Religion(s) in an Age of Digitalization

Convened by

Elisabeth Tveito Johnsen
Senior Fellow 2025–2026

Thomas Schlag
URPP Digital Religion(s)

Details

Venue and accessibility info:
Meridian Hall, Collegium Helveticum, Schmelzbergstrasse 25, 8006 Zurich

This event is public, free-of-charge, and registration is not required.

This symposium organized in partnership with the URPP Digital Religion(s) brings together media scholars, theologians, sociologists, and scholars of religion to explore the implications of digitalization within religious institutions in Nordic countries and Switzerland. A central theme of the event will be both theoretical and empirical discussions on how digitalization relates to—and differs from—other major societal transformation processes, such as mediatization and marketization. The program features presentations, panels, and discussions that examine the intersections among these dynamics, providing a valuable forum for scholarly collaboration and networking.

Program

Approaching Digital Religion Beyond the Pandemic
November 11

Looking into the Future of Religions in a Digital Era
November 12

Speakers and Respondents

Jan Danko is a postdoctoral researcher in Sociology at the University of Zurich. As part of the interdisciplinary URPP Digital Religion(s), he investigates the governance structures of religious organizations in the context of digital transformation. His research interests lie in organizational sociology—particularly participation and democratic decision-making in the workplace—as well as in the sociology of digitalization.

Ulvi Doguoglu is lecturer in philosophy and research manager of the URPP Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zurich. His fields of interest include the intersections of epistemology, theories of emotions, and scientific practices.

Oliver Dürr is postdoctoral researcher at the URPP Digital Religion(s), working on the project Beyond Nature and Technology: Theological Anthropology in the Context of Digitalization.

Mark Eisenegger is Professor of Public Sphere and Society at the Department of Communication and Media Research (IKMZ), University of Zurich, and PI of the project Reputation Configuration of Religions in the Post-Digital Public Sphere within the URPP Digital Religion(s). His research interests include the digital transformation of the public sphere, media quality, and changes in organizational communication.

Stefan Gelfgren is Associate Professor of Sociology of Religion and senior lecturer in Didactics of Religion. His research concerns the relationship between social, technical, and religious transformations—both contemporary and historical—with a particular focus on the use and impact of digital media within Christian churches and denominations.

Elisabeth Tveito Johnsen is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Oslo. Her research interests include religion and non-religion in everyday life, both within established religious institutions and in secularly oriented spaces such as schools and media. Her current research explores how digitalization influences, shapes, and transforms religious practices, with a focus on the Scandinavian majority churches.

Frida Mannerfelt is Associate Professor of Practical Theology, currently employed as a postdoctoral researcher in bible, culture, and politics as part of the Scripture and Secularism project. Her research on Christian preaching and liturgy examines how these practices are influenced by digital culture, environments, and tools such as AI.

Mira Menzfeld is Co-PI in the URPP Digital Religion(s) subproject Exploring the Digital in Conspiracy Theories with Religious Elements, based at the Institute of Religious Studies, University of Zurich. Her research interests include Salafism—particularly the Madkhaliyya movement—emotion management strategies and their religious contextualizations, and ethnographic fieldwork with "extreme" interlocutor groups.

Sabrina Müller is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Bonn. Her teaching and research focus on digital, postcolonial, and feminist theologies, as well as church innovation. Müller has served as project leader in the interdisciplinary URPP Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zurich and works on topics such as religious influencing, spiritual apps, #digitalchurch, and digital theology.

Henrik Reintoft Christensen is Associate Professor in the Sociology of Religion, head of the Department for the Study of Religion at Aarhus University (DK), and Director of the Center for Contemporary Religion. His research focuses on the role of majority churches in Scandinavian societies, with particular attention to digital developments during and after the pandemic.

Rebekka Rieser is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, and Co-PI of the project Reputation Configuration of Religions in the Post-Digital Public Sphere within the URPP Digital Religion(s). Her research interests include digital religion, religious organizations, neo-institutionalism, religion and the public sphere, as well as quantitative and qualitative social research.

Thomas Schlag is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Zurich and Director of the interdisciplinary URPP Digital Religion(s). His research interests include the relationship between church, state, and civil society; practical theology from ethical and socio-political perspectives; as well as digitalization and theological communication practices.

Jan Segessenmann is doctoral student at the URPP Digital Religion(s) working on the project Beyond Nature and Technology: Theological Anthropology in the Context of Digitalization.

In partnership with

URPP Digital Religion(s)