CyberBibles: New Media and Sacred Text

The "CyberBibles" research project is the first empirical study of a wave of digital products that promise to help readers engage in new ways with sacred text. Older generations of computer software allowed the user to search for key themes, access background information and examine commentaries, but these new platforms combine these resources with opportunities to access the text through mobile devices, share verses with acquaintances through social media and add personal responses.

The commercial success of these platforms raises questions for scholars of religion, new media and the digital humanities regarding the potential of digital technologies to transform the relationships between readers, texts and institutions. The CyberBibles project will seek to address three research problems. First, how do creators use design and marketing discourse to shape users' engagement with their products? Second, what patterns of use and networks of attention are emerging among users? Third, how do these products affect the relationship between readers and sacred texts?

Three of the most sophisticated and high-profile examples have been selected for this study. The first, YouVersion, offers multiple Bible translations in twenty-four languages and allows users to keep journals, add commentary and share responses. YouVersion's smartphone app has been remarkably successful, recording thirty million downloads over its first three years. The second case study, BibleMesh, offers subscribers access to a vast library of video, text and animated Bible presentations created by a worldwide network of prominent Evangelical pastors and theologians, augmented by opportunities for online small-group Bible study. The third case study, GloBible, restructures the Bible through innovative text navigation tools and illustrates it with an extensive library of images, videos, virtual tours and historical information. Each of these products is designed to encourage more regular and informed use of the Bible, particularly for proselytism, but each guides interpretation and use in quite different ways.

The 9-month project will be conducted in three stages. The first will examine the work of designers and advertisers; the second will focus on the platforms themselves; and the third will analyse the activity of users. A mix of methods will be required, drawing on qualitative and digital techniques. Designers and users will be interviewed, texts and videos will be analysed, and digital tools will be used to map the international networks of communication between users.

Findings of the "CyberBibles" project will be published in at least three peer-reviewed journal articles and delivered to four conferences and research events in the UK and Scandinavia. Publications will be addressed to audiences in the study of new media, religion and the digital humanities. Findings will also be communicated to public audiences outside the academy, through presentations to a range of Christian festivals and conventions. A one-day academic conference will be organised at the end of the project to examine the digitisation of sacred texts in a wider range of religious traditions, encouraging future collaborations in comparative research.

The "CyberBibles" project examines three prominent examples of digital texts. Each example uses search functions, images, video, social media and mobile apps to attempt to transform the relationship between reader and sacred text and to encourage readers to share their insights and favourite passages. Better understanding of these products will impact a range of public audiences, including but not limited to Christians and Christian institutions.

Dr Hutchings has already developed excellent connections with British Christian media circles through his doctoral and post-doctoral research, and has delivered presentations of his work to numerous public conferences, conventions, study days and festivals. These connections will continue through this fellowship, including ongoing use of social media to discuss findings and presentations to events. Christians in the UK show great interest in understanding contemporary media culture, including the impact new media are having on religion, and this research will help both individuals and institutions as they seek to evaluate and make use of technology.

This fellowship ends with a conference that will include scholars of a wide range of new and world religions. This event will work toward future research collaborations and projects that will extend the impact of this project to a much broader range of faith traditions.

One of the most important consequences of new media for religion has been a destabilizing of traditional community boundaries, offering media users the opportunity to form smaller like-minded enclaves, to proselytise more invasively or, potentially, to communicate with respect and interest across former divisions. The digital texts studied in this project are being used to create new national and international networks of communication, an issue of clear relevance to scholars and policy-makers interested in community cohesion. The Mediating Religion Network could become an excellent platform to share research with these audiences, and opportunities to develop the network will be explored throughout the project.

Digital text is of interest far beyond religious circles. Museums and libraries are making texts and images available online to encourage viewers to engage with national and global history and culture in new ways, while artists and authors are experimenting with new forms of digital art or literature. The digital Bible is by far the most successful of these projects, in terms of popularity, but has so far not attracted significant academic attention. This research project will enable cultural institutions to learn more about how a vibrant communication culture can emerge around digital text platforms, offering models that could be emulated in future. Findings will be communicated with these audiences through Dr Hutchings' publications and presentations to scholars in the field of Digital Humanities, an area heavily engaged with the study and design of digitisation projects. By encouraging new approaches in this academic field, Dr Hutchings can realistically hope to communicate his research to the institutions currently engaged in digitisation.