Virtually in Charge: Pastoral Authority, Digital Religion, and the Challenges of Church in a Technological Age

Abstract

This dissertation considers the influence of digital religion on authority and community in the evangelical church. The study involves an interdisciplinary approach with research from theology, social science, philosophy of technology, and broad cultural analysis. The author contends that both digital religion and the digital revolution more broadly are reshaping the evangelical church by undermining pastoral authority structures and practices in the local church while at the same time redefining the social and relational landscape, which blurs the boundary markers for a church community in which that authority is expressed.