Communication Technology and the Evolution of Religion: A Systems Theory of NRMs

This paper will examine the role of writing, printing, mass media, and the internet in the evolution of religion to develop a systems theory of new religious movements. I will place a critical analysis of Niklas Luhmann’s sociological systems theory of religion in dialogue with theories of NRMs and philosophy of religion to show how the systems of meaning we describe as religion/religious develop through the material technologies we use to communicate. NRMs can be said to emerge and evolve in proportion to the degree of complexity needed to access and sustain the communication of a novel system of meaning for individuals-in-community relative to the selection pressures of a communication environment. A systems theory of NRMs can better explain why religion will likely never disappear but only change in form as we find new ways to form systems of meaning through the materials and infrastructure we use to communicate.