The Smartphone in Fulfilling Spiritual Needs:

A Contemporary Challenge for the Church

Abstract

The author puts forward the thesis that a smartphone can be a means to satisfying the spiritual needs of today’s believers. He also asks whether the Church of today is prepared for new challenges in the field of pastoral care through mass media. He shows what spirituality in Western culture is, which has its roots in the Bible. On the other hand, the sociology of religion, describing religiousness both in individual and collective dimensions, shows spirituality as a form of religious experience, an important component of a deepened religious life in which human spiritual needs play an important role. The author points out that there is a need for more extensive research on contemporary forms of meet-ing spiritual needs in the Church. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that it is possible to participate in liturgy and other religious practices through mass media, including via a smartphone. Is it possible, for ex-ample, to give a plenary indulgence to people who were not physically present in church; is it possible to confess through a smartphone? Contemporary social problems and new technological opportunities should be the starting point for reflection on traditional forms of religiosity and on the means used by the Church in its pastoral activity.