Original version
New Media and Society. 2017, 19 (1), 34-42, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1177/1461444816649914
Abstract
Against the background of growing interest in normative frameworks within Media and Communication Studies and Internet Studies, I propose a virtue ethics framework for Digital Religion (DR). This framework conjoins loving as a virtue with consequent norms of equality and respect for persons. By understanding selfhood in terms of relational autonomy, this framework shares with DR a central focus on identity, community, and authority. Two applications of the framework within DR illustrate its practicality. I further show how this framework can counter two main objections to the introduction of normative interests within DR as an otherwise “value-free” social science.