Digitalization Theories and Approaches in Sociology of Religion

Abstract

The relationship between digitalization and religion is examined in a multidimensional way under various disciplines. The fact that the theoretical perspectives on the digitalization-religion interaction are scattered in the field makes it difficult for researchers to access data within their field. This study aims to overcome this difficulty; It tries to position the digitalization theories in the literature on the sociology of religion in the field and to clarify the boundaries of the digitalization-religion field. However, this study, which presents a general panorama of theories, does not cover all theoretical perspectives on the field of digitalization-religion. In light of current developments, this study classifies digitalization-religion theories as four basic theories and four smaller approaches that examined the subject within the framework of the main representatives and arguments of the theories with the documentation. The first of these is the "media ecology theory", which emphasizes the determinant of the media environment on the social structure; second, the "mediation theory", which sees the media as an opportunity for social institutions; third, “mediatization theory”, which focuses on the transformative effects of the digitalization process on the social structure at macro, meso, and micro levels; the fourth is the "negotiation theory", which synthesizes the previously expressed theories on the subject. It is possible to position these theories as the basic theories in the field. On the other hand, there are also smaller-scale approaches that read the phenomenon of religion through concepts such as "online religion", "game", "politics and law" and "self-presentation". Theories that examine the relationship between media and religion at the macro level have two tendencies as those that affirm this relationship and those that negate it; On the other hand, it is possible to say that the theories examining at the micro level tend towards more specific analyzes within the framework of the concepts of subject, context, and interaction. It is hoped that this study, which reveals the independent and interrelated aspects of these theoretical perspectives, will contribute to the field by clarifying the boundaries of the digitalization-religion field.

Keywords

• Sociology of Religion
• Digitalization
• Theories of Digitalization

Din Sosyolojisinde Dijitalleşme Teorileri ve Yaklaşımlar

Öz

Dijitalleşme ve din ilişkisi, çeşitli disiplinler altında çok boyutlu bir biçimde işlenmektedir. Dijitalleşme-din etkileşimine ilişkin ortaya konan teorik perspektiflerin alanda dağınık olarak yer alması, araştırmacıların kendi sahaları kapsamındaki verilere ulaşmasını zorlaştırmaktadır. Söz konusu zorluğu aşma amacını taşıyan bu çalışma; din sosyolojisi literatüründe yer alan dijitalleşme teorilerini alanda konumlandırmaya ve dijitalleşme-din sahasının sınırlarını belirginleştirmeye çalışmaktadır. Ancak teorilerin genel bir panoramasını sunan bu çalışma, dijitalleşme-din sahasına ilişkin tüm teorik perspektifleri kapsamamaktadır. Güncel gelişmeler ışığında dijitalleşme-din teorilerini temel dört teori ve daha küçük kapsamlı dört yaklaşım olarak sınıflayan bu çalışma; konuyu teorilerin başlıca temsilcileri ve temel argümanları çerçevesinde, dökümantasyon yöntemiyle incelemiştir. Bunlardan ilki, medya ortamının sosyal yapı üzerindeki belirleyiciliğini ön plana çıkaran “medya ekolojisi teorisi”; ikincisi, medyayı sosyal kurumlar için bir fırsat olarak değerlendiren “medyalaşma teorisi”; üçüncüsü, dijitalleşme sürecinin sosyal yapı üzerindeki makro, mezo ve mikro düzeydeki dönüştürücü etkilerine odaklanan “medyatikleşme teorisi”; dördüncüsü ise, konuya ilişkin daha önce ifade edilen teorileri sentezleyen “müzakere teorisi”dir. Bu teorileri, alanda yer edinmiş ana teoriler olarak konumlandırmak mümkündür. Öte yandan bunların dışında “çevrimiçi din”, “oyun”, “siyaset ve hukuk” ve “benlik sunumu” gibi kavramlar üzerinden din fenomenini okuyan daha küçük ölçekli yaklaşımlar da bulunmaktadır. Sonuç olarak medya ve din ilişkisini makro düzlemde inceleyen teorilerin, bu ilişkiyi olumlayanlar ve olumsuzlayanlar olarak temelde iki eğilime sahip olduğunu; mikro düzlemde inceleyen teorilerin ise özne, bağlam ve etkileşim kavramları çerçevesinde daha spesifik analizlere yöneldiğini söylemek mümkündür. Söz konusu teorik perspektiflerin, gerek bağımsız gerekse birbirleriyle ilişkili olan yönlerini ortaya koyan bu çalışmanın, dijitalleşme-din sahasının sınırlarını belirginleştirmesi açısından alana katkı sağlaması umulmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Din Sosyolojisi
• Dijitalleşme
• Dijitalleşme Teorileri
• Sociology of Religion
• Digitalization
• Theories of Digitalization

Kaynakça

1. Al-Azami (auth.), S. (2016). Religion in the media: A linguistic analysis (1. baskı). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.
2. Altun, F. (2006). Kutsal medya, kutsal çağ: McLuhan düşüncesini anlamaya katkı. Divan İlmi Araştırmalar Dergisi, 21(2), 63-88.
3. Berger, P. L. (2015). Kutsal şemsiye: Dinin sosyolojik teorisinin ana unsurları (5. Baskı; A. Coşkun, Çev.). İstanbul: Rağbet Yayınları.
4. Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1991). The social construction of reality (7. Baskı). London: Penguin Books.
5. Billig, M. (1995). Banal nationalism. London: Sage.
6. Bunt, G. R. (2000). Virtually Islamic: Computer-mediated communication and cyber Islamic environments. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
7. Bunt, G. R. (2003). Islam in the digital age: E-jihad, online fatwas and cyber Islamic environments. London: Pluto Press.
8. Callaway, K. (2010). Wii are inspirited: The transformation of home video consoles (and us). C. Detweiler (Ed.), Halos and avatars playing video games with God (ss. 75-88). Lousville: Westminster John Knox Press.

9. Campbell, H. A. (2005). Spiritualising the Internet: Uncovering discourses and narratives of religious Internet usage. Online—heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, 1(1), 1-26. https://doi.org/10.11588/heidok.00005824
10. Campbell, H. A. (2010a). Islamogaming: Digital dignity via alternative storytellers. C. Detweiler (Ed.), Halos and avatars playing video games with God (ss. 63-74). Lousville: Westminster John Knox Press.
11. Campbell, H. A. (2010b). When religion meets new media. London: Routledge.
12. Campbell, H. A. (2016). Surveying theoretical approaches within digital religion studies. New Media &Society, 19(1), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816649912
13. Campbell, H. A., & Garner, S. (2016). Networked theology: Negotiating faith in digital culture. Michigan: Baker Academic.
14. Castells, M. (2020). İnternet galaksisi: İnternet, iş dünyası ve toplum üzerine düşünceler (T. A. Hasdemir, Çev.). Ankara: Phoenix Yayınevi.
15. Cengiz, Ö. F. (2020). “Dindar” ve “oyuncu”: Beklenmedik iki alanın kesişimi ve dramaturjik yansımaları (Yüksek Lisans). Marmara Üniversitesi, İstanbul.
16. Cipriani, R. (2015). Sociology of religion: An historical introduction (Laura Ferrarotti, Çev.). New Bruncwick: Transaction Publishers.
17. Couldry, N., & Hepp, A. (2017). The mediated construction of reality. Cambridge: Polity Press.
18. Dereli, M. D. (2022). Din sosyolojisi araştırmalarında dijital yöntem ve teknikler: Bir çerçeve denemesi. Gümüşhane Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, 11(2), 446-485.
19. Detweiler, C. (2010). Introduction: Halos and avatars. C. Detweiler (Ed.), Halos and avatars: playing video games with God (ss. 1-16). Lousville: Westminster John Knox Press.
20. Evolvi, G. (2022). Religion and the internet: Digital religion, (Hyper)Mediated spaces, and materiality. Z Religion Ges Polit, (6), 9-25. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1007/s41682-021-00087-9
21. Faimau, G. (2007). “Click here for religion”: Self presentation of religion on the internet. Verbum SVD, 48, 135-147.
22. Floridi, L. (2015). The online manifesto: Being human in a hyperconnected era. New York: Springer.
23. Friesen, D. J. (2009). Thy kingdom connected. Michigan: Baker Books.
24. Garner, S. (2020). Digital theology: A proposal and the need for diverse voices. Cursor_ Zeitschrift Für Explorative Theologie. https://doi.org/10.21428/fb61f6aa.76c476d1
25. Garner, S. (2022). Theology and the new media. H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Ed.), Digital religion: understanding religious practise in digital media. London: Routledge.
26. Gelfgren, S., & Hutchings, T. (2014). The virtual construction of the sacred – Representation and fantasy in the architecture of second life churches. Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, 27(1), 59-73.
27. Gere, C. (2018). Unnatural theology: Religion, art, and media after the death of God. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
28. Gunning, J., & Baron, I. Z. (2014). Why occupy a square? People, protests and movements in the Egyptian Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press.
29. Haberli, M. (2014). Sanal din tarihsel, kuramsal ve pratik boyutlarıyla internet ve din. İstanbul: Açılım Kitap.
30. Haberli̇, M. (2020). Dijital din araştırmalarında konu ve yaklaşımlar. İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi, 9(2), 879-902. https://doi.org/10.15869/itobiad.729581
31. Hansen, C. (2010). From tekken to kill bill. C. Detweiler (Ed.), Halos and avatars: Playing video games with God (ss. 19-33). Lousville: Westminster John Knox Press.
32. Helland, C. (2005). Online religion as lived religion. Methodological issues in the study of religious participation on the internet. Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet.
33. Helland, C. (2014). Virtual religion: A case study of virtual Tibet. Oxford Handbook topics in religion. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935420.013.43
34. Helland, C. (2016). Digital religion. D. Yamane (Ed.), Handbook of religion and society (ss. 177-196). Springer.
35. Hepp, A. (2015). Medyatikleşen kültürler (Ç. Bozdağ & E. P. Devrani, Çev.). Ankara: Dipnot Yayınları.
36. Hepp, A. (2020). Deep mediatization. London: Routledge.
37. Hidayatullah, M. S. (2017). The sectarian ideology of the Islamic online media in Indonesia. Journal of Islam and Humanities, 1(2), 141-151.
38. Hjarvard, S. (2008). The mediatization of religion: A Theory of the media as agents of religious Change. Northern Lights, 6(1), 9-26. https://doi.org/10.1386/nl.6.1.9/1
39. Hjarvard, S. (2011). The mediatisation of religion: Theorising religion, media and social change. Culture and Religion, 12(2), 119-135. https://doi.org/10.1080/14755610.2011.579719
40. Hjarvard, S. (2012). Three forms of mediatized religion: Changing the public face of religion. S. Hjarvard & M. Lövheim (Ed.), Mediatization and religion: Nordic Perspectives (ss. 21-44). Göteborg: Nordicom.
41. Hjarvard, S. (2014). From mediation to mediatization: The institutionalization of new media. A. Hepp & F. Krotz (Ed.), Mediatized Worlds: Culture and society in a media age (ss. 123-139). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
42. Hoover, S. M. (2009). Complexities: The case of religious cultures. K. Lundby (Ed.), Mediatization: Concept, changes, consequences (ss. 123-138). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
43. Hoover, S. M., & Echchaibi, N. (2021). Introduction. media and religion: The global view. Berlin: De Gruyter.
44. Hutchings, T. (2012). Network theology Christian understandings of new media. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, 1(1).
45. Innis, H. (2008). The bias of communication (2. baskı). Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
46. Knott, K. (2005). The location of religion: Spatial analysis. London: Eqinox Publishing.
47. Krotz, F. (2014). Media, mediatization and mediatized worlds: A discussion of the basic concepts. A. Hepp & F. Krotz (Ed.), Mediatized worlds: Culture and society in a media age (ss. 72-87). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
48. Laughey, D. (2010). Medya çalışmaları: Teoriler ve yaklaşımlar (A. Toprak, Çev.). İstanbul: Kalkedon Yayıncılık.
49. Livingstone, S. (2009). On the mediation of everything: ICA presidental address 2008. Journal of Communication, 59, 1-18.
50. Lövheim, M. (2004). Intersecting identities: Young people, religion, and interaction on the internet. Uppsala Universitet Teologiska institutionen, Uppsala.
51. Lövheim, M. (2013a). Introduction: Gender – a blind spot in media, religion and culture? M. Lövheim (Ed.), Media, religion and gender: Key issues and new challenges (ss. 15-42). London: Routledge.
52. Lövheim, M. (2013b). Media and religion through the lens of feminist and gender theory. M. Lövheim (Ed.), Media, religion and gender: Key issues and new challenges (ss. 43-76). London: Routledge.
53. Lövheim, M. (2013c). Media, religion and gender: Key insights and future challenges. M. Lövheim (Ed.), Media, religion and gender: Key issues and new challenges (ss. 363-386). London: Routledge.
54. Lövheim, M. (2014). Mediatization and religion. K. Lundby (Ed.), Mediatization of communication (ss. 547-570). Berlin: De Gruyter.
55. Lövheim, M., & Axner, M. (2014). Mediatised religion and public spheres: Current approaches and new questions. K. Granholm, M. Moberg, & S. Sjö (Ed.), Religion, media and social change (ss. 38-53). London: Routledge.
56. Lövheim, M., & Hjarvard, S. (2019). The mediatized conditions of contemporary religion: Critical status and future directions. Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, 8(1), 206-225. https://doi.org/10.1163/21659214-00802002
57. Lundby, K. (2013). Media and transformations of religion. Religion across media: from early antiquity to late modernity (ss. 185-202). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
58. Lundby, K. (2016). Mediatization and secularization: Transformations of public service institutions – the case of Norway. Media, Culture, Society, 38(1), 28-36. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163443715615414
59. Lundby, K. (2017). Public religion in mediatized transformations. F. Engelstad, H. Larsen, J. Rogstad, & K. Steen-Johnsen (Ed.), Institutional change in the public sphere (ss. 241-263). Berlin: De Gruyter.
60. Lundby, K., & Evolvi, G. (2022). Theoretical frameworks for approaching religion and new media. H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Ed.), Digital religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (ss. 233-249). London: Routledge.
61. Lynch, G. (2011). What can we learn from the mediatisation of religion debate? Culture and Religion, 12 (2), 203-210. https://doi.org/10.1080/14755610.2011.579714
62. Martin-Barbero, J. (1993). Communication, culture and hegemony: From the media to mediations. London: Sage.
63. Martino, L. M. S. (2022). The Mediatization of Catholicism: Some challenges and remarks. E. H. D. Pinal (Ed.), Mediating Catholicism: Religion and media in global Catholic imaginaries. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
64. McLuhan, M. (1994). Understanding media: The extensions of man. Campridge: MIT Press.
65. McLuhan, M. (1999). The Medium and the light: Reflections on religion (E. McLuhan & J. Szkiarek, Ed.). Eugene: Wipf&Stock Publishers.
66. McLuhan, M. (2001). Gutenberg galaksisi: Tipografik insanın oluşumu (G. Çağalı Güven, Çev.). İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları.
67. McLuhan, M. (2011). The mechanical bride: Folklore of industrial man. London: Duckworth Overlook.
68. McLuhan, M., & Fiore, Q. (2005). Medium is the massage. Berkeley: Gingko Press.
69. McLuhan, M., & McLuhan, E. (1992). Laws of media: The new science. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
70. McLuhan, M., & Powers, B. R. (1988). Global köy: 21. Yüzyılda yeryüzü yaşamında ve medyada meydana gelecek dönüşümler (B. Öcal Düzgören, Çev.). İstanbul: Scala Yayıncılık.
71. Meyer, B. (2011). Mediation and immediacy: Sensational forms, semiotic ideologies and the Question of the medium. Social Anthropology, 19(1), 23-39.
72. Meyer, B. (2020). Religion as mediation. Entangled Religions, 11(3). https://doi.org/doi.org/10.13154/er.11.2020.8
73. Meyer, B., & Moors, A. (2005). Introduction. Religion, Media, And the Public Sphere. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
74. Meyer, B., & Stordalen, T. (2016). Introduction:Figurations and sensations of the unseen in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Figurations and sensations of the unseen in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Contested desires (ss. 1-18). London: Bloomsbury Collection.
75. Meyrowitz, J. (1985). No sense of place: The impact of electronic media on social behavior. New York: Oxford University Press.
76. Meyrowitz, J. (2006). Images of media: Hidden ferment -and harmony-in the field. Journal of Communication, 43(3), 55-66. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01276.x
77. Meyrowitz, J. (2009). Medium theory: An alternative to the dominant paradigm of media effects. R. L. Nabi & M. B. Oliver (Ed.), The sage handbook of media processes and effects (ss. 517-530). Los Angeles: Sage.
78. Molinaro, M., McLuhan, C., & Toye, W. (Ed.). (1987). Letters of Marshal McLuhan. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
79. Morgan, D. (2016). Material analysis and the study of religion. T. Hutchings & J. McKenzie (Ed.), Materiality and the study of religion: The Stuff of the Sacred (ss. 14-32). New York: Routledge.
80. Oxford Wordpower Dictionary. (2012). J. Phillips (Ed.), English-English-Turkish. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
81. Postman, N. (1990). Televizyon: Öldüren eğlence (Gösteri çağında kamusal söylem) (O. Akınhay, Çev.). İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
82. Soja, E. (1996). Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and other real-and-imagined places. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
83. Thornton, P. M. (2010). The new cybersects: Popular religion, repression and resistance. E. J. Perry & M. Selden (Ed.), Chinese society: Change, conflict and resistance ( ss. 215-238). London: Routledge.
84. Thumim, N. (2012). Self representation and digital culture. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
85. Tufekci, Z. (2017). Twitter and tear gas: The power and fragility of networked protest. New Haven: Yale University Press.