Browsing by Author "Campbell, Heidi A"
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Item Churches Still Need Help: A Reflection of Churches’ Digital Needs in a Post-Pandemic Era(2023-12-05) Campbell, Heidi A; Osteen, SophiaThis report explores the current challenges and needs that congregations continue to face related to technology use. This work provides another in-depth analysis of key themes raised in the Tech in Churches During COVID-19 research project. The project explores the priorities of pastors implementing technological solutions during the pandemic, which became critical in helping churches transition to online gatherings in order to serve members during and post-pandemic lifeItem The Digital Divide, Digital Reluctance and Its Impact on Pandemic Churches(2022-04-26) Campbell, Heidi A; Jordan, MandyThe Digital Divide, Digital Reluctance and Its Impact on Pandemic Churches explores how churches encountered and responded to key challenges related to the Digital Divide, a term used to refer to the gap in access and understanding to digital media technologies people often encounter. The digital divide present within many churches went unnoticed in most congregations prior to the pandemic, but was quickly revealed when churches attempted to move their services online. This Tech Trend paper focuses on describing how these classic disparities were manifest in churches and its impact on doing church line. Also, besides complaints about lacking digital resources, church leaders often voiced a more intangible element of personal reluctance towards digital technology. This is the third paper in a series of Tech Trend papers exploring finding from “Tech in Churches During Covid-19” project that is funded by the Lilly Endowment Each papers explores in depth key research findings related to how churches in the American Mid-west experienced during the digital transition from traditional to online worship necessitated by the conditions of COVID-19 pandemicItem Digital Ecclesiology: A Global Conversation(2020-08-21) Campbell, Heidi ADigital Ecclesiology: A Global Conversation explores theological issues and challenges churches have been faced with due to social distancing and required social-cultural adaptations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This book follows on from the eBook "The Distanced Church", which explored religious leaders and scholar responses to the forced move into doing church online during the pandemic. This edited collection address in greater depth the ecclesiological questions raised when churches embrace digital media and culture in their mission and ministry. As she argues in her previous, a church’s technological choices have often unforeseen theological implications for faith communities. Digital Ecclessiology presents 11 essay with authors from 7 different countries, who reflect on the culture of the church revealed through moving from offline to online worship, and the understanding of religious community that has unfolded during the pandemic. Overall this collection identifies core questions and debates about the nature of the Church raised by the embrace and integration of digital media by Christian groups worldwide.Item The Digital Religion Yearbook 2022(2022-12-27) Campbell, Heidi AThe Digital Religion Yearbook is an annual publication organized and published by the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies. The aim is to provide and overview of research and spotlight important contributors, both emerging and established scholars, working in the growing field of Digital Religion studies. The 2022 yearbook is the second edition of this publication.Item The Digital Religion Yearbook 2023(2024-02-12) Campbell, Heidi AThis publication was envisioned by the Network for New Media, Religion, and Digital Studies to highlight important research and scholarship being produced in the increasingly diverse, interdisciplinary, and international field of Digital Religion Studies. The 2023 Yearbook highlights top research studies, scholars, and students doing work in this area.Item Discussion Guide for Lila and the Lost Robot(2024-02-18) Campbell, Heidi AThis guide was designed for parents and teachers to help them discuss themes about AI technology and ethics raised by the book "Lila and the Lost Robot," written by Heidi A Campbell.Item Diverse Congregations, Similar Experiences: How Pastors of Different Ethnic and Racial Churches Encountered Similar Issues and Opportunities During the COVID-19 Pandemic(2023-06-06) Campbell, Heidi A; Osteen, Sophia; Sparks, GraysonIt might be assumed churches coming from diverse cultural backgrounds would also express notable differences in how they conceptualize, operate, and envision the role of church, especially during times of crisis. However, despite having differing access to resources and levels of technological preparedness, this study found that congregations from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in Indiana responded surprisingly similar to the digital shift that was required of their congregations during the Covid-19 pandemic. In our study of Indiana churches use of technology during the pandemic, we found White, African American and Multicultural congregations all approached digital technology as an essential “tool” to be used to solve the problem of sustaining weekly gatherings. The only notable difference was a slight shift between 2020 to 2021 in African American congregations manifested in their perceptions of technology. These congregations began the pandemic conceptualizing technology as a simple tool to help them replicate in-person gatherings, but a year later they primarily saw technology as an innovative way to build new community connections. Interestingly, a similar shift in perspective was not noted amongst White congregations.Item Embracing Pastoral Entrepreneurship during the Pandemic: Traits needed to be an Effective Digital Pastor(2022-02-11) Campbell, Heidi A; Osteen, SophiaTech Trend papers provide a concise, but in-depth analysis of important themes raised in the Tech in Churches During COVID-19 research project which investigates how churches have adopted and adapted to technology during the global pandemic. This second paper identifies and discusses five key traits pastors found essential to running a successful online ministry, and reflect on how the pandemic required many pastors to step into a unique role as entrepreneurs. This Tech Trend paper draws conclusions from the analysis of 50 Tech Talk sessions with 478 congregational leaders from Indiana, hosted by the Center for Congregations in 2020 and 2021.Item Mission to Serve Tech: Churches "Lock Down" Technology During The Global Pandemic(2023-01-31) Campbell, Heidi A; Daly, Jennifer; Osteen, Sophia A; Wallace, AndreaThis report analyzes data collected from 2700 churches of the Center for Congregations in Indianapolis through the Connect Through Tech grant program between 2020-2021. This report analyzes data gathered from applications to the CTT grant and final reports submitted by these churches, in order to learn how churches understand and perceive the role of churches, technology, and their relationship changed during the first two years of the pandemic as they incorporated digital media into their ministry work. The “Mission to Serve Tech” report explores three key themes: (1) how leaders understanding of the mission of the church may have changed during the pandemic, (2) the general understanding of how churches conceptualize the relationship between church and technology before and then later during the pandemic, and (3) the ways technology created both unique opportunities and new challenges that cause churches perceptions and actions to shift in new ways. Important findings of this report include that most churches (84.7%) used their grant funds to purchase live-streaming services and camera/video equipment (82%).Item Report 1- Executive Summary of "When Pastors put on the “Tech Hat”: How Churches Digitized during Covid-19"(2021-11-19) Campbell, Heidi AThis two-page executive summary provides an overview of questions and themes discussed in the report, “When Pastors Put on the ‘Tech Hat’: How Churches Digitized During COVID-19” released in November 2021. The full report is a 25-page exploration of how pastors and church leaders used technology, their decision-making processes, and the sources of tension or challenge that they faced in doing church online during the pandemic. The summary highlights key findings from the report related to the tech work of pastors, congregations’ reactions to digital media, churches’ views of technology, and views of the culture of church influence by the pandemic.Item Social Distancing in a World of Memes(2020-08-21) Campbell, Heidi AThis eBook presents the finding from a creative research study conducted between March-July 2020 on the theme of social distancing during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The book explores the messages internet memes that circulated widely online, communicated about the practice of social distancing. Many people were introduced to the concept of social distancing for the first time in March 2020, as a health and safety strategy for combating the spread of the Corona virus. The project argues internet memes played an important role in helping people understand and adjust to the behavioral changes this practice required. As a form of visual-textual digital communication that is focused on humor, internet memes also became important tool for helping people making sense of this time of anxiety and uncertainty. Through meme images and summary reports this eBook unpack the core stories popular internet memes told about social distancing, and the potential implications of these narratives in the culture of the pandemic.Item Thinking tools for AI, Religion & Culture(2023-07-17) Campbell, Heidi A; Cheong, Pauline Hope“Thinking Tools for AI, Religion and Culture” seeks to raise key ethical questions and issue culturally informed provocations that are currently missing in most current popular media discussions about humanity and artificial intelligence. This edited collection brings together a diverse group of female scholars from a variety of academic disciplines, religious contexts and seven different countries who offer series of thought-provoking, religiously- informed, and ethical reflections on current debates around AI. Our aim is to create a curated and enlightened conversation, which moves beyond the extremes of fear or mere acceptance of our future with AI, and in doing so illuminate new and missing perspectives that broaden the current public discourse around ethics and AI.Item Thrifted Religion: Essays on Finding Religion in Texas Thrift Stores(2024-08-01) Campbell, Heidi AThis book is a collection of select essays written by TAMU students in the COMM 480: Religious Communication course in Spring 2024. Each student in the class became a research collaborator in the "Thrifting Religion" research project run by Dr Heidi A Campbell. This project documents and studies the different forms of “religious material culture” found through secondhand sales and resale shops. Religious material culture refers to the study of physical objects related to the beliefs and practices of various religions (i.e. prayer beads, religious jewelry, holy books, etc.). Students were asked to select an item from this collection and then write a short report about what that object is, how it is used in religious practices, and what messages about religion the items appeared to communicate. The best essays from the class are featured here, and they tell the story of how religions becomes represented, commodified, and incorporated in unique ways into people's everyday religious life.Item What Should Post-Pandemic Religion Look Like?(2021-02-09) Campbell, Heidi A; Shepherd, TroyThis eBook offers ten lessons from the pandemic experience that we believe religious leaders need to seriously consider in order to cultivate resilience in their work and ministry. We draw these specifically from ideas shared in a series of three eBooks that Dr. Heidi Campbell compiled in 2020 on how religious communities and their worship were being shaped by technology and the conditions of the pandemic.