Anthony-Paul Cooper

Anthony-Paul Cooper Academic Position: Visiting Researcher

Dr. Anthony-Paul Cooper is a visiting researcher at the University of Turku. He obtained his PhD from the University of Turku in 2021, based on research exploring the use of Twitter data to better understand church attendance.

Anthony-Paul’s current research is focused on exploring the role of technology in Christian prayer and is intended to take forward the emerging field of digital theology by providing new insight into the perceptions of technology users around the role which technology and the online environment plays in their prayer lives while generating new evidence to better understand the ways in which people pray online, with a particular focus on textual content and the inclusion of images, videos and emojis in online prayer content.

Anthony-Paul has a background in computer science and social research, with recently published research topics including content analysis of Twitter data, machine learning automation of Twitter content analysis, geospatial analysis of Twitter data, digital theology, church attendance and church growth and new church use of ‘secular’ and ‘sacred’ space.

Anthony-Paul is also Co-Director of the Centre for Church Growth Research at St John’s College, Durham University, UK.

Publications

Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2021). Exploring the use of Twitter data to better understand church attendance. PhD.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul, Mann, Josua, Sutinen, Erkki & Phillips, Peter (2021). Understanding London’s church tweeters: A content analysis of church-related tweets posted from a global city. First Monday 26(9).

Sutinen, Erkki & Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2021). Digital Theology: A computer science perspective. Emerald.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul, Laato, Samuli, Nenonen, Suvi, Pope, Nicolas, Tjiharuka, David & Sutinen, Erkki (2021). The reconfiguration of social, digital and physical presence: From online church to church online. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 77(3): a6286.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul, Jormanainen, Ilkka, Shipepe, Annastasia & Sutinen, Erkki (2021). Faith communities online: Christian churches’ reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak. International Journal of Web Based Communities 17(2): 99-119.

Sutinen, Erkki & Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2020). Interactive technologies, Missio Dei and grassroots activism. In Missio Dei in a Digital Age. Kurlberg, Jonas & Phillips, Peter M. SCM Press. 122-149.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul, Kolog, Emmanuel Awuni & Sutinen, Erkki (2019). Exploring the Use of Machine Learning to Automate the Qualitative Coding of Church-related Tweets. Fieldwork in Religion 14(2): 140-159.

Goodhew, David & Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2018). The Desecularisation of the City: London’s Churches, 1980 to the Present. Routledge.

Goodhew, David & Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2018). London’s Churches, 1980 to the Present. In The Desecularisation of the City: London’s Churches, 1980 to the Present. Goodhew, David & Cooper, Anthony-Paul Routlege. 3-38.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2018). Using geotagged Twitter data to uncover hidden church populations. In The Desecularisation of the City: London’s Churches, 1980 to the Present. Goodhew, David & Cooper, Anthony-Paul Routledge. 134-147.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul & Goodhew, David (2018). Warehouses, Garages and Pubs: New Church Buildings in Britain, 1980 to the Present. The Chapel Society Journal 3: 81-90.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul & Goodhew, David (2017). ‘Resacralising’ secular space: new churches in a northern city, 1980–2012. Journal of Contemporary Religion 32(3): 495-511.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2017). Assessing the Possible Relationship between the Sentiment of Church-related Tweets and Church Growth. Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses 46(1): 37-49.

Cooper, Anthony-Paul (2014). Unwrapping Camden’s church tweeters: A small-scale thematic study of Twitter data. In Social Media in Social Research: Blogs on Blurring the Boundaries. Woodfield, Kandy NatCen Social Research.

Projects

  • Prayer online: An analysis of the role of technology in Christian prayer