Presidential Address for the ismrc Virtual Conference 2021: Why Structures (Still) Matter in the Age of Hybrid Media: The Case of Digital Religion

In this presidential address to the International Society for Media, Religion and Culture (IsMRc) I argue for the relevance of studying digital religion as a public phenomenon in one particular context: within the structures of hybrid media. While hybrid as a concept has achieved, in recent years, considerable interest in media and communication studies, it has also been addressed in the study of digital religion. Here, I wish to provide a structure-oriented approach to such hybrid media and argue how this approach could provide a valuable contribution to the study of digital religion in the future.