Emerging church bloggers in Australia: Prophets, priests and rulers in God’s virtual world Paul Emerson Teusner RMIT University – Porticus Fellowship

Emerging church Movement or conversation within Protestant and Evangelical churches in Anglosphere and northern Europe “ Postmodern”, “marginal” faith Seeks intimate, active faith communities Uses contemporary technology to explore ancient practices Antithetical to trends seen in both traditional Protestantism and contemporary Evangelicalism Disconnected offline Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

Movement or conversation within Protestant and Evangelical churches in Anglosphere and northern Europe

“ Postmodern”, “marginal” faith

Seeks intimate, active faith communities

Uses contemporary technology to explore ancient practices

Antithetical to trends seen in both traditional Protestantism and contemporary Evangelicalism

Disconnected offline

Questions How do those involved in the emerging church conversation use blogging technology to construct individual and communal online religious identities? How do emerging church bloggers in Australia contribute to the construction of an Australian emerging church identity? Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

How do those involved in the emerging church conversation use blogging technology to construct individual and communal online religious identities?

How do emerging church bloggers in Australia contribute to the construction of an Australian emerging church identity?

Why? Melbourne priest on YouTube 2006-2007 Impact of idea of “network” on understandings of religious identity and communications in Australia Boundaries between author, content and audience become blurred Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

Melbourne priest on YouTube 2006-2007

Impact of idea of “network” on understandings of religious identity and communications in Australia

Boundaries between author, content and audience become blurred

Research into religion online Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

Method 30-35 bloggers Discursive analysis of post and comments Textual analysis of design Network analysis Interviews Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

30-35 bloggers

Discursive analysis of post and comments

Textual analysis of design

Network analysis

Interviews

Discourse analysis Scollon and Wong Scollon Interaction order Historical body Bucholtz and Hall Indexicality Dialectics Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

Scollon and Wong Scollon

Interaction order

Historical body

Bucholtz and Hall

Indexicality

Dialectics

Discourse analysis Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

Use of graphics Topic of conversation in previous GRCs Martinec & Salway, in Visual Communication 4:3 2005 – provides a taxonomy of picture-word relations Considered the usefulness of analysing use of graphics as “nominative” vs “emotive” expressions of ideas “ Joyous Christian Chick”

Topic of conversation in previous GRCs

Martinec & Salway, in Visual Communication 4:3 2005 – provides a taxonomy of picture-word relations

Considered the usefulness of analysing use of graphics as “nominative” vs “emotive” expressions of ideas

“ Joyous Christian Chick”

Use of graphic in “intertextual play” Feminism/femininity Fun/seriousness Old/new Christendom/foreign Dirt/art Tradition/heresy Active campaign to expose alleged false dualities that we have used to define modern Christianity Challenging previous structures of knowledge

Feminism/femininity

Fun/seriousness

Old/new

Christendom/foreign

Dirt/art

Tradition/heresy

Active campaign to expose alleged false dualities that we have used to define modern Christianity

Challenging previous structures of knowledge

Interviews Cyber-Christian Virtual community and authentic identity Postmodern embrace Globalisation, nationalisation and “glocalisation” Paul Emerson Teusner - AoIR Doctoral Colloquium 2009

Cyber-Christian

Virtual community and authentic identity

Postmodern embrace

Globalisation, nationalisation and “glocalisation”