The Structure of Communication as a Challenge for Theology

Abstract

ABSTRACT Even more than any content of communication, its structures influence theology by forming the framework for thinking about and sharing reflections on religious experience. This essay examines three characteristic, but often overlooked, communication structures: oral vs. written and printed communication and the contemporary move to "secondary oral" styles; communication technology's sense of place; and the uses of visual space as guides to the interpretation of experience. Since each of these structures shapes theology, a more conscious awareness of them challenges theology to take the role of communication more seriously.