Philosophical theology of personhood in the digital: the case of Ghana’s Young Christians

Abstract

Using young Ghanaian Christians as a case study, this thesis provides a theological investigation of the digital mediation of personhood. It unearths a reconceptualisation of digital culture in which theological anthropology plays a central role. My methodology consists of a critical examination of online and offline sources, and qualitative research. Online sources comprise sermons delivered on Christian identity from a gender perspective by respected charismatic preachers in Ghana, news reports on digital culture from other parts of the world, and social media content produced by online influencers and activists. Qualitative research includes semi-structured interviews and focus groups that aim to unearth the motivations for and reception of digital content production and consumption among Ghanaian Christians 18-35years old. It treats these in relation to standard projections of selfhood from preached theology, obtained from a variety of online and print sources, to establish points of convergence and divergence. Conceptual themes addressed include, primarily, authenticity, authority, and reflexivity. Secondarily, questions of community, autonomy, and agency are also dealt with, and their gendered presentation in conventional discourse spaces like the church pulpit and publications, as well as on new digital media, is critically engaged. The study finds evidence of a strong subjective sense of autonomy and freedom that attends the online activities of respondents, a finding that coheres with findings from other contexts. But this is problematised in relation to critical scholarly assessments of the deterministic potential of AI based social media algorithms and the market logics that dictate their design and deployment. It argues that online agency displays a mixed picture of high and low reflexivity. Activist projects show strongly reflexive approaches to identity, while the promotion of Christian lifestyle content often extends existing logics of legitimation that flow from ecclesiastical authorities. Overall, it finds that while the Ghanaian situation is culturally and contextually specific, it shares fundamental similarities with what has been observed in other parts of the world. Based on these findings, it substantiates its central claim: despite legitimate concerns over digitality’s potential to promote consumeristic conceptions of self, theological anthropology can help unlock a reconceptualisation of Christian digital culture as a site for Christian self-discovery and realisation. This argument informs a constructive turn in which the work of Søren Kierkegaard provides a launchpad for a theological anthropological reimagination of personhood in a social, relational, and networked modality. This reimagination takes into consideration not only the outer appearance of digital behaviours, but also a conception of the aspirational roots of those behaviours rooted in Kierkegaard’s participatory anthropology.