Rapid technological acceleration, rising political multipolarization, and increasing surveillance have impacted how individuals form their identity and relationships, not to mention, how they form beliefs and interact with their religious communities. The future of the church, some assume, is on a similar trajectory to secularization, where individuals became increasingly syncretic or nonreligious. According to this logic, the church too, has become fluent in digital narrative, accommodating and translating some aspects of religious life into social media, and even AI chatbots.
However, some emerging patterns suggest that the future of church will be a return to analogue-first communities. Digital spaces are becoming panopticons, where surveillance is rampant, and has both personal and juridical consequences. These individuals, those who want to escape surveillance, and those barred from digital communities, will become "digital strangers," to analogue communities. They have become unaccustomed to analogue spaces, and more importantly estranged to forming embodied relationships with others. In this paper, I pose the question, if the future of the church is a return to analogue space, how can churches be prepared to respond and focus on these individuals?
Drawing on Zizioulas' theological anthropology, I illustrate how an ecclesial community is always primarily an analogue one. While, personhood is not diminished through the use of digital media, the recognition of individuals on their own, is a requirement to encounter others and have a meaningful relationship. I also present a renewed approach to evangelization by presenting an alternate theory of religion, where the challenges, presented by this social shift to analogue spaces, opens a dialogue to not only recognize digital strangers who are at some intersection Christian persons, but make an explicit effort to connect with those of any or no religion.