The Lecture Series has ended. We would like to thank everyone who took part in it. The recording videos are now still in the process of editing. We will announce when it is done. See you in the next Lecture Series!

Recently, the corona pandemic has not only created vast economic and social rifts both across and within societies but has also brought religious communities further into the spotlight. Religious communities are increasingly seen as vital stakeholders – inter alia for providing relief in times of intersecting crises, offering psychosocial support, advocating (or hindering!) adherence to public health measures, contributing to post COVID-19 recovery and offering visions for a sustainable post COVID-19 future. Moreover, since March 2020 the world has seen a rapid increase of digitalization in people’s everyday lives. This extends to and severely impacts on religious communities, religious practices and religious communication both in the global South and North. At the same time, the digitalization processes propelled by the current crisis pose fundamental challenges to religious communities’ social and pastoral work, as in many instances social level religious interaction needs to take place entirely without physical gatherings or with substantially reduced ones.

The interdisciplinary lecture series will scrutinize the religion and sustainable development nexus through the lens of the digital age brought about by the corona pandemic. It is convened jointly by the Research Programme on Religious Communities and Sustainable Development at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany, and the Department of Religion and Theology at University of the Western Cape, South Africa.

Please note the time differences and the fact that Central European Time will change from Summer time (CEST) to Winter time (CET) on 31 October which might affect the time frame depending on the country you are based.

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The Lecture Series will be held on Zoom. Kindly send an email to Ms Marie-Luise Frost (marie-luise.frost@hu-berlin.de) to register. The link will be sent upon registration.

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25 October 16:00-18:00 CEST / South African time; 17:00-19:00 Tanzanian time
Mussa S. Muhoja, Ardhi University, Tanzania: Faith Based Development and Public Sphere in the Digital Era

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01 November 16:00-18:00 CET; 17:00-19:00 South African time; 18:00-20:00 Tanzanian time
Maria Frahm-Arp, University of Johannesburg, South Africa: Rabboni Church: A Case Study of an Online Church

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08 Nov 16:00-18:00 CET; 17:00-19:00 South African time; 18:00-20:00 Tanzanian time
Giulia Evolvi, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands: Digital Religion: Gender, Migration, and Politics

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15 November 16:00-18:00 CET; 17:00-19:00 South African time; 18:00-20:00 Tanzanian time
Susanna Trotta, Deborah Iannotti and Boris Rähme, Bruno Kessler Foundation, Center for Religious Studies, Italy: Religious or Belief Actors’ Engagements with Artificial Intelligence

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22 November 16:00-18:00 CET; 17:00-19:00 South African time; 18:00-20:00 Tanzanian time
Nicolas Matthee, Information Technology Service Intelligence (ITSI), South Africa: The Covid 19 Pandemic as Liminal Space for the Crafting of New Rituals

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29 November 16:00-18:00 CET; 17:00-19:00 South African time; 18:00-20:00 Tanzanian time
Claudia Jetter, EKD Institute for Research on Religious and Ideological Issues (EZW), Germany: Spiritual Influencers – New Forms of Authorization and Community Formation in the Digital Age?