Michael Toy

A man with short black hair wearing glasses smiles at the camera

Qualifications

PhD (Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington); M Div (Princeton Theological Seminary); BA (Wheaton College, IL)

Research Specialties

Michael investigates the bidirectional relationship between religion and technology, and the broader impact of media environments on society and the planet. His research is particularly focused on the ways minority groups navigate the digital world.

Michael completed his PhD thesis entitled 'Digital Religion in Aotearoa: Minority Theologies of Flourishing' in 2025.

This project builds out of Michael's media ecology and theological training by exploring the production of theologies of flourishing in the digital world among minority Christian groups in Aotearoa New Zealand. Research participants included Indigenous Māori, Samoan migrants, and LGBTQ Christians. This thesis draws from the fields of media studies, critical theory, digital religion, and ethnic studies to contribute thick ethnographic descriptions and a novel conceptual frame for understanding the diverse and diffuse tendrils of the digital environment. Ultimately, the thesis argues that these minority groups draw from culture, faith, and imaginations of mutual flourishing to carve ‘otherwise’ futures against the constraints and constrictions of the hegemonic systems inherent within social structures. Drawing on the work of Deleuze and Guattari, Michael coins these contrarian configurations 'minoritarian theologies of flourishing.'

Current Research projects

Michael's current projects explore the ways that technology, media, and religion speak to each other in explicit and implicit theological negotiations.

Selected Publications

Toy, Michael J. 2025. "Digital Religion in Aotearoa: Minority Theologies of Flourishing." PhD Thesis, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington. https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.28728629.

Richards, Michaela M., and Michael J. Toy. 2025. "Film Review Essay: 'The Wild Robot' (2024)." Journal for the Academic Study of Religion, 38 (1). https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.32625.

Toy, Michael J., and Michaela M. Richards. 2024. "Coming to a Head: Digital Contestations over Sacred Sites in Aotearoa New Zealand." Religions 15 (12): 1483. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121483

Toy, Michael J. 2023. "'That's Just Who I Am': Theological Reflections on Diaspora, Belonging, and Identity Among Asian Anglicans in Aotearoa." Anglican Journal of Theology in Aotearoa and Oceania 2 (2): 50–62.

Toy, Michael J. 2020. "Speak of the Devil: Suanggi, Satan, and Spiritual Healing in West Papau." Melanesian Journal of Theology 36 (1–2): 103–120.