Theocom 2019

In its eighth year as an annual symposium-style gathering of theologians and other scholars around the topics of digital communication and social media, Theocom has addressed themes such as: Theology and Communication in Dialogue (2012), Changing Models of Communications in the Church (2013), Community in the Digital World (2014), and Religious and Theological Authority in a Digital World (2015), In the World and Yet Not of the World: Ecclesiology in the Digital Age (2016), pastoral theology and ministry in a digital age (2017), and Discerning Big Data in the Light of the Gospel (2018).

This year’s gathering explores faith formation and how this is shaped by the reality of digital culture. We welcome papers that address various aspects of how social media affects Christian living and thinking. These could include topics such as

• What are the historical, theological, Scriptural, or liturgical traditions for forming faith?
• Who forms faith in the digital culture? What are formative spaces or experiences unique to this context?
• What does it mean to be formed? How do we assess this, especially online?
• How have the conditions/contexts of doing formation changed as a result of the new media environment?
• How should people of faith respond to social media?
• How does popular theology (blogs, reflections, comments, Tweets) fit into what we might consider formative?