Listening to lockdown: sound theology in a time of crisis

Abstract

This article breaks new ground in Practical Theology by engaging the field of sound studies as a dialogue partner for the discipline. This is achieved by using key concepts from sound studies, specifically acoustemology and soundscapes, to listen to distinct acoustic environments created by lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. A discussion of sound studies as a field of inquiry and its potential for theology is followed by a theological reflection drawing on the author’s auditory experience of lockdown as captured in journal entries. This reflection is focused on three case studies: the weekly ritual of clapping for the National Health Service, online music-making, and the sounds of wind and breath heard more clearly in the ‘hi-fi’ soundscape of lockdown. As well as drawing conclusions about the theological value of sound studies, insights gained through the practice of listening include: the possibility of encountering God through the medium of sound in distinct acoustic events such as the hum of the internet, the importance of listening to particular sounds, and the theological significance of breath in the time of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.