Berkeley Talks: How technology is transforming religion
"Creators and users are able to draw from existing religious doctrine, while also talking about God in really personal and sometimes unorthodox and surprising ways."
November 5, 2021
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In episode 127 of Berkeley Talks, a panel of scholars explore how digital technologies are changing how and when we practice religion, as well as our notions of religious community, religious doctrine and what it means to be religious.
“Unlike a book that is already written, the internet is kind of like a book that is constantly being rewritten by a collective of laypeople, each with their own unique experiences and perspectives,” said Kelsy Burke, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and author of Christians Under Covers: Evangelicals and Sexual Pleasure on the Internet. “I found that creators and users were able to draw from existing religious doctrine, while also talking about God in really personal and sometimes unorthodox and surprising ways.”
Panelists at the Nov 2. event included:
- Steven Barrie-Anthony, research associate at the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion
- Kelsy Burke, associate professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Erika Gault, assistant professor of Africana Studies from the University of Arizona
- Heather Mellquist Lehto, postdoctoral fellow with Arizona State University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict
- Moderated by Carolyn Chen, associate professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley
This event was part of the Matrix on Point series and was organized by Social Science Matrix and the Berkeley Center for the Study of Religion and co-sponsored by the Berkeley Center for New Media.
Listen to other episodes of Berkeley Talks: