I have recently been made editor for Oxford University Press’ project Oxford Intersections. I am interested in receiving articles on digital religion, religion&the Internet, social media and religion. Here below the call for papers:

Introduction: In 2025, Oxford University Press will be launching a new type of resource: Oxford Intersections. Oxford Intersections reflects the critical role that peer-reviewed interdisciplinary research plays in helping policy- and decision-makers tackle the world’s most complex and urgent environmental, cultural, political, and social challenges.

Topics of Interest: We invite abstracts for new interdisciplinary research articles on a range of topics related to Religious Expression on Social Media for the Social Media Intersection. Specifically, we are seeking articles on the following topics:

• Digital Religion and identity, community, authority
• Religion, the Internet, and gender/sexuality/politics
• Online interfaith and interreligious dialogue
• Digital religion, hate speech, and conflicts
• AI, new technologies, and religion

Authorship: Oxford Intersections welcomes contributors from diverse backgrounds, spanning disciplines, institutions, geographies, and career stages. Authors may include researchers, academics, professionals, practitioners, PhD students, and on occasion final-year master’s students.

Submission Guidelines:

• Manuscripts should be original and not previously published or under consideration elsewhere.
• If accepted, articles should run between 5-8K words and will be rigorously peer reviewed and subject to editorial approval before publication.
• To be considered, submit to OxfordIntersections.Editorial@oup.com a single document including:
  • An abstract of no more than 500 words
  • A brief CV for each author

Accepted manuscripts will undergo a rigorous peer-review process to ensure academic standards and relevance to the overall ethos of the Intersections project. Please see more here: https://academic.oup.com/intersections/pages/about

General Editor: Dr. Laeeq Khan

Unit/Section Editors: Giulia Evolvi, University of Bologna, Italy, and Youssef Chouhoud, Christopher Newport University, US

For further inquiries, please contact OxfordIntersections.Editorial@oup.com.

More about Religious Expression on Social Media

The study of religious expressions on the Internet has significantly advanced since the 1990s in line with the expanded adoption of personal home computers. This early period set the foundation for research programs focused on the interactions between religious communities and online platforms. Works from this era paved the way for scholars examining the evolving ways that religious groups and individuals leverage the digital realm (O’Leary 1996).

Campbell and Tsuria (2021) trace this evolution through five distinct phases, beginning with an era where the internet was seen as a separate entity from physical reality. This perspective transformed in the 2010s with the concept of “digital religion,” highlighting how online and offline spaces became increasingly integrated, which in turn shaped contemporary religious experiences. This shift reflects a broader understanding that today’s religious practices are invariably mediated by digital technology, making the engagement with digital culture indispensable for religious entities (Campbell, 2012).

Currently, the field is experiencing its fifth wave, focusing on a multidisciplinary examination of religion and media. Recent research has featured themes such as gender, sexuality, politics, and race (Lovheim, 2013). Further inquiry into digital theologies, fundamentalisms, extremism, conflicts, and online hate speech is likely on the horizon, as well (Abdel-Fadil, 2019).

The articles in this unit interrogate and expand on these motifs spanning nearly three decades of research. How are identity, community, and authority being filtered through digital mediums? How is that these spaces can facilitate interfaith dialogue and exchange, on the one hand, and hate speech and violence, on the other?

In the face of rapid technological advancements, including artificial intelligence and algorithms (P. H. Cheong, 2020; Singler, 2020), the field of digital religion is at a critical juncture. This unit seeks to explore how religious communities navigate these changes, posing critical questions about the future of religion in an increasingly digital world.

If you have any question, feel free to contact me at giuliaevolvi [at] gmail.com