Digital Social Dynamics of Spirituality. Spirituality and Religiosity in the Context of Digital Communication.
research areas
timeframe
2021 - 2024
contact
th.friemel@ikmz.uzh.ch
Digital Social Dynamics of Spirituality. Spirituality and Religiosity in the Context of Digital Communication.
Digitalization has changed everyday communication in many ways. The Corona pandemic has accelerated this change even further and made society aware of both the potential and the limits of digital communication. This applies not least to the topic of religion and spirituality.
In the project we are looking at the impact of digitization on communication and how this affects exchanges in religious communities as well as the Swiss population. We are interested in both individual spirituality and the social dynamics involved. The goal of this project is to understand how religious communities use digital media to perform the functions of meaning-making and “Vergemeinschaftung”.
- Vergemeinschaftung: Religion creates community through a basis of collective values, believes and practices
- Meaning-making: Through interpretive paradigms Religion/Spirituality creates a cognitive frame, including a system of believes and assumptions about the world and oneself as well as a personal value and goal system
Our research is intended to help harness the potential of digitization for religious communities, but also for the broader population. This can be expressed in individual spiritual well-being, an exchange within religious communities that is experienced as positive, but also in the respectful coexistence of different faiths.
Background
In the recent years different areas of life changed due to digitalisation. This change also applies to various functions of religion such as “Vergemeinschaftung” and the meaning-making, which rely on different forms of communication.
Research Questions
- How do members of practicing religious communities use digital media to fulfil functions of meaning-making and “Vergemeinschaftung”?
- How is spirituality expressed on online social networking platforms and to what extent can digital media fulfil the function meaning-making for individuals?
Project Aim
We aim to theoretical and empirical describe and analyse meaning-making and “Vergemeinschaftung” and their fulfilment through digital media in religious communities as well as on online social networking platforms.