A review of the literature on spirituality and religion in information research – 1990 to 2022

Abstract

Purpose

More than eight in ten people worldwide identify with a religious group. In addition, people often engage with spiritual and religious content despite having no formal beliefs or affiliations. Spirituality remains a prominent feature of Western and Westernised information-based societies and cultures; however, people’s everyday interactions with spiritual and religious information have received disproportionate attention in information and library science research. Accordingly, this paper aims to understand how scholars have explored religion and spirituality in information research and identify current and emerging trends in the literature.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper analyses 115 peer-reviewed articles, 44 book chapters, 24 theses and 17 unrefereed papers published between 1990 and 2022 to present a narrative review of how scholars have explored spirituality and religion in information research. The reviewed literature is first organised into spirituality-related and religion-related articles and thereafter analysed in Internet studies, information behaviour studies and galleries, libraries, archives and museums-related research groups.

Findings

Our analysis indicates scholars in Internet studies have researched both established and alternative religious interactions, and emerging research agendas seek to explore intersections between traditional religious authority and modern Internet-facilitated engagements. Information behaviour scholars have examined interactions in Christianity and Islam, focused primarily on Western contexts and conventional interactions, with emerging research aiming to explore diverse contextual and methodological combinations. Finally, GLAM researchers have investigated the practicality, suitability, and appropriateness of spirituality and religion-related service provisions; however, a clear research agenda is currently lacking in spirituality and religion information research more broadly.

Originality/value

This paper is the first review of the spirituality and religion-related information research spanning Internet studies, information behaviour studies and galleries, libraries, archives and museums research domains.

Citation

Nangia, P. and Ruthven, I. (2024), "A review of the literature on spirituality and religion in information research – 1990 to 2022", Journal of Documentation, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-02-2024-0039