Two or Three Gathered Online: Asian and European Responses to COVID-19 and the Digital Church
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid increase in the use of digital technology by Christian communities worldwide. This paper offers a cross-continental analysis of how churches in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) and Europe (the United Kingdom and Sweden) understand and choos...
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
[2020]
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| In: |
Studies in world christianity
Year: 2020, Volume: 26, Issue: 3, Pages: 298-318 |
| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia KBF British Isles KBM Asia ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Covid-19
B Digital church B Contextual Theology B Internet B Missio Dei B digital technology |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid increase in the use of digital technology by Christian communities worldwide. This paper offers a cross-continental analysis of how churches in Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) and Europe (the United Kingdom and Sweden) understand and choose to implement (or resist) online services or Mass. Undoubtedly, there are practical reasons behind differences which can be observed, such as the technological readiness found amongst church leadership and laity, and past experiences of public health crises, such as the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak. However, accompanying these developments are debates around the theological implications of digitising church ministries, and the general concern that the digital church is somehow not ‘church’ or, even, not ‘Christian’. Different contextual perspectives help us to understand that the digital church offers a new dimension of the church embodied and, therefore, one that has the potential to live out the missio Dei within and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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| ISSN: | 1750-0230 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Studies in world christianity
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3366/swc.2020.0311 |