Publication Date

Spring 4-25-2025

School

School of Communication; School of Divinity

Major

Digital Media and Communication Arts

Keywords

digital ecclesiology, sacrament, digital church, online church, ecclesiological models, sacramental ecclesiology

Disciplines

Christianity | Liturgy and Worship | Other Film and Media Studies | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

The widespread proliferation of digital technologies has opened the door to new ecclesiological questions and challenges for the Christian denominations that have integrated these technologies into their community life and liturgical practices. American evangelicalism is proposed to be especially susceptible to the aforementioned challenges due to its ecclesiological emphases and general posture towards digital media. Using Marshall McLuhan’s seminal insights in media theory, this work argues that the role of digital media in the church shows a significant congruence with Christian sacramental theology. The concept of the digital church is analyzed through McLuhan’s tetrad framework and its weaknesses are highlighted. This work presents a solution by arguing that viewing the church as a sacrament may alleviate the potential dangers of churches being negatively impacted by an unbalanced theology of media.

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