The Digital Evangelicals: Contesting Authority and Authenticity After the New Media Turn

The internet is both a refuge and a threat for evangelical Christianity, with social media, podcasts, blogs, and digital Bibles providing new arenas for debate about social and religious boundaries, theological and ecclesial orthodoxy, and the internet's inherent danger and value. Travis Warren Cooper's book "The Digital Evangelicals" explores how Protestant metaphors and discourses shaped the emergence of the internet and explores what this relationship with global new media means for evangelicalism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 378 pages
Publication date: 02 August 2022
Publisher: Indiana University Press

The internet serves as both a sanctuary and a hazard in the realm of evangelical Christianity. It provides a platform for hosting Zoom prayer groups, religious revolutions, and amusing cat videos. Social media platforms, podcasts, blogs, and digital Bibles have emerged as new arenas for discussing social and religious boundaries, theological and ecclesial orthodoxy, and the inherent dangers and values of the internet.

In his book, "The Digital Evangelicals," Travis Warren Cooper explores evangelicalism as a media phenomenon rather than a cohesive religious tradition. He focuses on the interwoven narratives of evangelical Christianity and emerging digital culture in the United States. Two dominant media traditions are identified: media sincerity, which emphasizes immediate and direct interpersonal communication, and media promiscuity, which aims to extend the Christian community regardless of physical distance.

Cooper's work is informed by extensive ethnographic fieldwork, and he traces these conflicting paradigms from the Protestant Reformation to the rise of the digital era. He argues that this tension is culminating in a crisis of evangelical authority. The book delves into questions such as what constitutes authentic interaction and who holds authority over the circulation of information.

While many studies have examined the impact of technology on religion, "The Digital Evangelicals" goes beyond that to reveal how Protestant metaphors and discourses shaped the emergence of the internet. It explores the relationship between evangelicalism and global new media, raising important implications for the future of this religious movement.

Weight: 581g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780253062260