Religion in the Digital Age: A Systematic Review of Digital Religion, Online Communities, and Religious Practice

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has transformed the ways in which religious beliefs, communities, identities, and practices are produced, communicated, and experienced. This systematic review examines the relationship between religion and digital technology, with particular attention to digital religion, online religious communities, and changing forms of religious practice. The review synthesizes existing scholarly literature on how social media platforms, livestreaming, online worship services, religious websites, podcasts, mobile applications, and virtual communities have created new spaces for religious engagement while reshaping established forms of participation and authority. The findings indicate that digital environments can expand access to religious resources, facilitate community formation across geographical boundaries, support religious education and outreach, and enable individuals to maintain or develop religious identities in increasingly networked societies. At the same time, the literature identifies significant challenges, including the fragmentation of religious authority, misinformation, commercialization, privacy concerns, digital exclusion, and tensions between traditional institutional practices and digitally mediated forms of worship. Online religious participation is also shown to be neither a simple replacement for physical religious engagement nor entirely separate from it; rather, digital and offline practices frequently interact and reinforce one another. Overall, the review demonstrates that digitalization is contributing to the diversification and transformation of contemporary religious practice, while also raising important questions concerning authenticity, authority, community, inclusion, and the future organization of religious life. The study contributes to understanding religion as an increasingly hybrid social and cultural phenomenon shaped by the opportunities and constraints of digital communication technologies.