College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

6. “Only Connect!”: Networked Christianity in the Digital Age

​The sixth lecture of Professor David Hempton's Gifford Series.

Event details

Date: Thursday 14 October 2021, 5.30 - 6.30pm

The lecture may be followed by questions.  Latest finishing time is 7pm.

Venue: The Playfair Library, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL

Lecture abstract

We started this lecture series with two bookended revolutions, print in the 16th century, and the internet and social media in the late 20th century. 

How then is Christianity changing in the age of social media and international connectivity?

What social and cultural changes were already underway in the decades immediately preceding the internet revolution that have a direct bearing on the generations most affected by that revolution? 

What is the impact of new technologies and social media on the beliefs, practices, and ‘lived religion’ of Christian communities, organizations, and denominations?

Finally, to what extent has the internet helped develop global religious networks in which the directional flows of power and influence have begun to change from a North/South trajectory to the reverse?

Lecture video