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COVID 19 and the Digital Social – Implications for the...
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COVID 19 and the Digital Social – Implications for the Study of Digital Religion

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 September 2021) | Viewed by 11320

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Alphia Possamai-Inesedy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Penrith NSW 2751, Australia
Interests: risk society; religion; health; methodologies and digital methodologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This edited volume provides an overview on the current state of theoretical and methodological engagement with religion and belief systems in what Possamai-Inesedy and Nixon (2017, 2019) term the digital social. This is of special significance with the unique material and methodological challenges the global pandemic has presented to the social science researcher. Not only did the pandemic demand a massive transfer of religion and belief into the digital space, it also demanded rapid transition of research projects and innovative approaches to research design. In this special issue, clarity of the ethical and research design considerations that researchers have engaged with as well as the critical theoretical lens employed to understand the impacts of the pandemic on how religion is performed but also how it is shaped. The transformed social, and therefore religious, that has been experienced globally due to COVID-19 cannot be fully understood without recognising how the digital world actively shapes concepts such as social relationships, institutions, notions of trust and risk, emotion, and identity. The volume offers a snapshot of research into the social scientific study of religion and belief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prof. Dr. Alphia Possamai-Inesedy
Guest Editor

 

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digital religion
  • religion
  • belief
  • algorithmic power
  • ethics
  • digital social

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 5588 KiB  
Article
Religious Responses to Social Distancing Revealed through Memes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Heidi A. Campbell and Zachary Sheldon
Religions 2021, 12(9), 787; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12090787 - 20 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 10214
Abstract
This article examines the emotive narratives surrounding the “new normal” of social distancing practices during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as revealed by religion-focused Internet memes. In March 2020, many people were introduced to the concept of “social distancing” for [...] Read more.
This article examines the emotive narratives surrounding the “new normal” of social distancing practices during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as revealed by religion-focused Internet memes. In March 2020, many people were introduced to the concept of “social distancing” for the first time via news reports and media coverage of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic which led to the first lockdown. As the year progressed, social distancing discourse was combined with discussion of the practices of masking and quarantining, all of which became part of many countries’ normal routines as a public health management strategy. Over time, social distancing has become a widely used public health strategy impacting many social groups, including religious adherents and their places of worship. Memes became a discursive space where practices of social distancing and religious attitudes towards these practices were expressed and debated. By examining memes centered on American Christianity, this study reveals that memetic narratives in the early months of the pandemic indicate a positive framing of behaviors intended to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, and a negative framing of the attitudes of religious individuals and organizations who seem to privilege the cultural practices of their belief over the core values of the Christian faith. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue COVID 19 and the Digital Social – Implications for the Study of Digital Religion)
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