Transferred, mediated or transformed: considering the design, features, and presentation of sacred text mobile applications

ABSTRACT

This comparative study of 100 iTunes mobile applications featuring sacred texts from five major world religions emphasizes how such texts are represented when digitized. Specifically, this research investigates the technological affordances these apps offer, how these affordances are communicated to users, and the messages about religion these app designs communicate. This article thus portrays the relationship between innovative technological features and traditional religious presentations of sacred texts in mobile apps. We find that app designers use one of three strategies so that sacred texts become either transferred, mediated or transformed when digitized.

KEYWORDS:

• iTunes apps
• religious applications
• digital religion
• sacred texts
• affordances
• mobile apps

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The project received a partial grant from the Center of Digital Humanities Research at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.

Notes on contributors

Ruth Tsuria

Ruth Tsuria is an assistant professor at Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA. Her research, which investigates the intersection of digital media, religion, and feminism, has been published in various academic journals, such as The Communication Review, Journal of Media and Religion, and Social Media + Society. She was awarded ‘Emerging Scholar’ in Religion in Society and her work has been supported by various bodies, including the Women and Gender Studies Program at Texas A&M University. She is currently working on Holy Women, Pious Sex, Sanctified Internet: Exploring Jewish Online Discourse on Gender and Sexuality.

Wendi Bellar

Wendi Bellar is an assistant professor in the Communication Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, WI, USA. Her work lies at the intersections of digital culture, media, and religion. Her current research focuses on religious mobile applications and their interactions with identity, community, and authority.

Heidi Campbell

Heidi Campbell is Professor of Communication and affiliate faculty in Religious Studies at Texas A&M University. She also directs the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies and is co-editor of the Routledge Religion and Digital Culture book series. She has authored over 100 articles and books including When Religion Meets New Media (2010) and Networked Theology (2016).

Kyong James Cho

Kyong James Cho is a doctoral candidate in Communication at Texas A&M University. His research interests are in race relations and online discourse. He is also a full time instructor at Blinn College, Bryan, TX, USA.

CORRESPONDENCE: Ruth Tsuria, College of Communication and the Arts Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ, 07079, USA.