Religious knowledge in the digital age
An international online conference exploring authority, knowledge, and normative interpretation amid the digital transformation of religious education.
A scholarly response to digital transformation
Digital transformation represents a profound epistemological shift that fundamentally challenges established forms of religious education. In digital environments, religious knowledge circulates beyond institutional control — mediated by algorithms, platform logics, and fragmented publics.
This transformation creates new opportunities for participation, plurality, and access; yet it also produces tensions around authority, interpretive accuracy, and the formation of religious identity.
TREDT 2027 brings together scholars from theology, religious education, sociology, and digital studies to critically examine these ambivalences. The conference explores how religious authority, knowledge, and normative interpretation can be sustained and reconfigured in the digital age — across cultural, regional, and disciplinary boundaries.
Theology, Religious Education, and Digital Transformation
Authority, Knowledge, and Normative Interpretation
The digital transformation of religious knowledge constitutes one of the central epistemological challenges of our time. Where once religious authority was anchored in institutions, schools of thought, and scholarly lineages, today it must navigate algorithmic mediation, fragmented digital publics, and the rapid circulation of competing interpretations.
TREDT 2027 invites scholars to examine how traditional categories of religious knowledge — fatwā, taʾwīl, ijtihād, theological reasoning, hermeneutic practice — are being reshaped, contested, and reinterpreted in digital environments. The conference takes seriously both the opportunities and the disruptions that digital transformation brings to religious education and theological inquiry.
Seventeen thematic foci
TREDT 2027 invites contributions across seventeen interconnected themes that map the contemporary terrain of religious knowledge in the digital age.
Erosion of Religious Authority
How decentralized digital participation destabilizes established forms of religious authority and challenges institutional gatekeeping.
Fragmentation of Knowledge
Online platforms enabling competing interpretations and challenging the coherence of traditional hierarchies of religious learning.
Algorithmic Shaping of Discourse
Platform logics, recommendation systems, and ranking algorithms influencing the visibility and circulation of religious content.
Radicalization Dynamics
How digital spaces amplify simplified narratives, contribute to ideological polarization, and reshape religious extremism.
Religious Identity Formation
New forms of religious self-representation, belonging, and contestation in digitally mediated communities.
Pedagogical Challenges
Knowledge production, learner agency, and the tension between depth and immediacy in digital learning environments.
AI and Digital Ethics
Bias, responsibility, and the role of artificial intelligence in interpretive authority within religious contexts.
Teachers and Authorities
Educators redefining their roles amid digitally empowered learners and the displacement of traditional teaching hierarchies.
Digital Fatwā Practices
Online fatwā portals, mobile apps, and the transformation of jurisprudential consultation in digital spaces.
Digital ʿulamāʾ
The rise of new religious figures whose authority is established through digital reach rather than institutional sanction.
Hermeneutics and Taʾwīl
The reconfiguration of interpretive practices and exegetical authority in digital environments.
Interreligious Encounters
How digital platforms facilitate or hinder dialogue between religious traditions and shape interreligious relations.
Gender and Digital Religion
New forms of female religious authority, gendered participation, and the reshaping of traditional gender roles online.
Youth and Digital Faith
How younger generations encounter, negotiate, and reshape religious belief through digital platforms and communities.
Theology of Technology
Theological reflection on artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and the metaphysical implications of digital existence.
Eco-Theology and Climate Justice
Environmental protection, animal welfare, and disaster management within religious frameworks in an age of digital transformation and climate crisis.
Authority and Charisma
The interplay between traditional religious authority and emergent forms of charismatic legitimacy in digital spaces.
Six institutions across three continents
TREDT 2027 is jointly organized by leading academic institutions across Europe, Africa, and Asia, bringing together diverse scholarly traditions and regional perspectives.
CEMIST
Centre for European Muslim and Islamic Studies · Vienna
University of Vienna
Institute of Islamic Theological Studies · Vienna, Austria
University of Innsbruck
Institute of Educational Sciences · Innsbruck, Austria
University of Münster
Center for Islamic Theology · Münster, Germany
University of Lagos
Lagos, Nigeria
Universitas Indonesia
Faculty of Humanities · Depok, Indonesia
What TREDT 2027 aims to achieve
Foster international dialogue
Bring together scholars from Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond to engage in sustained transregional conversation on religious knowledge and digital transformation.
Advance scholarly inquiry
Generate new conceptual frameworks and empirical studies that address the epistemological challenges digital transformation poses to religious education.
Support emerging scholars
Provide a dedicated platform — through the Early Career Forum — for PhD candidates and emerging researchers to present and refine their work.
Produce lasting scholarship
Selected contributions will be considered for publication in an edited volume or peer-reviewed journal, ensuring the conference's scholarly impact extends beyond the event itself.
Submit your contribution by 15 September 2026
Join an international scholarly conversation on the future of religious knowledge, authority, and education in the digital age.