Understanding Digital Religion in the Lives of Black Christian Young Adults

Paper Title

Understanding Digital Religion in the Lives of Black Christian Young Adults

Publication Info

• Topic area: Intersection of technology and religious practices among Black Christian young adults.
• Keywords: Digital religion, techno-spirituality, Black Christian young adults, artificial intelligence, social media, Bible apps, spiritual practices, religious identity, HCI, marginalized communities.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Limited research exists on how Black Christian young adults engage with technology for religious and spiritual purposes, particularly as they navigate declining traditional religious affiliation and increasing technology use.
• Significance: Understanding these practices is crucial for designing tools that preserve religious authenticity, foster community, and address the unique cultural and spiritual needs of this marginalized group.
• Motivation and related work: Prior HCI studies have explored techno-spirituality across various religious groups but have largely overlooked Black Christian young adults. Existing frameworks like the digital religion framework do not fully capture emerging phenomena such as AI integration or intentional non-tech practices.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Mixed-methods study combining surveys and semi-structured interviews to investigate the techno-spiritual practices of Black Christian young adults aged 18–25.
• Novelty:
  1. Empirical study focusing on a marginalized religious population in the U.S.
  2. Extension of the digital religion framework with two new dimensions: digital humanoid authority and non-tech practices.
  3. Design recommendations for techno-spiritual tools that balance digital innovation with traditional practices.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Conducted an online survey (139 participants) and semi-structured interviews (20 participants).
  • Used thematic analysis and the digital religion framework to analyze data.
  • Proposed new dimensions to the framework based on findings: digital humanoid authority (AI as a spiritual guide) and non-tech practices (intentional avoidance of technology in religious contexts).

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • 81% of survey participants used Bible apps, with YouVersion being the most popular. However, gamified features like streak tracking caused stress for some users.
  • 68% attended in-person church weekly, while 28% watched online services weekly. Online services were used for convenience but lacked communal engagement.
  • Social media was widely used, with Instagram (78%) and TikTok (62%) being popular platforms for consuming Christian content. Few participants actively posted about their faith due to concerns about online hostility.
  • AI tools like ChatGPT were cautiously used for Bible contextualization but raised concerns about reliability and spiritual authenticity.
  • Physical Bibles were preferred by 77% of participants for their symbolic and tangible connection to faith.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Extended the digital religion framework to address AI integration and non-tech practices.
  • Provided nuanced insights into the intersection of race, technology, and religion, which are underexplored in HCI.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Survey included 151 questions covering demographics, church attendance, technology use, and religious values.
  • Interviews explored in-depth experiences with technology, social media, and aspirations for techno-spiritual tools.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Gender imbalance in participants (71.2% female).
  • Findings may not fully represent all Black Christian experiences or denominations.
  • Future work should explore Black Catholic populations and further investigate AI’s role in spiritual guidance.

Summary

This study explores how Black Christian young adults integrate technology into their spiritual and religious lives, revealing both opportunities and tensions. Key findings include widespread use of Bible apps, cautious adoption of AI tools, and a preference for physical Bibles and in-person worship. The study extends the digital religion framework with two new dimensions—digital humanoid authority and non-tech practices—and offers design recommendations for techno-spiritual tools that reduce distractions, responsibly integrate AI, and complement traditional practices. These insights contribute to HCI research by addressing the intersection of race, religion, and technology, and highlight the importance of culturally sensitive and community-oriented design approaches.