idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
How is religious agency changing in the age of digitalization and artificial intelligence? Researchers at the universities of Bremen and Würzburg are addressing this question in the new DFG research network CARD. The interdisciplinary project is scheduled to run for three years.
Religious services have been regularly broadcast online since the coronavirus pandemic, if not before, and religious communities have been using social media for communication for many years. The first robots are already being used in religious contexts, AI tools are creating sermons, and there are apps that provide pastoral counseling. There is no question that religious practices are now closely intertwined with digital media technologies.
“These developments raise fundamental questions,” says Professor Ilona Nord. The religious scholar holds the Chair of Protestant Theology II at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). In a new research project within the Conceptualizing Agency, Religion and Digitalization (CARD) DFG research network, Ilona Nord and Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, a professor at the University of Bremen's Institute for the Study of Religion and Related Didactics, aim to find answers to these questions.
Essential Questions Regarding Human Agency
The three-year interdisciplinary project investigates how religious agency is changing in the age of digitalization and what role artificial intelligence plays in this process.
“Advancing digitalization raises essential questions regarding human agency,” explains Ilona Nord. “As algorithms and AI systems become increasingly autonomous, we need to rethink what agency, thus the ability to act, means,” emphasizes Kerstin Radde-Antweiler. This is particularly true in the religious sphere, which has been little researched to date.
Religious Practice in the Digital Transformation
“Can non-human actors such as AI systems have, obtain, or be granted religious authority? In what ways do notions of the relationship between humans and God change when machines intervene?” These are the kinds of questions that the participating researchers will be addressing in the coming years.
The network's main goal is to develop a common theoretical basis for conceptualizing agency in the context of religion and digitalization. The results will be published in a handbook comprising three parts: disciplinary perspectives, interdisciplinary dialogues, and central concepts such as authority, power, and empowerment.
Additionally, CARD serves as preparation for a larger international research project planned for the end of 2028. “We are creating the conceptual basis for the next generation of research on religion and digitalization,” state the two scholars.
International Cooperation and Support for Early-Career Researchers
The CARD network is bringing together researchers from 13 different disciplines, including theology, religious studies, philosophy, sociology, media studies, computer science, and psychology. In addition to German universities, international partners from the US, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands are also involved.
“One particular area of focus is supporting early-career researchers,” emphasizes Professor Radde-Antweiler. Six early-career researchers are integrated into the network as full members and are actively involved in shaping the work being undertaken. The project also aims to raise the profile of German-language research in this international field. To this end, the network is planning workshops where renowned international experts will contribute as guests.
Jörn Hurtienne (Human Computer Interaction), Florian Krückel (Education), Frederek Musall (Jewish Studies), and Caroline Wienrich (Computer Science) from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) are also involved. Prof. Dr. Karsten D. Wolf (Educational Sciences) from the University of Bremen is also involved.
Prof. Dr. Kerstin Radde-Antweiler
Institute for the Study of Religion and Related Didactics
Faculty of Cultural Studies
University of Bremen
Phone: +49 421 218-67911
Email: radde@uni-bremen.de
Prof. Dr. Ilona Nord
Faculty of Human Sciences
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
Phone: +49 931 31-89790
Email: ilona.nord@uni-wuerzburg.de
https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/religionswissenschaft
Https://www.ev-theologie.uni-wuerzburg.de/religionspaedagogik/prof-dr-ilona-nord/forschungsprojekte/ (only available in German)
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