What does it mean to be church and congregation in digital spaces. That was the guiding question for the research project Church in digital space. The question concerns both theology and digital communication – and, above all, the interaction between the two. The purpose of the project has been to draw lessons from and develop knowledge based on congregations’ experiences of intensive work in digital media during periods of pandemic restrictions. The report presents research results that, among other things, deal with: sustainable presence in digital spaces; devotions and preaching in digital rooms and digital discussion groups. The report also provides a good insight into how academia and parishes can collaborate in joint learning. It can thus inspire those who wish to work with questions about being a church in digital spaces.
The research report is the result of a collaboration between the Diocese of Stockholm, University College Stockholm (UCS), and the church office of the Church of Sweden. Based on the experiences during the pandemic, doctoral students and researchers at UCS have carried out an action research project in seven parishes in the Stockholm diocese.
The editors for the report are Sara Garpe and Jonas Ideström.
Contributing authors: Tone Stangeland Kaufman, Frida Mannerfelt, Rikard Roitto, Simon Hallonsten, Jonas Ideström, and Sara Garpe.
Keywords: Digital theology, Digital ecclesiology, Theological action research, Theology and communication.