Bridging Church History, Geopolitics, and Digital Education
A New Approach to Teaching Religious Heritage
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15087770 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christos Papakostas (0000-0002-5157-347X, Department of Social Theology & Religious Studies National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Athens Greece, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-36 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Teaching Theology & Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1368-4868 • E-ISSN: 1467-9647 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/teth.70001 |
| OpenAlex | W4411328943 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 29 |
The paper explores the use of digital technologies in religious education by focusing on a specific initiative: the development of a virtual tour within a learning management system to teach the history of Hagia Sophia. In responding to the primary research question, inquiring into the extent that contemporary technologies can enhance knowledge of ecclesiastical history and geopolitical transformation, a case study is examined: Hagia Sophia's transformation from Byzantine church to Ottoman Mosque and museum. While there are already some studies in the context of religious education regarding conventional ways of teaching church history, there is still a need to understand how far the use of technology could provide more interactive and engaging learning experiences. This paper, therefore, tries to fill this gap by exploring this intersection of religion, architecture, and empire through interactive, web‐based technologies. The research adopts qualitative and quantitative assessment methods in terms of questionnaires and reflective discussions to examine the effects of the intervention on student engagement, historical interpretation, and critical thinking. It emerged that the virtual tour greatly enhanced the students' participation and understanding and engendered a deeper interest in the historical and cultural changes that Hagia Sophia has come to represent
Geopolitics · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · History · Law · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Religious Tourism and Spaces
Virtual, augmented and mixed reality in K–12 education
Faith in Frames
Technology and education
Evaluation of user acceptance of mixed reality technology
Contesting the Byzantine Past
Political Misuse of Hagia Sophia as the Lost Object of the Istanbul Conquest
Ken Dark & Jan Kostenec. 2019. Hagia Sophia in context
The Making of Hagia Sophia and the Last Pagans of New Rome
The Unveiling of the Byzantine Mosaics in Haghia Sophia in Istanbul
Hagia Sophia
Artificial Intelligence in Religious Education
Aesthetic and Educational Aspects of Contact with Contemporary Religious Architecture
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |