AGENDA RISET DIGITAL RELIGION DARI PERSPEKTIF KAJIAN MEDIA: SEBUAH TINJAUAN KONSEPTUAL
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51353/ffww6v20Keywords:
Digital religion; mediatization; mediation; religious-social shaping of technology; media ecologyAbstract
This article examines the conceptual landscape of digital religion studies through the perspective of media and communication research. Over the past two decades, digital religion has developed as an interdisciplinary field that explores how religious practices, identities, communities, and authorities are shaped within the convergence of online and offline spaces. This study employs a conceptual review method, a qualitative approach to literature review in which the researcher surveys various sources related to a perspective or theory and then formulates a conceptual map based on that exploration. The discussion highlights four theoretical frameworks commonly used by scholars with a media studies background: mediatization, mediation, social shaping of technology, and media ecology. Each framework provides a different lens on the interaction between digital media and religious practices—whether emphasizing technological determinism or human agency. The study also maps six key areas of digital religion research: authority, ritual, identity, community, embodiment, and the conceptualization of religion itself. Furthermore, it identifies two major issues for future inquiry. First, the increasingly blurred boundaries between digital and physical spaces call for research on hybrid environments where online and offline religious practices intertwine. Second, the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and immersive virtual reality raises profound ethical and cultural questions regarding the future of religion and human–technology relations. By situating digital religion within the framework of media studies, this article seeks to provide a foundation for scholars, particularly in Indonesia, to contribute to global discourse on religion in the digital era.References
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Castells, M. (2012). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the Internet Age. John Wiley & Sons.
Cheong, P. H. (2022). Authority. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 87–102). Routledge.
Dwifatma, A., & Beta, A. R. (2024). ‘Cadar Garis Lucu’ and the mediated political subjectivity of Muslim women in Indonesia. Asian Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2024.2320900
Efron, S. E., & Ravid, R. (2019). Writing the literature review: A practical guide. The Guilford Press.
Elsbach, K. D., & van Knippenberg, D. (2020). Creating high-impact literature reviews: An argument for ‘integrative reviews.’ Journal of Management Studies, 57(6), 1277–1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12581
Gafallo, M. F. Y., Iriansyah, A., & Adiansyah. (2022). Budaya Partisipasi dan Resistensi Komunitas Keagamaan di Media Sosial. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi Dan Media, 26(1), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.17933/jskm.2022.4902
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Grieve, G. P., Helland, C., & Singh, R. (2018). Digitalizing Tibet: A critical Buddhist reconditioning of Hjarvard’s mediatization theory. In K. Radde-Antweiler & X. Zeiler (Eds.), Mediatized Religion in Asia: Studies on Digital Media and Religion (pp. 139–161). Routledge.
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Helland, C., & Kienzl, L. (2022). Rituals. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 40–55). Routledge.
Hoover, S. M., & Echchaibi, N. (2023). Introduction: Media theory and the third spaces of digital religion. In N. Echchaibi & S. M. Hoover (Eds.), The third spaces of digital religion. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003048190-1
Hulland, J. (2020). Conceptual review papers: revisiting existing research to develop and refine theory. AMS Review, 10(1–2), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00168-7
Humeira, B., & Sarwono, B. (2019). Religious-social shaping of technology approach to internet use by an urban islamic group in Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 35(4), 69–82. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2019-3504-05
Hutchings, T. (2016). Augmented graves and virtual Bibles. In T. Hutchings & J. McKenzie (Eds.), Materiality and the study of religion: The stuff of the sacred (pp. 85–99). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315604787-6
Kinanti, D. N., & Widjanarko, P. (2023). Digital communication of ‘Aisyiyah during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communicatus: Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi, 7(2), 143–162. https://doi.org/10.15575/cjik.v7i2.21503
Lim, M. (2015). A CyberUrban Space odyssey: The spatiality of contemporary social movements. New Geographies, 07, 117–123.
Lövheim, M., & Lundmark, E. (2022). Identity. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 56–70). Routledge.
Lundby, K., & Evolvi, G. (2022). Theoretical frameworks for approaching religion and new media. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 233–249). Routledge.
Maulana, A. M. R. (2022). Agama Digital (Digital Religion) dan relevansinya terhadap Studi Agama Interdisipliner: Sebuah tinjauan literatur. At-Tafkir, 15(2), 162–183. https://doi.org/10.32505/at.v15i2.4821
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. McGraw-Hill Book.
Musa, B. A., & Ahmadu, I. M. (2012). New media, Wikifaith and Church brandversation: A media ecology perspective. In P. H. Cheong, C. Ess, P. Fischer-Nielsen, & S. Gelfgren (Eds.), Digital Religion, Social media and cculture: Perspectives, practices and futures (pp. 63–80). Lang.
Newton, J. H. (2008). Media ecology. In W. Donsbach (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of communication. John Wiley & Sons.
Nisa, E. F. (2018). Social media and the birth of an Islamic social movement: ODOJ (One Day One Juz) in contemporary Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 46(134), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2017.1416758
Rachmawati, F., Maulana, A. M. R., Harefa, R. R., & Zalfaa, N. (2024). The ethical implications of AI in expressing religious beliefs online: A restatement of the concept of religion. Proceeding International Conference on Religion, Science and Education, 71–79. https://sunankalijaga.org/prosiding/index.php/icrse/article/view/1238
Radde-Antweiler, K. (2022). Embodiment. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 103–119). Routledge.
Reese, S. D. (2023). Writing the conceptual article: A practical guide. Digital Journalism, 11(7), 1195–1210. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.2009353
Scolari, C. A. (2012). Media ecology: Exploring the metaphor to expand the theory. Communication Theory, 22(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2012.01404.x
Setianto, Y. P. (2015). Mediatization of religion: How the Indonesian Muslim diasporas mediatized Islamic practices. Journal of Media and Religion, 14(4), 230–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348423.2015.1116268
Siuda, P. (2021). Mapping digital religion: Exploring the need for new typologies. Religions, 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12060373
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Solahudin, D., & Fakhruroji, M. (2020). Internet and Islamic learning practices in Indonesia: Social media, religious populism, and religious authority. Religions, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11010019
Tsuria, R., & Campbell, H. A. (2022). Introduction to the study of digital religion. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 1–21). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429295683-1
Turkle, S. (2017). Alone together: How we expect more from technologies and less freom each other. Basic Books.
Campbell, H. A. (2012). Introduction: The rise of the study of digital religion. In H. A. Campbell (Ed.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in new media worlds (pp. 1–21). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203084861
Campbell, H. A. (2023). The dynamic future of Digital Religion Studies. In M. Freudenberg, F. Elwert, T. Karis, M. Radermacher, & J. Schlamelcher (Eds.), Stepping back and looking ahead: Twelve years of studying religious contact at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Bochum (pp. 217–236). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004549319_009
Campbell, H. A., & Sheldon, Z. (2022). Community. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 71–86). Routledge.
Castells, M. (2012). Networks of outrage and hope: Social movements in the Internet Age. John Wiley & Sons.
Cheong, P. H. (2022). Authority. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 87–102). Routledge.
Dwifatma, A., & Beta, A. R. (2024). ‘Cadar Garis Lucu’ and the mediated political subjectivity of Muslim women in Indonesia. Asian Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2024.2320900
Efron, S. E., & Ravid, R. (2019). Writing the literature review: A practical guide. The Guilford Press.
Elsbach, K. D., & van Knippenberg, D. (2020). Creating high-impact literature reviews: An argument for ‘integrative reviews.’ Journal of Management Studies, 57(6), 1277–1289. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12581
Gafallo, M. F. Y., Iriansyah, A., & Adiansyah. (2022). Budaya Partisipasi dan Resistensi Komunitas Keagamaan di Media Sosial. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi Dan Media, 26(1), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.17933/jskm.2022.4902
Gelfgren, S. (2015). Why does the Archbishop not tweet? How social media challenge Church authorities. Nordicom Review, 36(1), 109–123. https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2015-0009
Grieve, G. P. (2022). Religion. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in Digital Media (2nd ed., pp. 25–39). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203084861-11
Grieve, G. P., Helland, C., & Singh, R. (2018). Digitalizing Tibet: A critical Buddhist reconditioning of Hjarvard’s mediatization theory. In K. Radde-Antweiler & X. Zeiler (Eds.), Mediatized Religion in Asia: Studies on Digital Media and Religion (pp. 139–161). Routledge.
Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. (2019). A first look at communication theory (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Helland, C. (2000). Online-Religion/Religion-Online and virtual communities. In J. K. Hadden & D. E. Cowan (Eds.), Religion on the Internet: Research prospects and promises (pp. 205–223). JAI Press.
Helland, C., & Kienzl, L. (2022). Rituals. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 40–55). Routledge.
Hoover, S. M., & Echchaibi, N. (2023). Introduction: Media theory and the third spaces of digital religion. In N. Echchaibi & S. M. Hoover (Eds.), The third spaces of digital religion. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003048190-1
Hulland, J. (2020). Conceptual review papers: revisiting existing research to develop and refine theory. AMS Review, 10(1–2), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00168-7
Humeira, B., & Sarwono, B. (2019). Religious-social shaping of technology approach to internet use by an urban islamic group in Indonesia. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication, 35(4), 69–82. https://doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2019-3504-05
Hutchings, T. (2016). Augmented graves and virtual Bibles. In T. Hutchings & J. McKenzie (Eds.), Materiality and the study of religion: The stuff of the sacred (pp. 85–99). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315604787-6
Kinanti, D. N., & Widjanarko, P. (2023). Digital communication of ‘Aisyiyah during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communicatus: Jurnal Ilmu Komunikasi, 7(2), 143–162. https://doi.org/10.15575/cjik.v7i2.21503
Lim, M. (2015). A CyberUrban Space odyssey: The spatiality of contemporary social movements. New Geographies, 07, 117–123.
Lövheim, M., & Lundmark, E. (2022). Identity. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 56–70). Routledge.
Lundby, K., & Evolvi, G. (2022). Theoretical frameworks for approaching religion and new media. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 233–249). Routledge.
Maulana, A. M. R. (2022). Agama Digital (Digital Religion) dan relevansinya terhadap Studi Agama Interdisipliner: Sebuah tinjauan literatur. At-Tafkir, 15(2), 162–183. https://doi.org/10.32505/at.v15i2.4821
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. McGraw-Hill Book.
Musa, B. A., & Ahmadu, I. M. (2012). New media, Wikifaith and Church brandversation: A media ecology perspective. In P. H. Cheong, C. Ess, P. Fischer-Nielsen, & S. Gelfgren (Eds.), Digital Religion, Social media and cculture: Perspectives, practices and futures (pp. 63–80). Lang.
Newton, J. H. (2008). Media ecology. In W. Donsbach (Ed.), The international encyclopedia of communication. John Wiley & Sons.
Nisa, E. F. (2018). Social media and the birth of an Islamic social movement: ODOJ (One Day One Juz) in contemporary Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 46(134), 24–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2017.1416758
Rachmawati, F., Maulana, A. M. R., Harefa, R. R., & Zalfaa, N. (2024). The ethical implications of AI in expressing religious beliefs online: A restatement of the concept of religion. Proceeding International Conference on Religion, Science and Education, 71–79. https://sunankalijaga.org/prosiding/index.php/icrse/article/view/1238
Radde-Antweiler, K. (2022). Embodiment. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 103–119). Routledge.
Reese, S. D. (2023). Writing the conceptual article: A practical guide. Digital Journalism, 11(7), 1195–1210. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.2009353
Scolari, C. A. (2012). Media ecology: Exploring the metaphor to expand the theory. Communication Theory, 22(2), 204–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2012.01404.x
Setianto, Y. P. (2015). Mediatization of religion: How the Indonesian Muslim diasporas mediatized Islamic practices. Journal of Media and Religion, 14(4), 230–244. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348423.2015.1116268
Siuda, P. (2021). Mapping digital religion: Exploring the need for new typologies. Religions, 12(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12060373
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Solahudin, D., & Fakhruroji, M. (2020). Internet and Islamic learning practices in Indonesia: Social media, religious populism, and religious authority. Religions, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11010019
Tsuria, R., & Campbell, H. A. (2022). Introduction to the study of digital religion. In H. A. Campbell & R. Tsuria (Eds.), Digital Religion: Understanding religious practice in digital media (2nd ed., pp. 1–21). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429295683-1
Turkle, S. (2017). Alone together: How we expect more from technologies and less freom each other. Basic Books.
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AGENDA RISET DIGITAL RELIGION DARI PERSPEKTIF KAJIAN MEDIA: SEBUAH TINJAUAN KONSEPTUAL. (2025). Konvergensi : Jurnal Ilmiah Ilmu Komunikasi, 6(2), 332-351. https://doi.org/10.51353/ffww6v20
