Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps
This paper centers on a fairly new phenomenon in digital religion: prayer apps. After an overview of their typical features, the paper will present a number of analytical perspectives on such apps, arguing that investing in theoretical work is needed, particularly in a young research field. Starting...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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CERES / KHK Bochum
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/8672 |
| _version_ | 1811281830389743616 |
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| author | Tim Karis |
| author_facet | Tim Karis |
| author_sort | Tim Karis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper centers on a fairly new phenomenon in digital religion: prayer apps. After an overview of their typical features, the paper will present a number of analytical perspectives on such apps, arguing that investing in theoretical work is needed, particularly in a young research field. Starting points are provided by Heidi Campbell’s four-layer model of religious authority, Michel Foucault’s concept of “technologies of the self,” Birgit Meyer’s understanding of religion as a practice of mediation, and by the conceptualization of the transcendence/immanence distinction developed at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Dynamics of the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe at the Center for Religious Studies, Ruhr-Universät Bochum. With regards to authority, it will be pointed out that prayer apps employ highly different strategies of authorization. These include the evocation of traditional authority, building trust through the use of familiar design language (often borrowed from outside the religious field), and self-imposed strategies aimed at the ‘improvement’ of the individual believer. As for the transcendence/immanence-distinction, it will be argued that it is important to differentiate between prayer apps that have a more auxiliary character, helping users to prepare their offline praying practice, and those apps that allow users to pray directly on their phone – which has significant implications for the understanding of transcendence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:40:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4b0153c2180945aa97ff1069caddd315 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2363-6696 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T01:40:41Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | CERES / KHK Bochum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer |
| spelling | doaj.art-4b0153c2180945aa97ff1069caddd3152022-12-22T03:08:12ZengCERES / KHK BochumEntangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer2363-66962020-08-0111310.13154/er.11.2020.8672Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer AppsTim Karis0Center for Religious Studies, Ruhr-Universität BochumThis paper centers on a fairly new phenomenon in digital religion: prayer apps. After an overview of their typical features, the paper will present a number of analytical perspectives on such apps, arguing that investing in theoretical work is needed, particularly in a young research field. Starting points are provided by Heidi Campbell’s four-layer model of religious authority, Michel Foucault’s concept of “technologies of the self,” Birgit Meyer’s understanding of religion as a practice of mediation, and by the conceptualization of the transcendence/immanence distinction developed at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg Dynamics of the History of Religions Between Asia and Europe at the Center for Religious Studies, Ruhr-Universät Bochum. With regards to authority, it will be pointed out that prayer apps employ highly different strategies of authorization. These include the evocation of traditional authority, building trust through the use of familiar design language (often borrowed from outside the religious field), and self-imposed strategies aimed at the ‘improvement’ of the individual believer. As for the transcendence/immanence-distinction, it will be argued that it is important to differentiate between prayer apps that have a more auxiliary character, helping users to prepare their offline praying practice, and those apps that allow users to pray directly on their phone – which has significant implications for the understanding of transcendence.https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/8672religionmediadigitalappsprayerauthority |
| spellingShingle | Tim Karis Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer religion media digital apps prayer authority |
| title | Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps |
| title_full | Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps |
| title_fullStr | Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps |
| title_full_unstemmed | Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps |
| title_short | Swipe Left to Pray. Analyzing Authority and Transcendence in Prayer Apps |
| title_sort | swipe left to pray analyzing authority and transcendence in prayer apps |
| topic | religion media digital apps prayer authority |
| url | https://er.ceres.rub.de/index.php/ER/article/view/8672 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT timkaris swipelefttoprayanalyzingauthorityandtranscendenceinprayerapps |