with digital culture. The authors’ research is thorough, pulling from multiple disciplines and gathering in this one textbook earlier scholars’ investigation and insight with the topic, extending that research in valuable ways using biblical norms. In their exploration of the intersection of digital culture and theology, they refuse to encourage churches to take either an anti-cultural stance by ignoring this technological environment, nor do they succumb to an inevitable digital environment uncritically. The church must live out its beliefs and values in every areas of life, the authors emphasised.
Solomon Ekiyor
“Networked Theology” gives helpful historical background on Christian’s responses to technology over the centuries, examines the philosophies behind accepting or rejecting certain technologies, and then to form a theology for a digital age.
The book serves as both an introduction to the terminology and big ideas in media and technology studies, attempting to open a dialogue between that field and the practical work of Christians. The authors hinted that, “much of the scholarly work on the intersection of new digital media and theology has taken one of two forms: either guides for Christians on how media should be used for purposes such as evangelism or worship, or appraisals of new media often often grounded in overly pessimistic or overly optimistic assumptions about the nature of new media and their potential religious and cultural impact “(16)). They also attempt to genuinely engage those categories with the theological and ethical impact of new media technology on society. In doing this, they argued for an interrogation of “how the use new media correlates with social and religious values “ (16), followed by a move to “construct a faith-based response to digital culture “ that takes into careful account “the revolutionary nature of new media “ (16). One of the authors’ key contributions is to remind their readers that digital technologies are more than just objects, but become whole environments in which people conduct their lives (35-37).
This book takes an almost entirely empirical approach to questions of digital technology and Christian practice. With a refreshing starting point of making “theology visible through the eyes of media studies and the network metaphor “ (12), the authors argue that theology is inherently networked. They explored this perspective by bringing the novice to this area of study up to speed by giving basic definitions of theology and new media, to ensure the readers understand their perspective and approach. Proceeding systematically, the authors description uncovers the nature of new media and suggests questions which need to be considered. What are the implications for the church if more people are living in augmented reality? If reality is a malleable concept, how should the church speak of Truth? If traditional logic matters not, how do we persuasively communicate? And how are the values of this new media culture shaping us? If interactivity is a norm and the freedom creativity with limited boundaries is the method, then how would theology look and sound differently? Ontologically, adapting one’s message to the audience takes on new dimensions. Interrogating what is normal and culturally preferable begins to take on new urgency. Doing these requires a thoughtful forefront of the attributes and values of digital life- which this book does well. Some of the narratives the authors used to drive home their points about how digital media complicates older patterns of Christian life may be over-elaborated- that a few thousands people in the world go to an online Anglican Church in Second Life (65-66) seems less culturally significant than that in the United States, where essentially everyone has internet and is completely accustomed to doing everything online, a 2015 Pew Research Center study found that half the population still goes to a church building at least once a month for worship.
The authors describe characteristics of networked religion, issues around the nature of the networked community, identity, merging and blurring practices, the irrelevance of authority, and the practice of multisite experiences emerge. Participating in this networked life comes with cost. Life online means giving up authorial ownership, offline living, communal authority, and privacy. This is a culture that is constantly in flux, mixing and re-mixing anything and everything. A culture where the expectations are that we will be in constant contact. A culture that assumes the individual “I” takes precedence over community. A culture where what I do online is not private and might be publicised. These are all conditions of this networked world.
The authors argue that people are taking their theology online with them, and they are discovering other stories and other practices, in the network which accords them new relationships in community that are flattened, less hierarchical and where geographical boundaries are crossed. Our neighbours are no longer easily defined, as digital relationships begin to trump spatial ones. Connectedness happens on screen. Barriers to entry are lowered if not removed, but because of the equalising effect, , appeals to authorities or orthodoxy are trivialised, and with freer assess safety becomes a concern. Traditions are mixed. The fluidity and fickleness of this community could easily lead to a loss of moral compass. While authors believe defining “neighbour” more broadly evidences an incarnational theology that goes beyond the immediately physical (92), I wonder how a message of Jesus’ incarnation is received when embodied presence is not central to online faith practice.
Once the characteristic assumptions are laid out, the authors address countermeasures that might need to be enacted. Despite the fact that the digital environment makes identifying who one’s neighbours are and where they they are found difficult, the authors believe a simple heuristic will empower appropriate use of technology: love God and love your neighbour.
Overall, the book makes the much needed argument for Christians communities to humbly and confidently question and engage with digital culture. The authors’ research is thorough, pulling from multiple disciplines and gathering in this one textbook earlier scholars’ investigation and insight with the topic, extending that research in valuable ways using biblical norms. In their exploration of the intersection of digital culture and theology, they refuse to encourage churches to take either an anti-cultural stance by ignoring this technological environment, nor do they succumb to an inevitable digital environment uncritically. The church must live out its beliefs and values in every areas of life, the authors emphasised.
Solomon Ekiyor
November 2, 2019
Networked Theology by Heidi Campbell and Stephen Garner is an easy and compelling read. Written from a scholarly perspective though not in an overly scholarly style, the book is engaging, thought provoking and compels one to further reading if you are interested in technology and its impact on the Church and society. It is written as a synopsis of scholarly research along with reflection on certain insights drawn from the research previously summarized. In adopting this style the book synthesizes a lot of interesting information about new media from a Christian perspective.
In an era of tremendous internecine strife among professing Christians publicly played out on the internet and social media that for the most part does not bring glory to God, Networked Theology offers a perspective rooted in the commands to love God and love our neighbor that is timely and thoughtful.
While not a comprehensive theology of technology, Chapter 4 of the book could form the basis of a short series of parent/child; small group; Sunday school or (in Christian Private Schools) a part of theology class for the students. A quick look at behavior of Christians toward each other on social media and the internet will confirm that we are not as a group doing a very good job showing kindness toward each other and need to apply discernment as to what kind of message our behavior toward each other sends to the broader world for whom we are supposed to serve as living representatives of Christ.
While the book interacts with a variety of theological perspectives some of which any given reader may disagree with, it is fundamentally orthodox in its views as they relate to the subject matter of the book.
While I would have enjoyed an expanded section on the history of Christianity & technology and believe that the Bible itself has a lot more to say about technology and man’s relationship to it than is developed in the book I can heartily recommend this book to anyone looking for thoughtful reflection on how technology is impacting our world; churches and how we should interact with it.
As a suggestion, I believe this book could be done in the style of a “workbook” bible study which may facilitate embrace by small groups; Sunday school and Christian private school classes. The authors should consider asking the publisher to examine if they think there would be a good market for such an offering. I think there is a good chance the content reformatted in the style of an interactive study may find a larger market than the book in present form as educating Christians to interact with digital media in a way that is glorifying to God is critical and timely for our generation.
In an era of tremendous internecine strife among professing Christians publicly played out on the internet and social media that for the most part does not bring glory to God, Networked Theology offers a perspective rooted in the commands to love God and love our neighbor that is timely and thoughtful.
While not a comprehensive theology of technology, Chapter 4 of the book could form the basis of a short series of parent/child; small group; Sunday school or (in Christian Private Schools) a part of theology class for the students. A quick look at behavior of Christians toward each other on social media and the internet will confirm that we are not as a group doing a very good job showing kindness toward each other and need to apply discernment as to what kind of message our behavior toward each other sends to the broader world for whom we are supposed to serve as living representatives of Christ.
While the book interacts with a variety of theological perspectives some of which any given reader may disagree with, it is fundamentally orthodox in its views as they relate to the subject matter of the book.
While I would have enjoyed an expanded section on the history of Christianity & technology and believe that the Bible itself has a lot more to say about technology and man’s relationship to it than is developed in the book I can heartily recommend this book to anyone looking for thoughtful reflection on how technology is impacting our world; churches and how we should interact with it.
As a suggestion, I believe this book could be done in the style of a “workbook” bible study which may facilitate embrace by small groups; Sunday school and Christian private school classes. The authors should consider asking the publisher to examine if they think there would be a good market for such an offering. I think there is a good chance the content reformatted in the style of an interactive study may find a larger market than the book in present form as educating Christians to interact with digital media in a way that is glorifying to God is critical and timely for our generation.
March 5, 2020
One of the core propositions of this book is that the word "network" characteristically sums up the nature of the internet and the structure by which it's affecting society. It's an interesting proposition, and not one I'd thought about in exactly those terms before.
Of course, the internet is literally a network of devices (and of the people who use those devices), so it technically makes sense, but for most folks, I think that technical infrastructure of the internet operates two or three layers deeper than they function within. Since it is not a part of their daily experience of being online, it seems to me like a strange choice to make such a strong focus at the core of your book. It creates an unnecessary hurdle to overcome because, in addition to developing that model of network theology, you now have to help your readers understand why the network even makes sense in the context of their own lived experience.
This is one of the biggest shortcomings of Networked Theology, in my opinion. The authors clearly know the many angles of their subject matter well -- which is especially notable because their work occupies the unique intersection of online connection and theology -- but their message is muddled in a failure to understand their audience.
On the one hand, they spend a lot of time detailing the history and terms of media studies as if they are writing to a general audience; on the other hand, they continue to use jargon and an academic style that was often difficult for me to wade through, and I have two degrees in this exact subject matter!
The first half of the book lays a groundwork understanding of media theory, how the internet works, and how theological praxis is being impacted by the increasing use of networked tools. The second half builds on that framework by exploring questions like "Who is my neighbor in an online context?" and "How can Christians use technology responsibly?" Unfortunately, while their responses to those questions are well-formed, they are not particularly novel, and they seem to me to be so abstract as to be mostly unhelpful.
It would have been more useful for them to narrow their focus into a particular area of new media and examine that area's application to the Church -- for example, if they would have considered how Christian communities could use video streaming to enrich their sense of community connectedness. Instead, the broad approach in this book only gives us practical ideas that feel incohesive and difficult to apply.
Of course, the internet is literally a network of devices (and of the people who use those devices), so it technically makes sense, but for most folks, I think that technical infrastructure of the internet operates two or three layers deeper than they function within. Since it is not a part of their daily experience of being online, it seems to me like a strange choice to make such a strong focus at the core of your book. It creates an unnecessary hurdle to overcome because, in addition to developing that model of network theology, you now have to help your readers understand why the network even makes sense in the context of their own lived experience.
This is one of the biggest shortcomings of Networked Theology, in my opinion. The authors clearly know the many angles of their subject matter well -- which is especially notable because their work occupies the unique intersection of online connection and theology -- but their message is muddled in a failure to understand their audience.
On the one hand, they spend a lot of time detailing the history and terms of media studies as if they are writing to a general audience; on the other hand, they continue to use jargon and an academic style that was often difficult for me to wade through, and I have two degrees in this exact subject matter!
The first half of the book lays a groundwork understanding of media theory, how the internet works, and how theological praxis is being impacted by the increasing use of networked tools. The second half builds on that framework by exploring questions like "Who is my neighbor in an online context?" and "How can Christians use technology responsibly?" Unfortunately, while their responses to those questions are well-formed, they are not particularly novel, and they seem to me to be so abstract as to be mostly unhelpful.
It would have been more useful for them to narrow their focus into a particular area of new media and examine that area's application to the Church -- for example, if they would have considered how Christian communities could use video streaming to enrich their sense of community connectedness. Instead, the broad approach in this book only gives us practical ideas that feel incohesive and difficult to apply.
August 21, 2020
This was...a drag to get through. The authors' basic premise that as Christians, we need to think theologically about how to engage with technology is obviously sound, but I didn't need to wade through 200 pages of overly-academic speak in order to get that. As another reviewer mentioned, the authors went to great lengths to set up the metaphor/image of the network, but ultimately it didn't feel like it was integrated well into the rest of the book. They spend way too long talking about the theoretical need to think theologically about technology and what that theoretically entails (e.g. "identifying the teachings within Christianity that can serve as resources to help inform the ways we should think about technology..."), but VERY little time expounding on what they think those teachings are and how exactly they can inform the ways we should think about technology as Christians. They seem far more concerned with creating labels and categories for what they are doing ("networked theology" as "public theology," etc.) than with actually doing the thing. Hello, academia.
If I didn't have to read this for class, I'd have put it down long ago. It's not that the content is bad, it's just inaccessible, unfocused and much longer than needed. Their basic answer to the question of how we should engage with technology as faithful Christians: love your neighbor, act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Great, but it'd have been much more helpful if you gave concrete examples of what that looked like, rather than spend pages and pages justifying the need for that. Your audience understands that these are basic tenets of the Christian faith. We're already (hopefully) convinced of it. The big question is what it means to apply those things in practice, as it relates to technology, and this book didn't really help much with that.
If I didn't have to read this for class, I'd have put it down long ago. It's not that the content is bad, it's just inaccessible, unfocused and much longer than needed. Their basic answer to the question of how we should engage with technology as faithful Christians: love your neighbor, act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Great, but it'd have been much more helpful if you gave concrete examples of what that looked like, rather than spend pages and pages justifying the need for that. Your audience understands that these are basic tenets of the Christian faith. We're already (hopefully) convinced of it. The big question is what it means to apply those things in practice, as it relates to technology, and this book didn't really help much with that.
November 16, 2021
Just ... not a good book. I'll do my best to be very brief on the reasons why, but let me summarize the points below with this simple sentence: If you are interested in engaging culture for Christ, my suggestion is to read straight scripture and get a true theology book written by a true theologian.
1) This book basically resorts to encouraging the engagement of culture on the culture's terms. That automatically disqualifies it from being either Biblical or Evangelical. As Christians, we are called to transform culture by being salt and light in it, not bending ourselves into theological pretzels in order to conform to cultural relevance.
2) Campbell does a woeful job of 'engaging' (to use her term) actual, historical Christian theology. She seems much more comfortable reading into (eisegeting) scripture a need to engage the modern world on its terms, rather than starting with orthodox Christian doctrines (e.g. the imago Dei, original sin, the necessity of Christ for salvation, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the purpose of the church, etc.) and then applying them to what we see in modern culture.
3) If this book is supposed to be focused upon theology and faith being applied to a digital, modern world, then Campbell almost completely missed her primary source: the holy scriptures. Even in sections of the book which ostensibly were about theology or faith, few scriptural references were used and almost no examination of them in light of the entirety of the Bible was conducted.
4) In an obvious attempt at ecumenism, this book is quite milquetoast. As a result it says basically nothing of any use to anybody with standards of belief.
5) The book is simply not a compelling or interesting read.
1) This book basically resorts to encouraging the engagement of culture on the culture's terms. That automatically disqualifies it from being either Biblical or Evangelical. As Christians, we are called to transform culture by being salt and light in it, not bending ourselves into theological pretzels in order to conform to cultural relevance.
2) Campbell does a woeful job of 'engaging' (to use her term) actual, historical Christian theology. She seems much more comfortable reading into (eisegeting) scripture a need to engage the modern world on its terms, rather than starting with orthodox Christian doctrines (e.g. the imago Dei, original sin, the necessity of Christ for salvation, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, the purpose of the church, etc.) and then applying them to what we see in modern culture.
3) If this book is supposed to be focused upon theology and faith being applied to a digital, modern world, then Campbell almost completely missed her primary source: the holy scriptures. Even in sections of the book which ostensibly were about theology or faith, few scriptural references were used and almost no examination of them in light of the entirety of the Bible was conducted.
4) In an obvious attempt at ecumenism, this book is quite milquetoast. As a result it says basically nothing of any use to anybody with standards of belief.
5) The book is simply not a compelling or interesting read.
July 12, 2018
3.5/5 Stars
This book had the potential to be a huge must-read for Christians. The research is solid, the conclusions are significant, and the terms and classifications set forth are immensely helpful. And yet, despite the richness of the thoughts presented here, this book was an absolute pain to read. Yes, it’s meant to be an academic work, but it suffers from a higher-than-normal amount of academic verbiage that makes for a highly repetitive, unwieldy text. Were this to be repacked for a popular audience someday, I believe this book could be a game changer, but until then, it’s usefulness is limited to those capable of interacting with academic scholarship.
This book had the potential to be a huge must-read for Christians. The research is solid, the conclusions are significant, and the terms and classifications set forth are immensely helpful. And yet, despite the richness of the thoughts presented here, this book was an absolute pain to read. Yes, it’s meant to be an academic work, but it suffers from a higher-than-normal amount of academic verbiage that makes for a highly repetitive, unwieldy text. Were this to be repacked for a popular audience someday, I believe this book could be a game changer, but until then, it’s usefulness is limited to those capable of interacting with academic scholarship.
December 1, 2018
Important read for anyone working in religion today.
May 18, 2020
Good refection
on technology and Christian practice for a time when most interaction outside our own household is being conduction in online environments.
on technology and Christian practice for a time when most interaction outside our own household is being conduction in online environments.
October 4, 2016
An interesting book that takes the time to think through some of the philosophical and theological underpinnings of technology use by Christians. This book was a bit more theoretical and technical than I anticipated, and correspondingly less practical. I did appreciate the basic premise that every community responds to technology in one of three ways: technological optimism (technology is inherently good and will advance the condition of humanity), technological pessimism (which focuses on the dangers and drawbacks of new technologies), and what the book calls technological ambiguity, but what I think could be called technological pragmatism. This last view holds that technology is neither inherently good nor bad, but must be evaluated carefully and used selectively.
"Networked Theology" gives helpful historical background on Christian's responses to technology over the centuries, examines the philosophies behind accepting or rejecting certain technologies, and then attempts to form a theology for a digital age. One concern that I had here was that the authors seem to focus more on a social justice agenda than the gospel. While this book contains much helpful material, it is technical enough that it may only be worth reading for those who want to seriously examine their views of technology. "Networked Theology" is a good book overall, but not very accessible for the average reader.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. I was not required to give a positive review.
"Networked Theology" gives helpful historical background on Christian's responses to technology over the centuries, examines the philosophies behind accepting or rejecting certain technologies, and then attempts to form a theology for a digital age. One concern that I had here was that the authors seem to focus more on a social justice agenda than the gospel. While this book contains much helpful material, it is technical enough that it may only be worth reading for those who want to seriously examine their views of technology. "Networked Theology" is a good book overall, but not very accessible for the average reader.
I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. I was not required to give a positive review.
December 7, 2016
Literary quality of writing leaves quite a bit to be desired, but quality of academic legwork, thought, engagement with issues are good. Theology and history could be more grounded, but that would have led to a book double in length. Taken as it is, fairly thought provoking.
April 1, 2017
While the concept is worthy of your time for sure, I felt that the execution of it here was too dry and technical to help develop one's own theology of technology and digital culture. The authors built a framework but didn't fill it in, therefore leaving the ideas to ethereal to be helpful.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews