Technology is an integral part our world. But how does inter-human technology affect our ability to be present to one another, to God, to ourselves, and to the world around us? Modern technologies are reshaping human relationships. While they offer new possibilities for presence across time and space, they also function as either a substitute for human relationships or as a filter that mediates relationships between ourselves and others. In our technologically saturated world, it is vital that we become aware of how these technologies alter our perceptions, our actions, and our relationships. Religious and Cultural Implications of Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Post Pandemic World offers a variety of positions on how technology is influencing religious communal and cultural life. There is no doubt that our interaction with technology will shape the human community up ahead. These essays provide a basis for thoughtful choice and action.
Ilia Delio is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, D.C. and holds the Josephine C. Connelly Chair in Christian Theology at Villanova Universe. Noreen Herzfeld is the Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Professor of Science and Religion at St. John's University and the College of St. Benedict and a research associate with ZRS Koper. Robert Nicastro is a PhD student in the Theology and Religious Studies program at Villanova University.
Preface Steven Barrie-Anthony Introduction Noreen Herzfeld Part I: Technology, Religious Practices and the COVID Pandemic Chapter One: Technology and Ancestor Offerings Natasha Heller Chapter Two: The Meanings of Presence in Judaism: How Expressions of Social Community Evolved Over Centuries and Adapted Under Stress To COVID Amy Sue Bix Part II: Remaining Human in a Digital Age Chapter Three: Social Technology and the Paradoxes of Spirituality and Attachment Steven Barrie-Anthony Chapter Four: Re-visioning Friendship and Spirituality in an Age of Social Media Jennifer Constantine Jackson Chapter Five: Paying Attention to Where We Pay Attention: Rethinking the Attention Economy through the Lens of Simone Weil Lisa M. Dolling Part III: Digital Media and Contemplative Imagination Chapter Six: Technology and Contemplative Pedagogy Beverly McGuire Chapter Seven: Technology and the Arts Kevin Healy Part IV. Technology, Materiality and Embodiment Chapter Eight: Crypto-Ethic? Presence, Relationality, and Care Among Digital Currencies Devin Singh Chapter Nine: "'Grow Old with Me': Humanoid Robots and the Aging Process" Noreen Herzfeld Part V. Looking Beyond the Pandemic Chapter Ten: Why Technology Is Our Future Ilia Delio About the Contributors
When COVID isolated us from each other, technology kept us connected. Well, sort of. What actually happens when we human beings, who are innately social, put our social connections online? Are we still fully present to each other? Chatbots and robotic companions have already moved in to live with us, rechanneling if not replacing human connections altogether. Religious communities are discovering how quickly technology is altering religious practices. Will technology make us less human or more human? This book offers thoughtful analyses, multiple vantage points, and diverse perspectives all driving at one question: How is technology modifying the human social fabric and, in so doing, remaking humanity? -- Ron Cole-Turner, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
