8th International Conference
Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
10 – 13 December 2025
I am delighted to convene a panel on translation, religion and technology at the IATIS conference in Oman in December 2025. Submissions are currently open for the panel and the deadline for abstracts is 30th April 2025.
For more on the conference see https://www.iatis.org/index.php/8th-conference-oman-2025
Panel 9: Translation, Religion and Technology
Convenor: Anne O’Connor (University of Galway)
While it is acknowledged that in a digitally linked world, religious experience can travel at speed and globally, the challenges of the linguistic dimensions of this communication, and the role played by translation have not been adequately considered. As religious content, rituals, and interactions become increasingly present online, attention to translation becomes crucial in the global digital space. The modes of communication of digital religion offer exciting new opportunities for translation scholars which have heretofore been untapped (Blumczynski and Israel 2018). Although much attention has recently been paid to digital religion (Campbell 2012; Dawson and Cowan 2004; Lövheim and Campbell 2017), and to the forces of new media impacting on religious interactions, the linguistic and translational aspect of this communication is rarely mentioned. Only a few scholars, such as Mandair (2019), Beal (2022) and Moll (2017), have examined translation in new forms of religious media, and have demonstrated the complexity of linguistic interrogations and the evolving communicative strategies in the religious realm.
Interaction with technology can encompass religious communities engaging with digital tools—whether through online sermons, virtual worship services, or religious apps—with translation becoming a key factor in ensuring that these practices remain meaningful and accessible across linguistic and cultural boundaries. Much study on digital religion has considered the new opportunities opened up for religion by the internet and user interaction with web-based technologies and social media. For religion online (Helland 2000), organisations and institutions use digital spaces and technological tools to enable a presence that reaches beyond a local or national borders and thereby encounter many translational issues. However, religions also make use of translation technologies in contexts other than digital spaces and it is important to acknowledge the presence of translation technology in physical religious spaces. Where a religious group has a multilingual community, technologies can enable religious practice and communication, especially in the absence of a common language. Moreover, interpreting in religious contexts, which has long been ignored (Furmanek 2022), is primed for innovative uses of technologies to enable communication and understanding. Audiovisual translation, ad hoc interpreting devices, and volunteer-led technical innovations can all be present in religious spaces as communities seek to overcome linguistic barriers to enable religious practices. This panel will address how these technological solutions can be sustainable in the long term and whether they can contribute to a more sustainable future in religious practices.
This panel will focus on the intersection of translation, religion and technology in the diverse religious spaces mentioned above. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
For informal enquiries: Anne.oconnor@universityofgalway.ie