Homo liturgicus in digital culture: Reconstructing youth spiritual formation through James K. A. Smith's theological anthropology

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital culture has significantly transformed the ways young Catholics constructed identity, developed relationships, and practiced their faith, raising new challenges for Christian spiritual formation. This study examined how James K. A. Smith's concept of homo liturgicus provided a theological framework for understanding spiritual formation beyond the transmission of doctrinal knowledge. Using a qualitative theological library research approach, the study critically analyzed Smith's major works, Matthew 28:19–20, and recent scholarship on digital religion, theological anthropology, and youth spirituality. The analysis demonstrated that spiritual formation was fundamentally shaped through habitus, embodied practices, and rightly ordered desires rather than through cognitive instruction alone. It further showed that digital culture functioned as a system of cultural liturgies that continually formed attention, imagination, and affection. A reinterpretation of the Great Commission revealed that Christian discipleship emphasized forming disciples who embodied Christ's teachings through faithful practice rather than merely acquiring theological knowledge. The study concluded that youth spiritual formation should integrate theological reflection, biblical discipleship, and embodied Christian practices to cultivate mature faith within contemporary digital culture. This conceptual framework also offered a constructive contribution to the development of Asian empirical theology and provided a foundation for future empirical research on youth ministry in digitally mediated contexts.