Malaysian Christians Online: Online/Offline Networks of Everyday Religion

Religion has already found its footing in cyberspace. Countless websites promoting particular religious organisations and ideals are easily found within a click or two online. Blogs are now an outlet for religious and spiritual discussion for different groups and individuals. Due to the relatively unfiltered nature of the Internet, it is more possible for new types of religious expressions to surface for public consumption, even if some of these expressions might not conform to conventional notions of spiritual expression. All of these new forms of online religion then, serve as a gateway to study different models and contexts of religious expression.

A website, however, is in many ways only the expressed product. What about the dynamics behind these expressions? Because the online and the offline are inseparable entities, both simultaneously interact with and influence the individual’s identity and expression. This means that in order to further develop an understanding of ‘online religion’, the ‘offline’ must also be described extensively. Using two case studies of Malaysian Christian bloggers, this chapter demonstrates how with the use of Actor-Network-Theory (ANT) methods, it is possible to seamlessly describe everyday cyber-activity and everyday Christianity in relation to one another, thus providing a snapshot of how the larger context and framework in which Christianity in today’s day and age can be better understood.

Maj, Anna