Playing God? Religionization of Big Tech (RELTEC)
Description of the granted funding
The project analyses the religionization of US Big Tech, the acts of locating cutting-edge technology in the discursive proximity to religion. The religionization of technology often occurs when themes such as immortality (e.g., cryonics), surpassing other human limits (e.g., transhumanism), predictions of the future, highly revered figures, or the meaning of life are discussed in the context of technology. The research combines quantitative and qualitative methods and various types of data, including journalistic media, archived company websites, key figures' biographies and authored works, and published materials from technology conferences. The project focuses on the mass internet era, from 1993 to the present day. As its key contribution, the project will generate a new, empirically based theoretical framework for researching religion and technology.
Show moreStarting year
2026
End year
2030
Granted funding
Funder
Research Council of Finland
Funding instrument
Academy research fellows
Decision maker
Scientific Council for Social Sciences and Humanities
11.06.2026
11.06.2026
Other information
Funding decision number
376157
Fields of science
Theology
Research fields
Uskontotiede
Identified topics
humanities