Legitimating digital media in religious institutions
The case of Benedictine monasteries
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20508702 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ján Danko (0009-0004-3087-6932, University of Zurich, corresponding author), Jan Simon Danko (0009-0006-9903-552X, University of Zurich), Oren Golan (0000-0003-3203-809X, University of Haifa), Katja Rost (0000-0002-7752-7818, University of Zurich) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Information Communication & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-118X • E-ISSN: 1468-4462 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/1369118x.2025.2594586 |
| OpenAlex | W4416765886 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 33 |
This study investigates how tradition-laden religious institutions negotiate the legitimation of digital media by exploring the intersection of digital media and religious practice in Benedictine monasteries. Studying monasteries as reclusive communities of religious virtuosos can shed light on legitimation patterns balancing tradition and technology, which all modern institutions need to navigate. Through ethnographic investigation and 28 semi-structured interviews with Benedictine monks, the study uncovered three grounded narratives that are employed by monastics to legitimize new media use in the face of ambivalence: (1) updated traditionalism, (2) maturation and self-responsibility, and (3) advocating religious values of the self. We add to previous literature by finding that the contemporary monastery is a place where digital media are omnipresent, used in individualized ways by monks, and where anomie emerges in the absence of binding regulation. We contribute to a multilevel understanding of legitimacy by exploring the cyclical integration of digital media in these tradition-laden communities and describe a bottom-up process of legitimation of digital media and thus a reconfiguration of traditional authority and legitimacy processes in the digital era
Digital media · Journalism · Social media · The Internet · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Tourism and Spaces
When Religion Meets New Media
Made to Fit
Legitimacy
The “Macro” and the “Micro” of Legitimacy
Managing Legitimacy
The Discovery of Grounded Theory
Ethnography of Exclusion
Legitimizing academic knowledge in religious bounded communities
The Making of contemporary papacy
Framing ambiguity
Virtuosity, Charisma and Social Order
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy
Facebook as a monastic place? The new use of internet by Catholic monks
Contesting knowledge, constructing legitimacy
Experience of Ethnographic Fieldwork in an English Benedictine Monastery
Cultured Technology
Creating digital enclaves
Religion as heritage, religion as belief
Coping with Conflict, Confronting Resistance
Hilltop Youth and New Media
Legitimation of New Media for Religious Youth
Conducting ethnographic research in male-dominated environments
Informal Youth Organizations
Morality, religious authority, and the digital edge
Belief-Inclusive Research
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |