Video and Audio Now Available: Panel on Religious Belief and Belonging in the 21st Century

Last October, UVA Mormon Studies and the Forum on Religion and Democracy hosted a panel on “Belief in Belonging in the 21st Century.” The panel is now available to watch on our YouTube channel or listen to as a Scholars & Saints bonus episode.

The panel, moderated by Richard Lyman Bushman Chair of Mormon Studies Laurie Maffly-Kipp, discussed a number of topics surrounding the question: “Is religion as we once knew it dying in the U.S., or are people finding other ways of expressing religion in different forms?”

UVA Associate Professor of Religious Studies Matthew Hedstrom examined the history of American Protestantism to explain how a growing number of religious practitioners in the West have been influenced towards de-institutionalization and more personalized religious practice. Oklahoma State University Assistant Professor of Media and Strategic Communication Rosemary Avance explored different media epochs and their influence over religious practice—particularly, the impact of easily accessible and widely democratized digital media on religious innovation and negotiation. In this vein, author and journalist Jana Riess (Religion News Service) offered particular case studies from her research on Mormon leavers, showing how digital media is changing Mormon identities through the proliferation of global communication and the dissemination of popular culture that can challenge or nuance the Church’s doctrines.

The three panelists ultimately affirmed that the practice of religion wasn’t dying in the U.S., but was instead adapting to meet new cultural demands, largely motivated and enabled by our digital media age. A Q&A session followed during which panelists answered questions about the changing nature of religious community in online spaces, different faith tradition’s responses to trends of de-churching, and more.

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