About This Book

Clearly, religious organizations have, recently, accepted the fact that most of their members are digitally-savvy; many in leadership have, sometimes reluctantly, moved into the digital world.

However, many – if not most – religious leaders and thinkers still use digital messages to “inform” people, to deliver messages. What is needed, instead, is to truly appreciate the depths and significance of faith in the digital culture we all swim in. This deep appreciation of our digital world culture is often missing in church leadership and among theologians.

This volume of texts attempts to show the deeper dimensions of the integration of communication studies and digital technologies into religious thought and theology.

And to demonstrate the global nature of the new field known as Communication Theology (CT). Included here are reflections from: the United States; Europe (Rome, Hungary, Amsterdam, Germany, the UK); Asian locales (Viet Nam, India, the Philippines), as well as the African continent.

Communication and theology are examined from varied perspectives, among them:

…the formation of theologians… a self-communicating God… current challenges… recent work… cyber-theology… image, music, and storytelling… synodality… gameful learning… ethical reflections… religious authority and the Internet… pastoral ministry… anthropology… communication rights… theories of religion and media… changing cultures… biblical storytelling… and religion and TV history.

To conclude on a personal note. I value, especially, the learning I have been gifted with from some special individuals who have taught me, in person, while contributing to this field of thought: Hermann Pottmeyer, Bob Bonnot, Jose Palakeel, Paul Soukup, Walter Ong, Franz-Josef Eilers, Robert Schreiter, Mary Hess, Lynn Schofield Clark, Matthias Scharer, Brad Hinze, Tom and Amelia Boomershine and Robert White.

Four others, outside the field of Communication Theology, helped prepare me for this venture: Myroslav Marynovych, Bishop Pierre DuMaine, Michael Dempsey, and Olin J. Murdick.