Gender and Agency in Digital Religion

Abstract

Abstract Gender has become a prominent theme in research on digital religion, as part of a focus on the particular social, cultural, and embodied context. The most salient issue has been women’s religious agency, in particular within certain gender-traditional communities. The chapter presents three themes emerging in research on gender and digital religion since the year 2000 and discusses how these connect to current approaches to women’s agency within religious studies. The first theme focuses on how digital media enhances women’s agency through expressing religious experiences and connecting to a larger public. The second theme concerns uses of digital media to handle tensions between gender-traditional norms in religious communities, and ideals of gender equality and women’s independence in the wider society. The third theme bring out how digital technology enhances but also challenges women’s agency in new ways. The chapter ends with highlighting critical issues on agency within the area of digital religion that should be attended to in future studies.