New Media and Religious Transformations in Africa

"These empirical case studies, drawn from diverse indigenous, Islamic, Christian and neotraditional religions and multiple kinds of media technologies, are a must-read for academics and graduate students in the social sciences and humanities and for non-academic readers interested in changing social trends in Africa."—Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

"[This] volume is an engaging and innovative contribution to scholarly work on religion, media, and politics, and an effective critique of the concept of the public sphere as an a-religious or secular zone."—Journal of Modern African Studies

"It is to be expected that in such a dynamic situation, with rapid changes taking place in media technologies and their applications globally, changes in religion in Africa triggered by changes in their globally massaged, embodied mediation would follow. This book gives valuable insights into the dimensions of those changes, in both detail and broader reflection. It is a commendable collection."—Nova Religio

"Taken as a whole, the contributions to New Media and Religious Transformations in Africa will surely appeal to scholars and students who are interested in either religion and/or media in Africa, and to those well versed in media or religious studies in other contexts. The collection is an exciting contribution by scholars doing pioneering work at the intersections of religion, media, culture, and politics, and will be a valuable resource for scholars wishing to follow the many suggestive avenues for future research on the complexities of religious mediation."—International Journal of African Historical Studies

"New Media and Religious Transformations in Africa casts a critical look at Africa's rapidly evolving religious media scene. . . Showing how media are rarely neutral vehicles of expression, the contributors to this multidisciplinary volume analyze the mutual imbrications of media and religion during times of rapid technological and social change in various places throughout Africa.2/2/15"—North American Assn. for the Study of Religion

"Backed by grounded theory in the emergent field of research on the nexus of religion and media, these essays offer detailed and deep insights into the ingenious, often surprising ways in which new—and old—media are negotiated and employed in Christian, Muslim, and indigenous religious practices across the African continent. A wonderful resource for teaching and a treasure box sparkling with new ideas for future research on the intricacies of religious mediation."—Birgit Meyer, Utrecht University

"Represents, as a whole, an excellent piece of academic work edited by two of the leading scholars in the field, bringing together an impressive number of authors who have done pioneering work in religion and media studies."—Roman Loimeier, University of Göttingen

"This collection considers Islam and Christianity, but also African indigenous religions and will be extremely useful to scholars in media studies, religious studies, and African studies, in sociology, political science and anthropology among other disciplines."—Robert Launay, Northwestern University