TY - UNPB T1 - An Orthodox wide network over the Internet for the lesson of religion Y1 - 2004 A1 - Risto Aikonen KW - internet KW - network KW - religion AB - Adapting the Orthodox view of education, “taste and see” (Schmemann 1974) to the Internet is quite difficult, because there is a lack of dimensions, interactivity and emotional life in its hole range. So, for a theologian it is not such a big a surprise, if ICT in Religious Education does not pay itself as it perhaps does according to the advocates of the business world. This is because the Orthodox view of Christian education differs from the learning and teaching theories. In spite of all these sceptical thoughts presented above there is no absolute reason to abandon or avoid the Internet in the R.E. The Internet connects people and helps them to share something that is common to them. At its best the www-material supports a deeper understanding of the same substance and paves the way for wider and mutual understanding concerning the Religious teaching and Religious life, and the situation of the Church in different kind of societies (minority-majority position of the Orthodoxy). JF - Orthodoxy and Education: The Lesson on Religion as a Subject of Identity and Culture CY - Volos, Greece UR - http://www.edu.joensuu.fi/ortoweb/oreconf/aikonenristo.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - DANIEL DENNETT, MEMES AND RELIGION: Reasons for the Historical Persistence of Religion JF - PENSAMIENTO Y1 - 2007 A1 - Guillermo Armengol KW - Atheism KW - Dennett KW - memes KW - religion AB - In the work which appeared in 2006 titled Breaking the Spell. Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (Viking, New York, 2006) Daniel C. Dennett again explained his ideas on memes and the theory of memes, by applying it to the study of religion from the perspective of evolutionary biology. His conclusions establish that religion is a meme and that its persistence in history is explained by the replicating processes of memetic structures. However, are there reasons of philosophical or scientific rationality for men having persisted in religion? Dennett does not go into a deep rational analysis of religion. He simply states that it has a memetic structure and he considers that this is a sufficient basis to «break the spell». VL - 63 UR - http://www.sp.upcomillas.es/sites/corporativo/Biblioteca%20de%20documentos21/6th%20Session%20-%20Philosophy-Theology/Documents/G.%20Armengol%20-%20Daniel%20Dennett,%20Memes%20and%20Religion.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Relationship Between Religiosity and Internet Use JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2003 A1 - Armfield, Greg G. A1 - Holbert, Robert L. KW - internet KW - religion AB - With the solidifying of the Internet as an influential form of mediated communica- tion has come a surge of activity among media scholars looking into what leads indi- viduals to use this emerging technology. This study focuses on religiosity as a poten- tial predictor of Internet activity, and uses a combination of secularization theory and uses and gratifications theory as a foundation from which to posit a negative relation between these 2 variables. Religiosity is found to retain a significant negative relation with Internet use at the zero order, and remains a robust negative predictor of the cri- terion variable even after accounting for a host of demographic, contextual, and situ- ational variables. Ramifications for these findings are discussed and an outline for fu- ture research building on our analyses is provided. VL - 3 UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/relationship-between-religiosity-internet/ IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Technophilia and Nature Religion: the Growth of a Paradox JF - Religion Y1 - 2002 A1 - Arthur, Shawn KW - community KW - Paradox KW - religion KW - Ritual KW - Wicca AB - This article explores the issues, theoretical paradoxes and potential problems that occur when the ideas and beliefs of Nature Religion adherents (specifically Wiccans) are juxtaposed with many believers' utilisation and seeming dependence on the technological (read: non-natural), hyper-real communication medium of the Internet for communicating and developing their nature-based ideologies, for the enhancement of their experience of Wiccan practices through ritual, and for community creation and growth. VL - 32 UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/technophilia-nature-religion-growth-paradox-4/ ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Religions of Modernity: Relocating the Sacred to the Self and the Digital Y1 - 2010 A1 - Stef Aupers A1 - Dick Houtman KW - Emile Durkheim KW - individualism KW - Max Weber KW - modernization KW - religion KW - Spirituality AB - Religions of Modernity challenges the social-scientific orthodoxy that, once unleashed, the modern forces of individualism, science and technology inevitably erode the sacred and evoke the profane. The book's chapters, some by established scholars, others by junior researchers, document instead in rich empirical detail how modernity relocates the sacred to the deeper layers of the self and the domain of digital technology. Rather than destroying the sacred tout court, then, the cultural logic of modernization spawns its own religious meanings, unacknowledged spiritualities and magical enchantments. The editors argue in the introductory chapter that the classical theoretical accounts of modernity by Max Weber, Emile Durkheim and others already hinted at the future emergence of these religions of modernity PB - BRILL UR - http://books.google.com/books/about/Religions_of_Modernity.html?id=l85zsiTI28sC ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Japanese New Religions and the Internet: A Case Study JF - Australian Religious Studies Review Y1 - 2010 A1 - Baffelli, Erica KW - internet KW - Japanese KW - religion VL - 23 UR - http://www.equinoxjournals.com/ARSR/article/view/7863 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Virtual togetherness: an everyday-life perspective JF - Media, Culture & Society Y1 - 2003 A1 - Maria Bakardjieva KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religious engagement KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation AB - The objective of this article is to explore some dimensions of the concept of virtual community, which relates to empowering possibilities in the appropriation of the Internet by domestic users. I contend that users’ participation in what have been called ‘virtual communities’ (Rheingold, 1993) over the Internet constitutes a cultural trend of ‘immobile socialization’, or in other words, socialization of private experience through the invention of new forms of intersubjectivity and social organization online. VL - 25 UR - http://learningspaces.org/irm/Bakardjieva_Togetherness.pdf ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Crossing the Boundary: New Challenges to Religious Authority and Control as a Consequence of Access to the Internet T2 - Religion and Cyberspace Y1 - 2005 A1 - Eileen Barker KW - Authority KW - Challenges KW - control KW - internet KW - religion JF - Religion and Cyberspace PB - Routledge CY - London UR - http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/9342/ U1 - Morten Hojsgaard and Margit Warburg ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Spirituality and Technology: Exploring the Relationship JF - First Monday Y1 - 1996 A1 - Bauwens, Michael KW - Attitudes KW - Changes KW - Cultural KW - religion KW - Social AB - This essay first looks at some of the social and cultural changes associated with the notion of a Digital Revolution, the result of the growth of the Internet and the emergence of 'cyberspace'. It then examines some basic 'spiritual' attitudes and how various debates within and between different schools of thought are changing attitudes about technology. Technology can be seen both as a degenerate practice and/or as a means to bring mankind to a higher level of consciousness or to a more well-developed civilization. Finally, the essay will discuss some of the emergent spiritual practices on the Internet itself. UR - http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/496/417 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Computer-mediated religion: religion on the internet at the turn of the twenty-first century T2 - From Sacred Text to the Internet Y1 - 2001 A1 - Beckerlegge, Gwilym KW - Computer KW - internet KW - religion KW - twenty-first century AB - This study demonstrates how diaspora religious traditions utilized the Internet to develop significant network connections among each other and also to their place of origins. By examining the early Usenet system, I argue that the religious beliefs and practices of diaspora religious traditions were a motivating factor for developing Usenet groups where geographically dispersed individuals could connect with each other in safe, supportive, and religiously tolerant environments. This article explores the new forms of religious practices that began to occur on these sites, focusing on the manner in which Internet technology and the World Wide Web were utilized for activities such as long-distance ritual practice, cyber pilgrimage, and other religiously-motivated undertakings. Through these new online religious activities, diaspora groups have been able to develop significant connections not only among people, but also between people and the sacred homeland itself. JF - From Sacred Text to the Internet PB - Ashgate CY - Aldershot, UK UR - http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/helland.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Reading religion in Internet memes JF - Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Culture Y1 - 2013 A1 - Bellar, W A1 - Campbell, H A1 - Cho, K A1 - Terry, A A1 - Tsuria, R A1 - Yadlin-Segal, A A1 - Zeimer, J KW - internet memes KW - religion AB - This article provides a preliminary report of a study of religious-oriented internet memes and seeks to identify the common communication styles, interpretive practices and messages about religion communicated in this digital medium. These findings argue that memes provide an important sphere for investigating and understanding religious meaning-making online, which expresses key attributes of participatory culture and trends towards lived religion. VL - 2 UR - http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/21659214-90000031 IS - 2 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - The Intersection of Religion and Mobile Technology T2 - Encyclopedia of Information Science & Technology Y1 - 2018 A1 - Bellar, W A1 - Cho, J A1 - Campbell, H ED - Z. Yeng KW - mobile technology KW - religion JF - Encyclopedia of Information Science & Technology PB - IGI Global CY - Hershey, PA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Private practice: Using digital diaries and interviews to understand evangelical Christians’ choice and use of religious mobile applications JF - New Media and Society Y1 - 2017 A1 - Bellar, W KW - digital diaries KW - Evangelical Christian KW - mobile apps KW - religion AB - Religious mobile applications (apps) offer a relatively new space for religious practices such as studying sacred texts, prayer, and meditation. To date, most studies in the digital religion literature, and to some extent in general mobile app studies, focus inquiry on app content and/or design only. This study advances these areas of study by extending inquiry to the mobile app audience by exploring how Evangelical Christians actually choose and use religious mobile apps, and how app engagement informs their religious identities. Data from qualitative digital diary reports and in-depth interviews were analyzed within Campbell’s networked religion framework, specifically through the storied identity and networked community concepts. Findings explicate the combination of online and offline resources used for choosing apps, shifting core religious practices from offline to mobile contexts, and a lack of networked community engagement for sharing private religious app experiences. VL - 19 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444816649922 IS - 1 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - The Internet as Virtual Spiritual Community: Teen Witches in the United States and Australia T2 - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet Y1 - 2004 A1 - Berger, Helen A1 - Douglas, Ezzy KW - Australia KW - neo-pagan KW - religion KW - United State KW - Virtual KW - witches AB - After sex, religion is one of the most popular and pervasive topics of interest online, with over three million Americans turning to the internet each day for religious information and spiritual guidance. Tens of thousands of elaborate websites are dedicated to every manner of expression.Religion Onlineprovides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this burgeoning new religious reality, from cyberpilgrimages to neo-pagan chatroom communities. A substantial introduction by the editors presenting the main themes and issues is followed by sixteen chapters addressing core issues of concern such as youth, religion and the internet, new religious movements and recruitment, propaganda and the countercult, and religious tradition and innovation. The volume also includes thePew Internet and American Life ProjectExecutiveSummary, the most comprehensive and widely cited study on how Americans pursue religion online, and Steven O'Leary's field-definingCyberspace as SacredSpace. JF - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet PB - Routledge CY - New York UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=xy0PJrrWXH4C&pg=PA163&lpg=PA163&dq=The+Internet+as+Virtual+Spiritual+Community:+Teen+Witches+in+the+United+States+and+Australia.+In+Religion+Online:+Finding+Faith+on+the+Internet&source=bl&ots=ahRdNXH5kL&sig=0e7v2M0VD1breU U1 - Lorne Dawson and Douglas Cowan ER - TY - ABST T1 - Religion on the Internet: Cyborg Anthropology and Religion 2.0 Y1 - 2009 A1 - Annie Blakeney-Glazer KW - cyborg KW - internet KW - religion AB - The central claim of this course is that technology affects understandings of community and identity. As anthropologists, we will investigate online religious communities in order to learn how religious practices and beliefs function in virtual spaces. By the end of the semester, you will be able to analyze and explain online religious practices as well as analyze and explain your own role as an anthropologist of online religion. This course will be driven by your own research. Each of you will investigate a specific online religious community over the course of the semester, asking: how does religion function online? How do people interact without bodies? How can a scholar represent an online community to an outside audience? PB - Millsaps College CY - Jackson, Mississippi UR - not found ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Media Theology: New Communication Technologies as religious constructs, metaphors, and experiences JF - New Media and Society Y1 - 2016 A1 - Blondheim, Manaheim A1 - Rosenberg, Hananel KW - Biblical media KW - information and communication technology (ICT) KW - internet KW - media theology KW - New Media KW - religion KW - religious experience KW - science technology society (STS) AB - Recent studies have seen religious observance as inherently related to available communication technologies. This study follows this thrust but complements the focus on religious praxis with a look at media theology—the ideological dimension of the religion and media nexus. It traces three distinct facets of media theology: the way religious sensibilities affect how we create, shape, apply, and establish a relationship with media technologies; how media technologies serve as tools for grasping aspects of theology; and finally, how media use can launch mental and existential religious experiences. The study’s orientation is historical, charting the development of the relationship between media technologies and the religious mind in the Abrahamic religions from the biblical media of fire and cloud through script and electric communications and all the way to the Internet. Keywords VL - 1 UR - http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/doi/10.1177/1461444816649915 IS - 9 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Give me that online religion Y1 - 2001 A1 - Brasher, Brenda KW - Online KW - religion AB - As the Internet and the World Wide Web overcome barriers of time and space, religion enjoys an ever-increasing accessibility on a global scale. Inevitably, people online have sought out encounters with the otherworldly, launching religion into cyberspace. In this compelling book, Brenda Brasher explores the meaning of electronic faith and the future of traditional religion. Operating online allows long-established religious communities to reach hearts and minds as never before. Yet more startling is the case by which anyone with Internet access can create new circles of faith. Bringing religion online also narrows the gap between pop culture and the sacred. Electronic shrines and kitschy personal Web "altars" idolize living celebrities, just as they honor the memory of religious martyrs. Looking ahead, Brasher envisions a world in which cyber-concepts and technologies challenge conventional notions about the human condition, while still attempting to realize age-old religious ideals such as transcendence and eternal life. As the Internet continues its rapid absorption of culture, Give Me That Online Religion offers pause for thought about spirituality in the cyberage. Religion's move to the online world does not mean technology's triumph over faith. Rather, Brasher argues, it assures religion's place in the wired universe, meeting the spiritual demands of Internet generations to come. PB - Jossey-Bass Publishers CY - California UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=oMpwqAiWHpoC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - CONF T1 - La foi et le langage : paradigmes de sens pour les médias T2 - 4th Workshop international Essachess: Média, spiritualité et laïcité : Regards croisés franco-roumains Y1 - 2015 A1 - Bratosin, Stefan KW - Faith KW - freedom of opinion KW - language KW - media KW - mediatization KW - religion KW - secularization AB - Cette communication tâchera de montrer dans la perspective d'une épistémologie sociale que les paradigmes de sens irréductibles pour toute type de médiatisation sont la foi et le langage. Elle produira une argumentation en faveur de l'hypothèse que ce qui est fondamentalement spécifique pour les différents approches médiatiques de la réalité ne réside pas dans la production de sens, mais dans la direction que chaque type de médiatisation se donne pour orienter la vie de l'individu, de la société et d’une manière générale du monde. Enfin, la communication apportera une lecture de la liberté de conscience dans ce contexte où l'être humain - un existant donné - doit s' "in-former" sous la pression de l'être social - un existant historique construit collectivement. JF - 4th Workshop international Essachess: Média, spiritualité et laïcité : Regards croisés franco-roumains PB - Iarsic CY - Bucarest-Villa Noel SN - 978-2-9532450-6-6 UR - http://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/45600/ssoar-2015-bratosin-La_foi_et_le_langage.pdf?sequence=3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Church In The Public Sphere: Production Of Meaning Between Rational And Irrational JF - Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies Y1 - 2014 A1 - Bratosin, Stefan KW - Church KW - Faith KW - media KW - production of meaning KW - public sphere KW - religion KW - symbolic forms AB - In the public sphere and especially in the media, the discourse on the Church and about the Church on faith and religion is often tainted by the confusion of meaning due, among other things, to the mutual borrowing less rigorous – epistemologically and methodologically – of the concepts which engage various disciplines (theology, sociology, anthropology, political science, information and communication science, and so on) who take possession of problematic centered on the relation between mankind and divinity. This article presents some basic benchmarks for analyzing and understanding the construction of meaning as well as the rationality or irrationality of these issues by convening the disciplinary distinction between the content of the concepts of organization and that of the institution. VL - Vol 13 UR - http://jsri.ro/ojs/index.php/jsri/article/view/741 IS - 38 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Espace public et communication de la foi T2 - Espace Public et Communication de la Foi Y1 - 2014 A1 - Bratosin, Stefan A1 - Tudor, Mihaela-Alexandra KW - communication – group and community KW - Faith KW - public sphere KW - religion AB - Questioning the faith in its communicability in the public sphere is an open issue. This book is the evidence that, according to Gilbert Durand reflection on the sacred expressed in an interview for Essachess - Journal for Communication Studies in 2011, shortly before his death, the communication of faith in the public sphere seems "both changing and unchanging", changing because the communication as production of the meaning in a practiced context makes it changing and unchanging because it is always related to a single Truth. *** Interroger la foi dans sa communicabilité dans l'espace public demeure un chantier ouvert. Cet ouvrage représente le témoignage que, selon une réflexion de Gilbert Durand sur le sacré exprimée dans un entretien pour Essachess - Journal for Communication Studies en 2011, peu avant sa mort, la communication de la foi dans l'espace public semble « à la fois changeante et immuable », changeante car la communication comme production de sens dans un contexte pratiqué la rend changeante et immuable car elle reste toujours liée à une seule et unique Vérité. JF - Espace Public et Communication de la Foi PB - Iarsic CY - Les Arcs/France SN - 978-2953245028 UR - http://iarsic.com/en/product/espace-public-et-communication-de-la-foi/ ER - TY - JOUR T1 - La médialisation du religieux dans la théorie du post néo-protestantisme JF - Social Compass Y1 - 2016 A1 - Bratosin, Stefan KW - internet KW - medialization KW - post neo-Protestantism KW - postmodernism KW - religion AB - This article proposes a theory of post neo-Protestantism highlighting the key relationships maintained by this new postmodern manner of thinking and living religion with the medialization, that is to say, with the ‘mediatization of everything’ as a model of public communication developed in favor of broadband internet, wireless internet or social media. In this perspective, it is shown that post neo-Protestantism is basically the virtualization of neo-Protestantism still clinging to modernity and the communicative individual pragmatics of this virtualization now inescapably linked to new media. VL - Vol. 63 UR - http://scp.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/07/19/0037768616652335.full.pdf?ijkey=mTGIzHzyxkVZAYF&keytype=finite IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - De-Centering and Re-Centering: Rethinking Concepts and Methods in the Sociological Study of Religion JF - Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Y1 - 2011 A1 - Wendy Cadge A1 - Peggy Levitt A1 - David Smilde KW - methods KW - religion KW - Research KW - scholar KW - Sociology of religion VL - 50 UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01585.x/full IS - 3 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Exploring Religious Community Online: We are one in the Network Y1 - 2005 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - Christianity KW - community KW - email KW - internet KW - religion KW - religious identity AB - Exploring Religious Community Online is a first comprehensive study of the development and implications of online communities for religious groups. This book investigates religious community online by examining how Christian communities have adopted internet technologies, and looks at how these online practices pose new challenges to offline religious community and culture. PB - Peter Lang Publishing CY - New York SN - 978-0820471051 UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=nkEHmdr-7ZUC&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=exploring+religious+community+online+heidi+campbell&source=bl&ots=3cedZPB9S1&sig=Aw3jXmsZmvnlHK7agc6uIzQUSoI&hl=en&ei=tNOZTprkGqbKsQLRwqW3BA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&v ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Surveying Theoretical Approaches within Digital Religion Studies JF - New Media and Society Y1 - 2017 A1 - Campbell, H KW - Digital Religion KW - internet KW - mediation of meaning KW - mediatization KW - New Media KW - religion KW - religious–social shaping of technology KW - theory AB - This article provides an overview of the development of Digital Religion studies and the theoretical approaches frequently employed within this area. Through considering the ways and theories of mediatization, mediation of meaning, and the religious–social shaping of technology have been engaged and applied in studies of new media technologies, religion, and digital culture we see how Digital Religion studies has grown into a unique area of inquiry informed by both Internet studies and media, religion, and culture studies. Overall, it offers a concise summary of the current state of research inquiry within Digital Religion studies. VL - 19 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444816649912 IS - 1 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - A Review of Religious Computer-Mediated Communication Research T2 - Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Culture and Religion Y1 - 2003 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - Communication KW - Computer KW - religion KW - Research AB - This is the first book to bring together many aspects of the interplay between religion, media and culture from around the world in a single comprehensive study. Leading international scholars provide the most up-to-date findings in their fields, and in a readable and accessible way.37 essays cover topics including religion in the media age, popular broadcasting, communication theology, popular piety, film and religion, myth and ritual in cyberspace, music and religion, communication ethics, and the nature of truth in media saturated cultures. JF - Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Culture and Religion PB - T & T Clark/Continuum CY - Edinburgh UR - http://books.google.com/books/about/Mediating_religion.html?id=X6uEQgAACAAJ U1 - S. Marriage, J. Mitchell ER - TY - JOUR T1 - "What hath God wrought”: Considering how religious communities culture (or kosher) the cell phone JF - Continuum: Journal of Media and Culture Y1 - 2007 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - cell phone KW - Israel KW - kosher phone KW - Orthodox Judaism KW - religion VL - 21 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10304310701269040 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Challenges created by online religious networks JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2004 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - community KW - internet KW - religion AB - This article considers the challenges that online religious communities raise for religious culture. A survey of cultural changes in media, community, and religion uncovers similar structural shifts, from hierarchical structures to more open, dynamic relationship patterns in society. Examining this shift helps explain why cyber-religion and online religious communities have become emergent phenomenon. Emphasis is placed on the argument that the Internet has thrived because it has surfaced in a cultural landscape that promotes fluid yet controlled relationships over tightly bound hierarchies. Religious online communities are expressions of these changes and challenge traditional religious definitions of community. Especially problematic is the image of community as a network of relations. This article also addresses common concerns and fears of religious critics related to online communities through an analysis of current literature on these issues, along with a synthesis of research studies relating to the social use and consequences of the Internet. VL - 3 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15328415jmr0302_1#preview IS - 2 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Playing with Religion in Digital Games Y1 - 2014 A1 - Campbell, H A1 - Grieve, G KW - digital games KW - religion AB - Shaman, paragon, God-mode: modern video games are heavily coded with religious undertones. From the Shinto-inspired Japanese video game Okami to the internationally popular The Legend of Zelda and Halo, many video games rely on religious themes and symbols to drive the narrative and frame the storyline. Playing with Religion in Digital Games explores the increasingly complex relationship between gaming and global religious practices. For example, how does religion help organize the communities in MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft? What role has censorship played in localizing games like Actraiser in the western world? How do evangelical Christians react to violence, gore, and sexuality in some of the most popular games such as Mass Effect or Grand Theft Auto? With contributions by scholars and gamers from all over the world, this collection offers a unique perspective to the intersections of religion and the virtual world. PB - Indiana University Press CY - Bloomington, IN UR - http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=807175 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Bloggers and religious authority online JF - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Y1 - 2010 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - Authority KW - blogs KW - religion KW - religious authority AB - It is often argued that the internet poses a threat to traditional forms of authority. Within studies of religion online claims have also been made that the internet is affecting religious authority online, but little substantive work has backed up these claims. This paper argues for an approach to authority within online studies which looks separately at authority: roles, structures, beliefs/ideologies and texts. This approach is applied to a thematic analysis of 100 religious blogs and demonstrates that religious bloggers use their blogs to frame authority in ways that may more often affirm than challenge traditional sources of authority. VL - 15 UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2010.01519.x/full IS - 2 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Religion and the Internet T2 - Mapping the Rise of the Study of Religious Practice Online Y1 - 2018 A1 - Campbell, H KW - Digital Religion KW - internet KW - religion AB - Religion and the Internet will present a range of scholarly articles that offer a critical overview of the interdisciplinary study of new media, religion and digital culture. Scholars have documented individuals using computer networks for religious discussions and enagagment since the early 1980s. In the mid 1990s, when the Internet became publicly accessible, scholars began to study how users were translating and transporting their religious practices onto this new digital platform. This collection will cover the development of the study of Religion and the Internet over the past three decades, highlighting the core research topics, approaches and questions that have been explored by key international scholars at the intersection of new media and religion. The collection seeks to present how new forms of religious practices have emerged and been interrogated by scholars. It will also present how religious communities have negotiated their engagement with digital techologies and the online and offline implications this has had for religious practioners and individuals. JF - Mapping the Rise of the Study of Religious Practice Online PB - Routledge CY - London VL - 1 UR - https://www.crcpress.com/Religion-and-the-Internet/Campbell/p/book/9781138093669 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Understanding the relationship between religious practice online and offline in a networked society JF - Journal of the American Academy of Religion Y1 - 2012 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - network KW - offline KW - Online KW - religion KW - society AB - This article suggests that religious practice online, rather than simply transforming religion, highlights shifts occurring within broader Western culture. The concept of “networked religion” is introduced as a way to encapsulate how religion functions online and suggests that online religion exemplifies several key social and cultural changes at work in religion in general society. Networked religion is defined by five key traits—networked community, storied identities, shifting authority, convergent practice, and a multisite reality—that highlight central research topics and questions explored within the study of religion and the internet. Studying religion on the internet provides insights not only into the common attributes of religious practice online, but helps explain current trends within the practice of religion and even social interactions in networked society. VL - 80 UR - http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/content/80/1/64.short IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Spiritualising the internet: Uncovering discourse and narrative of religious internet usage JF - Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2005 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - internet KW - religion KW - technology KW - theory of religion online AB - Heidi Campbell deals with an important aspect of ”lived religion” and the Internet. In her contribution Spiritualising the Internet: Uncovering Discourses and Narratives of Religious Internet Usage, she focuses on how spiritual or religious worldviews shape the use and study of the Internet. Individuals and groups typically employ one of a range of conceptual models (such as the Internet as an information tool, identity workshop, common mental geography, social network or spiritual space) to frame their understanding of Internet technology and how it should be used. Narratives about the nature of this technology are often embedded within these discourses. Of particular interest to Campbell is the identification of narratives used to shape religious or spiritual Internet usage. Some of these can be described as offering a religious identity, support network, spiritual network or worship space. According to Campbell, religious narratives describe the religious group’s motivations and beliefs about acceptable use of technology in spiritual pursuits. They also highlight a process of negotiation and framing that is often undertaken in order to justify religious Internet usage. Campbell introduces Katz and Aakhus’s Apparageist theory of the social use of mobile technology, which provides one way to discuss this religious apologetic process related to the Internet. She is convinced that it also helps to uncover how technological selection can be linked to the spiritual worldviews to which individuals and/or groups ascribe. VL - 1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2005/5824/pdf/Campbell4a.pdf IS - 1 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Religion and the Internet T2 - Research Methods and Theories in Digital Religion Studies Y1 - 2018 A1 - Campbell, H KW - internet KW - religion JF - Research Methods and Theories in Digital Religion Studies PB - Routledge CY - London VL - 3 UR - https://books.google.com/books?id=lp5gswEACAAJ&dq=religion+and+the+internet+volume+3+Research+Methods+and+Theories+in+Digital+Religion+Studies&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib-s3ipsTbAhVHrVkKHdBOD1IQ6AEIJzAA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religious Communication and Technology JF - The Annals of the ICA Y1 - 2017 A1 - Campbell, H KW - Digital Religion KW - internet KW - religion AB - This article provides a review of contemporary research on religious communication and technologies through the lens of Digital Religion Studies, which explores how online and offline religious spheres become blended and blurred through digital culture. Summarizing the emergence and growth of studies of religion and the Internet, and offering an overview of scholarship demonstrating how religious actors negotiate their relationships and spiritual activities within their online–offline lives, enable us to look critically at the state of Digital Religion Studies. This article also highlights current trends and emerging themes within this area including increasing attention being paid to theoretical developments, approaching digital religion as lived religion, and the influence of postsecular and posthuman discourses within this scholarship. VL - 41 UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23808985.2017.1374200 IS - 3-4) ER - TY - JOUR T1 - How the iPhone became divine: Blogging, religion and intertextuality JF - New Media and Society Y1 - 2010 A1 - Heidi Campbell A1 - Antonio LaPastina KW - blogs KW - cell phone KW - fandom KW - intertexuality KW - iPhone KW - Jesus phone KW - religion KW - religious discourse KW - technology AB - This article explores the labeling of the iPhone as the ‘Jesus phone’ in order to demonstrate how religious metaphors and myth can be appropriated into popular discourse and shape the reception of a technology. We consider the intertextual nature of the relationship between religious language, imagery and technology and demonstrate how this creates a unique interaction between technology fans and bloggers, news media and even corporate advertising. Our analysis of the ‘Jesus phone’ clarifies how different groups may appropriate the language and imagery of another to communicate very different meanings and intentions. Intertextuality serves as a framework to unpack the deployment of religion to frame technology and meanings communicated. We also reflect on how religious language may communicate both positive and negative aspects of a technology and instigate an unintentional trajectory in popular discourse as it is employed by different audiences, both online and offline. VL - 12 UR - http://nms.sagepub.com/content/12/7/1191 IS - 7 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religion and the Internet: A microcosm for studying Internet trends and implications JF - new media & society Y1 - 2012 A1 - Heidi A Campbell KW - Authority KW - community KW - Computer KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - identity KW - internet KW - Mass media KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - offline KW - Online KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - religion and internet KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religiosity KW - religious engagement KW - religious identity KW - Religious Internet Communication KW - Religious Internet Communities KW - Ritual KW - sociability unbound KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “digital religion” KW - “Internet Studies” KW - “media and religion” KW - “media research” KW - “networked society” KW - “online identity” KW - “religion online” KW - “religious congregations” KW - “religious media research” KW - “religious practice online” AB - This article argues that paying close attention to key findings within the study of religion and the Internet, a subfield of Internet Studies, can enhance our understanding and discussion of the larger social and cultural shifts at work within networked society. Through a critical overview of research on religion online, five central research areas emerge related to social practices, online–offline connections, community, identity, and authority online. It is also argued that observations about these themes not only point to specific trends within religious practice online, but also mirror concerns and findings within other areas of Internet Studies. Thus, studying religion on the Internet provides an important microcosm for investigating Internet Studies’ contribution in a wide range of contexts in our contemporary social world. VL - 15 UR - http://nms.sagepub.com/content/15/5/680.abstract IS - 5 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Gaming Religionworlds: Why Religious Studies Should Pay Attention to Religion in Gaming JF - Journal of the American Academy of Religion Y1 - 2016 A1 - Campbell, H A1 - Grieve, G.P A1 - Gregory, R A1 - Lufts, S A1 - Wagner, R A1 - Zeiler, X KW - gaming KW - religion AB - This roundtable article discusses the intersection between digital gaming, new media, and Religious Studies in order to provide an agenda for this growing conversation. We argue that religion plays a prominent role in gaming culture with significant impact on popular collective imaginations; therefore, studying religion in gaming should be central to religious scholars' work in trying to understand perceptions of religion in popular culture. This collaborative conversation demonstrates how careful attention to religious narratives, rituals, and behaviors within game studies and environments can open up a space for critical reflection on how popular understandings of religion are manifest within contemporary media and society. Overall, it demonstrates what Religious Studies can and should contribute to the study of games by considering several critical questions about the study of religion within digital gaming and speculating where this field should be heading. VL - 84 UR - https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article-abstract/84/3/641/1751477?redirectedFrom=fulltext IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religion and the Internet JF - Communication Research Trends Y1 - 2006 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - internet KW - religion VL - 26 UR - http://cscc.scu.edu/trends/v25/v25_1.pdf IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Making space for religion in internet studies JF - The Information Society Y1 - 2005 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - CMC KW - Internet Studies KW - religion KW - religion online AB - This paper seeks to address how religion fits into the larger domain of Internet studies and why studies of religion within CMC need to be given more attention. An argument is made for the need to take religion online more seriously, not just because it is an interesting phenomena or a popular use of the Internet, but also because religion continues to be an important part of contemporary life for many people. A summary of the growth and development of religion online is presented along with an overview of how religion has been approached and studied on the Internet. This review shows what CMC studies of religion might offer in approaching research questions related to authority, identity construction and community online. It calls for recognition of the contribution and possibilities that under-represented areas within interdisciplinary research, like religion, might offer Internet studies as a whole. VL - 21 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01972240591007625#preview IS - 4 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Religion and the Internet T2 - Key Themes in the Study of Digital Religion Y1 - 2018 A1 - Campbell, H KW - internet KW - religion AB - Religion and the Internet will present a range of scholarly articles that offer a critical overview of the interdisciplinary study of new media, religion and digital culture. Scholars have documented individuals using computer networks for religious discussions and enagagment since the early 1980s. In the mid 1990s, when the Internet became publicly accessible, scholars began to study how users were translating and transporting their religious practices onto this new digital platform. This collection will cover the development of the study of Religion and the Internet over the past three decades, highlighting the core research topics, approaches and questions that have been explored by key international scholars at the intersection of new media and religion. The collection seeks to present how new forms of religious practices have emerged and been interrogated by scholars. It will also present how religious communities have negotiated their engagement with digital techologies and the online and offline implications this has had for religious practioners and individuals. JF - Key Themes in the Study of Digital Religion PB - Routledge CY - London VL - 2 UR - https://books.google.com/books?id=QrGhswEACAAJ&dq=religion+and+the+internet+volume+2&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhiYyrocTbAhWjo1kKHUlfCicQ6AEIJzAA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Dissonance of “Civil” Religion in Religious-Political Memetic Discourse During the 2016 Presidential Elections JF - Social Media+Society Y1 - 0 A1 - Campbell, H A1 - Arrezndo, K A1 - Dundas, K A1 - Wolf, C KW - Politics KW - religion ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religious engagement with the internet within Israeli Orthodox groups JF - Israel Affairs Y1 - 2011 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - Authority KW - community KW - internet KW - Israel KW - Judaism KW - Orthodox KW - religion KW - ultra Orthodox AB - This article provides an overview of research on religion and the Internet within the Israeli context, highlighting how Orthodox Jewish groups have appropriated and responded to the Internet. By surveying Orthodox use of the Internet, and giving special attention to the ultra Orthodox negotiations, a number of key challenges that the Internet poses to the Israeli religious sector are highlighted. Exploring these debates and negotiations demonstrates that while the Internet is readily utilized by many Orthodox groups, it is still viewed by some with suspicion. Fears expressed, primarily by ultra Orthodox groups, shows religious leaders often attempt to constrain Internet use to minimize its potential threat to religious social norms and the structure of authority. This article also highlights the need for research that addresses the concerns and strategies of different Orthodox groups in order to offer a broader understanding of Orthodox engagement with the Internet in Israel. VL - 17 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537121.2011.584664#preview IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Framing the Human-Technology Relationship: How Religious Digital Creatives Enact Posthuman Discourses JF - Social Compass Y1 - 2016 A1 - Campbell, H KW - Digital Creatives KW - religion KW - technology AB - This article highlights the fact that careful study of common posthuman outlooks, as described by Roden (2015), reveals three unique narratives concerning how posthumanists view the nature of humanity and emerging technologies. It is argued that these narratives point to unique frames that present distinct understandings of the human-technology relationship, frames described as the technology-cultured, enhanced-human, and human-technology hybrid frames. It is further posited these frames correlate and help map a range of ways people discuss and critique the impact of digital culture on humanity within broader society. This article shows how these frames are similarly at work in the language used by Religious Digital Creatives within Western Christianity to justify their engagement with digital technology for religious purposes. Thus, this article suggests careful analysis of ideological discussions within posthumanism can help us to unpack the common assumptions held and articulated about the human-technology relationship by members within religious communities. VL - 63 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0037768616652328 IS - 3 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Religious Authority in the Age of the Internet T2 - Virtual Lives: Christian Reflection Y1 - 2011 A1 - Heidi Campbell A1 - Paul Teusner KW - Authority KW - internet KW - religion AB - As the internet changes how we interact with one another, it transforms our understanding of authority by creating new positions of power, flattening traditional hierarchies, and providing new platforms that give voice to the voice- less. How is it reshaping Christian leadership and institu- tions of authority? JF - Virtual Lives: Christian Reflection PB - Baylor University Press UR - http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/130950.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Postcyborg ethics: A new way to speak of technology? JF - EME: Exploration in Media Ecology Y1 - 2006 A1 - Heidi Campbell KW - cyborg KW - ethics KW - religion KW - technology VL - 15 UR - http://www.media-ecology.org/publications/Explorations_Media_Ecology/v5n4.html IS - 4 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - How Religious Communities Negotiate New Media Religiously T2 - Digital Religion, Social Media and culture: Perspectives, Practices, Futures Y1 - 2012 A1 - Campbell, H. KW - communities KW - New Media KW - religion AB - This lively book focuses on how different Jewish, Muslim, and Christian communities engage with new media. Rather than simply reject or accept new media, religious communities negotiate complex relationships with these technologies in light of their history and beliefs. Heidi Campbell suggests a method for studying these processes she calls the "religious-social shaping of technology" and students are asked to consider four key areas: religious tradition and history; contemporary community values and priorities; negotiation and innovating technology in light of the community; communal discourses applied to justify use. A wealth of examples such as the Christian e-vangelism movement, Modern Islamic discourses about computers and the rise of the Jewish kosher cell phone, demonstrate the dominant strategies which emerge for religious media users, as well as the unique motivations that guide specific groups. JF - Digital Religion, Social Media and culture: Perspectives, Practices, Futures PB - Peter Lang CY - New York UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=UykFd5cBsrYC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Religion and New Media T2 - International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences Y1 - 2015 A1 - Campbell, H A1 - Connelly, L KW - New Media KW - religion JF - International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford VL - 20 UR - https://www.elsevier.com/books/international-encyclopedia-of-the-social-andampamp-behavioral-sciences/wright/978-0-08-097086-8 U1 - James D. Wright (editor-in-chief) ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Rethinking the online-offline connection in religion online JF - Information, Community & Society Y1 - 2011 A1 - Heidi Campbell A1 - Lövheim, Mia KW - internet and religion KW - offline KW - Online KW - religion AB - This special issue of Information, Communication and Society aims to present current research on the connection between online and offline religion and map out significant questions and themes concerning how this relationship takes shape among different religious traditions and contexts. By bringing together a collection of studies that explore these issues, we seek to investigate both how the Internet informs religious cultures in everyday life, and how the Internet is being shaped by offline religious traditions and communities. In order to contextualize the articles in the special issue, we offer a brief overview of how religion online has been studied over the past two decades with attention given to how the intersection of online-offline religion has been approached. This is followed by a discussion of key questions in the recent study of the relationship between online and offline religion and significant themes that emerge in contemporary research on religious uses of the Internet. These questions and themes help contextualize the unique contributions this special issue offers to the current discourse in this area, as well as how it might inform the wider field of Internet studies. We end by suggesting where future research on religion and the Internet might be headed, especially in relation to how we understand and approach the overlap between online and offline religion as a space of hybridity and social interdependence. VL - 18 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369118X.2011.597416 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Use of Internet Communication by Catholic Congregations: A Quantitative Study JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2007 A1 - Cantoni, L A1 - Zyga, S KW - Catholic KW - Catholic religious congregations KW - Computer KW - congregations KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - email KW - internet KW - internet communication through an e-mail account KW - Mass media KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - religion and internet KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religiosity KW - religious engagement KW - religious identity KW - Religious Internet Communication KW - Religious Internet Communities KW - sociability unbound KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “media research” KW - “religion online” KW - “religious media research” AB - This article presents a first attempt to measure the use of the internet by all 5,812 Catholic religious congregations and autonomous institutes worldwide (with 858,988 members). The research was conducted through a questionnaire sent by e-mail, hence first selecting those institutions which at least have an access to internet communication through an e-mail account (2,285: 39.3% of the total), receiving 437 responses (19.1% of the e-mail owners). The study shows great differences between centralized institutes and autonomous ones: the former ones make a higher use of the Internet than the latter ones; moreover, differences are also found among centralized institutes, namely between male and female ones. Two explanatory elements have been found, both depending on the own mission (charisma) of institutes: (1) first, the different approach to the external world: the institutes more devoted to contemplation and less active in the outside world make limited and basic use of the Internet, if any; (2) second, institutes whose aim is to assist poor and sick persons tend to use the internet less than the others, due to their different prioritization of resources. VL - 6 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15348420701626797#.Uinxtsasim5 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Use of Internet Communication by Catholic Congregations: A Quantitative Study JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2007 A1 - Cantoni, Lorenzo A1 - Zyga, Slawomir KW - Catholic KW - Communication KW - religion AB - This article presents a first attempt to measure the use of the internet by all 5,812 Catholic religious congregations and autonomous institutes worldwide (with 858,988 members). The research was conducted through a questionnaire sent by e-mail, hence first selecting those institutions which at least have an access to internet communication through an e-mail account (2,285: 39.3% of the total), receiving 437 responses (19.1% of the e-mail owners). The study shows great differences between centralized institutes and autonomous ones: the former ones make a higher use of the Internet than the latter ones; moreover, differences are also found among centralized institutes, namely between male and female ones. Two explanatory elements have been found, both depending on the own mission (charisma) of institutes: (1) first, the different approach to the external world: the institutes more devoted to contemplation and less active in the outside world make limited and basic use of the Internet, if any; (2) second, institutes whose aim is to assist poor and sick persons tend to use the internet less than the others, due to their different prioritization of resources. VL - 6 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Basilica of Guadalupe on the Internet: The Diffusion of Religious Practices in the Era of Information Technologies JF - Renglones, Revista Arbitrada en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades Y1 - 2009 A1 - Pablo Ignacio Aburto Carvajal KW - Basilica of Guadalupe KW - Catholic Church KW - communication – group and community KW - information technologies KW - internet KW - media KW - religion KW - religious practices – diffusion AB - This article discusses the use of new information technologies for the purpose of disseminating religious beliefs. It deals in particular with the web awareness strategy used by the Basilica of Guadalupe, a pioneering institution in the use of an Internet site for religious purposes in Mexico. The author examines the relationship between media and people, rituals and spaces involved in religious practices; he also gives an overview of the different communication models favored by the Catholic Church at different moments in the history of media. With a qualitative research method, using in–depth interviews as data collection tool, a semantic content analysis is performed, allowing identification of the main courses for the Basilica’s online awareness strategy. One conclusion is that the main use for the web site is broadcasting information and providing services to the faithful, which subordinates the religious message to the advantages and conditions imposed by the medium, as well as its specific hazards, from the emitter’s point of view. Given its relevance in Mexico, the communication strategy applied by the Basilica can shed light on the steps that other entities linked to the Catholic Church in this country could take in the future. PB - Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, A.C. CY - Tlaquepaque, Mexico VL - 61 UR - http://renglones.iteso.mx/upload/archivos/pablo_aburto.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The vitality of new media and religion: Communicative perspectives, practices, and authority in spiritual organization JF - New Media and Society Y1 - 2016 A1 - Cheong, Pauline H. KW - Authority KW - Communication KW - convergence KW - digital media KW - Globalization KW - religion KW - spiritual organizing AB - It is significant that we are witnessing the growth of a distinct subfield focusing on new media and religion as the relationship between the two is not just important, it is vital. I discuss in this article how this vitality is both figurative and literal in multiple dimensions. Mediated communication brings forth and constitutes the (re)production of spiritual realities and collectivities, as well as co-enacts religious authority. In this way, new mediations serve as the lifeblood for religious organizing and activism. Further research in religious communication will illuminate a richer understanding of digital religion, especially as a globally distributed phenomenon. VL - 1 UR - http://nms.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/05/30/1461444816649913.abstract IS - 8 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Religion 2.0? Relational and hybridizing pathways in religion, social media and culture T2 - Digital Religion, Social Media and Culture: Perspectives, Practices, Futures Y1 - 2012 A1 - Pauline Hope Cheong A1 - Ess, Charles KW - Authority KW - community KW - identity KW - internet KW - religion KW - social media JF - Digital Religion, Social Media and Culture: Perspectives, Practices, Futures PB - Peter Lang CY - New York UR - http://www.paulinehopecheong.com ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Authority T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Cheong, P ED - Heidi Campbell KW - Apps KW - Authority KW - Digital KW - media KW - religion KW - technology AB - Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs and Second Life, the book: provides a detailed review of major topics includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised. Drawing together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives, Digital Religion is invaluable for students wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the field. JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge CY - London ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Chronicles of Me: Understanding Blogging as a Religious Practice JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2008 A1 - Cheong, Pauline A1 - Halavais, Alex A1 - Kwon, Kyounghee KW - blogs KW - hyperlinks KW - internet KW - religion AB - Blogs represent an especially interesting site of online religious commu- nication. Analysis of the content of 200 blogs with mentions of topics related to Christianity, as well as interviews of a subset of these bloggers, suggests that blogs provide an integrative experience for the faithful, not a third place, but a melding of the personal and the communal, the sacred and the profane. Religious bloggers operate outside the realm of the conventional nuclear church as they connect and link to mainstream news sites, other nonreligious blogs, and online collaborative knowledge networks such as Wikipedia. By chronicling how they experience faith in their everyday lives, these bloggers aim to communicate not only to their communities and to a wider public but also to themselves. This view of blogging as a contemplative religious experience differs from the popular characterization of blogging as a trivial activity. VL - 7 UR - http://drexel.academia.edu/KyoungheeKwon/Papers/78691/The_chronicles_of_me_Understanding_blogging_as_a_religious_practice IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Cultivating online and offline pathways to enlightenment: Religious authority in wired Buddhist organizations JF - Information, Communication & Society Y1 - 2011 A1 - Pauline Hope Cheong A1 - Huang, Shirlena A1 - Poon, Jessie KW - Authority KW - community KW - internet KW - religion KW - theory of religion online AB - In light of expanding epistemic resources online, the mediatization of religion poses questions about the possible changes, decline and reconstruction of clergy authority. Distinct from virtual Buddhism or cybersangha research which relies primarily on online observational data, this paper examines Buddhist clergy communication within the context of established religious organizations with an integrationist perspective on interpersonal communication and new and old media connections. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Buddhist leaders in Singapore, this paper illustrates ways in which priests are expanding their communicative competency, which we label “strategic arbitration” to maintain their authority by restructuring multimodal representations and communicative influence. This study expands upon previous research by Cheong, Huang & Poon (in press) and finds that constituting Buddhist religious epistemic authority in wired organizational contexts rests on coordinating online-offline communicative acts. Such concatenative coordination involves normalizing the aforementioned modality of authority through interpersonal acts that positively influences epistemic dependence. Communicative acts that privilege face-to-face mentoring and corporeal rituals are optimized in the presence of monks within perceived sacred spaces in temple grounds, thereby enabling clergy to perform ultimate arbitration. However, Buddhist leaders also increase bargaining power when heightened web presence and branding practices are enacted. The paper concludes with limitations and recommendations for future research in religious authority. VL - 14 UR - http://www.paulinehopecheong.com IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Faith Tweets: Ambient Religious Communication and Microblogging Rituals JF - Journal of Media and Culture Y1 - 2010 A1 - Pauline Hope Cheong KW - ambient KW - Blogging KW - Communication KW - religion KW - Twitter AB - The notion of ambient strikes a particularly resonant chord for religious communication: many faith traditions advocate the practice of sacred mindfulness, and a consistent piety in light of holy devotion to an omnipresent and omniscient Divine being. This paper examines how faith believers appropriate the emergent microblogging practices to create an encompassing cultural surround to include microblogging rituals which promote regular, heightened prayer awareness. Faith tweets help constitute epiphany and a persistent sense of sacred connected presence, which in turn rouses an identification of a higher moral purpose and solidarity with other local and global believers. Amidst ongoing tensions about microblogging, religious organisations and their leadership have also begun to incorporate Twitter into their communication practices and outreach, to encourage the extension of presence beyond the church walls. VL - 13 UR - http://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/viewArticle/223 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Online Religion in Nigeria: The Internet Church and Cyber Miracles JF - Journal of Asian and African Studies Y1 - 2012 A1 - Innocent Chiluwa KW - Christianity KW - Church KW - Nigeria KW - Online KW - religion AB - This study examines the use of the Internet and computer-mediated communication for Christian worship in Nigeria. The seven largest and fastest growing churches in Nigeria are selected for the study, highlighting the benefits and dangers associated with online worship. The utilization of the Internet to disseminate the Christian message and attract membership across the world, and the dissemination of religious tenets and fellowship online, have resulted in the emergence of the ‘Internet church’ for members who worship online in addition to belonging to a local church. Most interesting is the increasing widespread claim of spiritual experience or ‘miracles’ through digital worship. However, there is fear that online worship endangers the offline house fellowship system, which is viewed as the reproductive organ of the local offline church. Exclusive online worshippers are also said to be susceptible to deception and divided loyalty. UR - http://jas.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/01/24/0021909611430935.abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - New Media and Religion: Observations of Research JF - Communication Research Trends Y1 - 2011 A1 - Cho, Kyong KW - New Media KW - Online KW - religion UR - http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_7081/is_1_30/ai_n57221190/?tag=content;col1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Digital Gravescapes: Digital Memorializing on Facebook JF - The Information Society: An International Journal Y1 - 2013 A1 - Scott Church KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - Death KW - digital media KW - digital memorials KW - discourse KW - eulogy KW - Facebook KW - gravescapes KW - memorializing KW - memorializing discourse KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religious engagement KW - rhetoric KW - social media KW - Sociology of religion KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “religion online” AB - I conduct a textual analysis of a digital memorial to understand the ways in which the digital sphere has disrupted or altered material and aesthetic displays of death and the associated genre of discourses surrounding death. I first use Morris's history of traditional gravescapes to situate digital memorials within their broader historical context. I then draw on the functional genre of eulogies, in particular Jamieson and Campbell's systematic description of eulogies, as a textual analytic to understand Facebook's unique memorializing discourse. My analysis suggests that the affordances of the Internet allow for a peculiar dynamic wherein the bereaved engage in communication with the deceased instead of with each other and yet strengthen the communal experience, as their personal communications are visible to the entire community. While the digital memorials lack the permanence of traditional gravescapes, the ongoing conversation they foster sublimates death into the process of communication. VL - 29 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01972243.2013.777309#.UikZdDasim7 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Exploring Religion and Mediatization through a Case Study of J + K’s Big Day: A Response to Stig Hjarvard JF - Journal of Religion and Culture Y1 - 2011 A1 - Lynn Schofield Clark KW - media KW - religion KW - Stig Hjarvard AB - This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of Hjarvard’s theory of the mediatization of religion. Suggesting actor-network-theory as a methodological approach to the study of the mediatization of religion, the article proposes a case study of the viral wedding video JK Wedding Entrance Dance to highlight problems with the assertion that the media are replacing or displacing religion’s authoritative role in society. Drawing upon recent theories of how digital and mobile media are reshaping society by enabling participation, remediation, and bricolage, I suggest instead that the media do not bring about secularization, but rather that the media are contributing to a personalization of what it means to be religious (or not). The article thus introduces an alternative definition to the concept of mediatization: that mediatization may be understood as the process by which collective uses of communication media extend the development of independent media industries and their circulation of narratives, contribute to new forms of action and interaction in the social world, and give shape to how we think of humanity and our place in the world. VL - 12 IS - June 2011 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Considering religion and mediatization through a case study of J+K’s big day (The J K wedding entrance dance): a response to Stig Hjarvard JF - Culture and Religion  Y1 - 2011 A1 - Clark, LS KW - actor-network theory KW - mediatization KW - personalization KW - religion KW - secularization KW - viral video KW - wedding AB - This article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of Hjarvard's theory of the mediatisation of religion. By suggesting actor-network theory as a methodological approach to the study of the mediatisation of religion, this article proposes a case study of the viral wedding video, J K wedding entrance dance, to highlight problems with the assertion that the media are replacing or displacing religion's authoritative role in society. Drawing upon recent theories of how digital and mobile media are reshaping society by enabling participation, remediation and bricolage, I suggest instead that the media do not bring about secularisation, but rather that the media are contributing to a personalisation of what it means to be religious (or not). This article thus introduces an alternative definition to the concept of mediatisation: that mediatisation may be understood as the process by which collective uses of communication media extend the development of independent media industries and their circulation of narratives, contribute to new forms of action and interaction in the social world and give shape to how we think of humanity and our place in the world. VL - 12 UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14755610.2011.579717 IS - 2 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - When the most popular format reaches the most atypical country: reality TV and religion in Israel T2 - Religion and Reality TV: Faith in Late Capitalism Y1 - 2018 A1 - Cohen, Y A1 - Hetsroni, A KW - Israel KW - reality TV KW - religion AB - This chapter looks at the ways in which Judaism finds expression in reality shows in Israel. Three aspects are examined: reaction to the programs from religious leaders and religious communities; participation of religious people in the shows; and the appearance of religion-related topics in the programs. JF - Religion and Reality TV: Faith in Late Capitalism PB - Routledge CY - London UR - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781134792078 U1 - Mara Einstein, Katherine Madden, Diane Winston ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Virtual Buddhism: Buddhist Ritual in Second Life T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Connelly, L ED - Campbell, H. KW - App KW - Buddhism KW - religion KW - Second Life KW - technology KW - Virtual AB - Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs and Second Life, the book: provides a detailed review of major topics includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised. Drawing together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives, Digital Religion is invaluable for students wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the field. JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge CY - 2012 ER - TY - THES T1 - Gaming with God: A Case for the Study of Religion in Video Games T2 - Senior Theses and Projects Y1 - 2011 A1 - Corliss, Vander KW - gaming KW - God KW - religion KW - video games AB - This study is an analysis of religion in video games and makes the case that more formal work needs to be done on the subject. Despite the prevalence of video games in society today, little formal research has been done on the subject of religion in video games. Video games give the audience a level of interactivity that other forms of entertainment cannot provide. Religion has been at odds with the entertainment industry for decades and as a new form of entertainment media, video games have been using religion for some time. Most often it is used in the story of the game to deepen the storyline, but other times it is a central theme that the game revolves. This thesis looks at two popular video game franchises, Halo and Assassin’s Creed, and examines the religious references contained within each of them. It then looks at different controversies that have arisen because of the inclusion of religion in these games. What is interesting about the negative reactions to these games is that they have not come to the attention of the general public even though video games are one of the fastest growing industries in the world. This is because there has been no research done on the subject of religion in video games so the public has nothing go by. JF - Senior Theses and Projects UR - http://digitalrepository.trincoll.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=theses ER - TY - CHAP T1 - The Mediation of Religious Experience in Cyberspace T2 - Religion and Cyberspace Y1 - 2005 A1 - Dawson, L. KW - cyberspace KW - Experience KW - religion AB - In the twenty-first century, religious life is increasingly moving from churches, mosques and temples onto the Internet. Today, anyone can go online and seek a new form of religious expression without ever encountering a physical place of worship, or an ordained teacher or priest. The digital age offers virtual worship, cyber-prayers and talk-boards for all of the major world faiths, as well as for pagan organisations and new religious movements. It also abounds with misinformation, religious bigotry and information terrorism. Scholars of religion need to understand the emerging forum that the web offers to religion, and the kinds of religious and social interaction that it enables. Religion and Cyberspace explores how religious individuals and groups are responding to the opportunities and challenges that cyberspace brings. It asks how religious experience is generated and enacted online, and how faith is shaped by factors such as limitless choice, lack of religious authority, and the conflict between recognised and non-recognised forms of worship. Combining case studies with the latest theory, its twelve chapters examine topics including the history of online worship, virtuality versus reality in cyberspace, religious conflict in digital contexts, and the construction of religious identity online. Focusing on key themes in this groundbreaking area, it is an ideal introduction to the fascinating questions that religion on the Internet presents. JF - Religion and Cyberspace PB - Routledge CY - London UR - http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KxSmkuySB28C&oi=fnd&pg=PA15&dq=The+Mediation+of+Religious+Experience+in+Cyberspace&ots=0g7zYpYFsK&sig=nJ_zWsxPo0CCr1xnmMjA9F8ILGc#v=onepage&q=The%20Mediation%20of%20Religious%20Experience%20in%20Cyberspace&f=fals ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet Y1 - 2004 A1 - Lorne L. Dawson A1 - Douglas E. Cowan KW - Australia KW - cyberspace KW - identity KW - internet KW - Islam KW - religion KW - Spirituality KW - USA KW - virtual community KW - Youth PB - Routledge UR - http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=wv7yBEkNy90C&oi=fnd&pg=PP2&dq=religion+and+internet&ots=CA4s_YcVP2&sig=xdDIUwtCtkJoZbGLjswTPVLMeg4#v=onepage&q=religion%20and%20internet&f=false ER - TY - BOOK T1 - The Elementary Forms of Religious Life Y1 - 1995 A1 - Durkheim, E. KW - religion AB - In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), Emile Durkheim sets himself the task of discovering the enduring source of human social identity. He investigates what he considered to be the simplest form of documented religion - totemism among the Aborigines of Australia. For Durkheim, studying Aboriginal religion was a way 'to yield an understanding of the religious nature of man, by showing us an essential and permanent aspect of humanity'. The need and capacity of men and women to relate to one another socially lies at the heart of Durkheim's exploration, in which religion embodies the beliefs that shape our moral universe. The Elementary Forms has been applauded and debated by sociologists, anthropologists, ethnographers, philosophers, and theologians, and continues to speak to new generations about the intriguing origin and nature of religion and society. This new, lightly abridged edition provides an excellent introduction to Durkheim's ideas. PB - Free Press CY - New York UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=3j5tyWkEZSYC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Imaging religious identity: intertextual play among postmodern Christian bloggers JF - Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2010 A1 - Emerson Teusner, Paul KW - Blogging KW - Christian KW - identity KW - religion AB - In the fledgling but rapidly growing academic discipline of religion, media and culture, much attention has been paid to the use of new media to create and develop individual religious identities, build connections and foster group identities. Yet to date most research has focussed on exchanges of literal text between users, and little has considered the importance of visual text (either still images or videos) in the communication of meaning in online environments. In this presentation, I would like to introduce the image as an object of research in the construction of religious identity in online interaction. The presentation will explore the blogs of 35 Australians who are conversant with a religious movement known as “the emerging church”, a global collection of ideas and conversations residing mainly in traditional Protestant churches that seeks new expressions of faithful living in postmodern urban culture, and challenges the consumerism of contemporary evangelicalism seen in “the megachurch”. By the use of captioned images, video capture (including links to YouTube) and web page design, I will show how bloggers endeavour to present themselves as being “on the margins” of conventional Christian life and practice, and employ intertextual play to challenge modern binary oppositions of orthodoxy/heresy, art/dirt, fun/work, and constructions of gender and ethnicity. VL - 4 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2010/11300/pdf/06.pdf IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Ultra-Orthodox Jewish interiority, the Internet, and the crisis of faith JF - Journal of Ethnographic Theory Y1 - 2017 A1 - Fader, A KW - digital media KW - interiority KW - Judaism KW - language KW - religion KW - technology KW - Ultra-Orthodox Jewish AB - This article argues for a recuperation of interiority. Rather than conflate interiority with belief, as immaterial and individualized, research with ultra-Orthodox Jews in New York reveals interiority to be as public and political as is the material. Over the past fifteen years, ultra-Orthodox Jews have been increasingly concerned with religious doubt. Many communal leaders have called the current moment “a crisis of faith,” with the perception that there are new challenges to ultra-Orthodoxy, especially from the Internet. In response, leaders have turned to explicit communal talk about interiority in their attempts to strengthen faith and therapeutically treat those with religious doubts. Public talk, where certain forms and locations of interiority are cultivated and others disciplined, shows efforts by ultra-Orthodox leadership to defuse the power of secular epistemologies, such as psychology and technologies, while harnessing their potentialities for religious authenticity VL - 7 UR - https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.14318/hau7.1.016 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Divine Online: Civic Organizing, Identity Building, and Internet Fluency Among Different Religious Groups JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2011 A1 - Justin Farrell KW - Catholic KW - Catholic congregations KW - Catholics KW - Computer KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - internet KW - Mass media KW - media and religion KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - religion and internet KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religiosity KW - religious engagement KW - religious identity KW - Religious Internet Communication KW - Religious Internet Communities KW - religious media research KW - sociability unbound KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “media research” KW - “online identity KW - “religion online” KW - “religious congregations” KW - “religious media research” AB - The number of religious congregations with Web sites nearly tripled from 1998–2006, and each year another 10,000 congregations launch a Web site (Chaves & Anderson, 2008). Couple this with the fact that 79% of attendees are now in a congregation with a Web site. Scholars of media and religion know very little, however, about the content of these Web sites or what they tell us about the culture of different religious groups. The aim of this article, therefore, is to examine how congregations are constructing Web sites to advertise their identity, organize their followers to get involved in civic and political issues, and provide an interactive space for online participation in actual ministries. Extensive qualitative data were gathered from 600 individual congregation Web sites from nine denominations in 53 different cities across the United States. The results of the descriptive analysis of these data suggest that there is a strong correlation between the “off-line” characteristics of a particular congregation and the “on-line” characteristics of the same congregation. Evangelical congregations tend to have more complex, attractive, and interactive Web sites and fall into the “online religion” camp. Liberal-Protestant and Catholic congregations tend to create static “brochure” style Web sites that emphasize their denominational identity and thus fall into Hadden and Cowan's (2000) “religion online” camp. This study expands our theoretical knowledge about the proliferation of media into, and out of, religious congregations, and offers a broader understanding about how institutions negotiate their online identity in the digital age. [Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of the Journal of Media and Religion for the following free supplemental resource: Appendix II: Web Site Screen Shots.] VL - 10 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15348423.2011.572438#.Uin0bMasim4 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - 'You wince in agony as the hot metal brands you’: Religious behavior in an online pole-playing game JF - Journal of Contemporary Religions Y1 - 2010 A1 - Feltmate, D. KW - Online KW - religion KW - video games VL - 25 IS - 3 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Internet Ritual: A Case of the Construction of Computer-Mediated Neopagan Religious Meaning T2 - Practicing Religion in the Age of Media Y1 - 2002 A1 - Fernback, Jennifer KW - internet ritual KW - Neopagan KW - religion AB - Increasingly, the religious practices people engage in and the ways they talk about what is meaningful or sacred take place in the context of media culture -- in the realm of the so-called secular. Focusing on this intersection of the sacred and the secular, this volume gathers together the work of media experts, religious historians, sociologists of religion, and authorities on American studies and art history. Topics range from Islam on the Internet to the quasi-religious practices of Elvis fans, from the uses of popular culture by the Salvation Army in its early years to the uses of interactive media technologies at the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Beit Hashoah Museum of Tolerance. The issues that the essays address include the public/private divide, the distinctions between the sacred and profane, and how to distinguish between the practices that may be termed "religious" and those that may not. JF - Practicing Religion in the Age of Media PB - Columbia University Publishing CY - New York UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=9aDg8Ih78QAC&pg=PA254&lpg=PA254&dq=Internet+Ritual:+A+Case+of+the+Construction+of+Computer-Mediated+Neopagan+Religious+Meaning&source=bl&ots=snoOkFzsiG&sig=UjWRGsmRhiRZvf-Xqs9hBNHbTd4&hl=en&ei=Cx24TvCMEoKpsAK42a3eAw&sa=X&o U1 - Stewart Hoover and Lynn S Clark ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religious Online Developments in a Secular Context JF - Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology Y1 - 2012 A1 - P. Fischer-Nielsen KW - adaption KW - Authority KW - cyber church. KW - dialogue KW - discussion groups KW - individualization KW - internet KW - media sites KW - Negotiation KW - religion KW - search engines KW - secularization KW - Social Networking AB - Religious groups have conceived the internet as both a promising way of increasing interest in religious issues and a threat to the core religious values. This article deals with religious developments on the internet based on theoretical perspectives on secularization. Four relevant themes are listed, namely secularization as loss of religious institutional power and authority, secularization as adaption, secularization as decrease in individual religious engagement, These themes are investigated through an empirical analysis of results from two large surveys with 1,015 Danes and 1,040 Danish pastors and secularization as changed conditions for religious communication. The article concludes that the internet does not seem to have dramatically changed people’s religious orientation. As in offline contexts, religious institutions are under pressure on the internet. Though the internet has been viewed as a new direct channel to people, evidence suggests that people are difficult to reach and that other players than the religious institutions dominate the transmission of religious messages. Secularization does take place online, but the development is counteracted by deliberate attempts to use the internet in religious activities, for instance by pastors who engage in critical negotiation of the possibilities online. VL - 6 UR - https://mujlt.law.muni.cz/storage/1373984017_sb_03-fischer-nielsen.pdf IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Internet use among religious followers: Religious postmodernism in Japanese Buddhism JF - Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication Y1 - 2007 A1 - Fukamizu, K. KW - Buddhism KW - internet KW - Japanese KW - religion AB - Strong sect organizations are a feature of traditional Buddhist denominations in Japan. Having long benefited from the protection of Japan's feudal society, these once strong organizations have been buttressed by factors of social change in the modern and post-modern eras, including modernization and the evolution of the media. The Internet is a rich source of information about innovations of religions adapting to social change. To examine these changes, I undertook a survey from 2002 to 2004 of 2,007 followers and religious specialists. The results highlight a critical attitude among followers: Sending and receiving messages in the interaction between a religious group and its followers results in followers expanding the scope of allowable subjects of criticism, and they have begun to entertain doubts regarding their faith systems. We may infer that in postmodern faith, horizontal interaction among religious followers will take on an increasingly important role in comparison with the vertical (top-down) structure of traditional doctrines. VL - 12 UR - http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue3/fukamizu.html IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Building the sacred community online: the dual use of the Internet by Chabad JF - Media, Culture & Society Y1 - 2015 A1 - Golan, O A1 - Stadler, N KW - Chabad KW - community KW - Digital Religion KW - fundamentalism KW - religion KW - religious communities AB - Religious communities have ongoing concerns about Internet use, as it intensifies the clash between tradition and modernity, a clash often found in traditionally inclined societies. Nevertheless, as websites become more useful and widely accessible, religious and communal stakeholders have continuously worked at building and promoting them. This study focuses on Chabad, a Jewish ultra-Orthodox movement, and follows webmasters of three key websites to uncover how they distribute religious knowledge over the Internet. Through an ethnographic approach that included interviews with over 30 webmasters, discussions with key informants, and observations of the websites themselves, the study uncovered webmaster’s strategies to foster solidarity within their community, on one hand, while also proselytizing their outlook on Judaism, on the other. Hence, the study sheds light on how a fundamentalist society has strengthened its association with new media, thus facilitating negotiation between modernity and religious piety. VL - 38 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0163443715615415 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Fundamentalist web journalism: Walking a fine line between religious ultra-Orthodoxy and the new media ethos JF - European Journal of Communication Y1 - 2018 A1 - Golan, O A1 - Mishol-Shauli, N KW - fundamentalism KW - journalist motivations KW - new media and religion KW - online journalism KW - religion KW - religion and media KW - ultra-Orthodox KW - Ultra-Orthodox Jews KW - web journalism AB - New media journalism has perturbed traditional reporting not only in mainstream-modern societies but also within religious-cum-insular communities. Focusing on the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community in Israel and in light of web journalists’ continuous struggle with leading clergy and an apprehensive public, this study grapples with the question, ‘How do ultra-Orthodox web journalists view their work mission as information brokers for an enclave culture?’ The study gleaned from 40 in-depth interviews with web journalists and discussions with community web activists. Results uncovered three major schemata that drive their praxis: (1) Communal-Haredi, (2) Western-Democratic and (3) Journalist Ecosystem. Findings suggest a rising archetype of fundamentalist web journalism that rests its professional ethos on writers’ practice, rather than on formalized training or communal dictums. Web journalists were found to strongly identify with their community, yet, often unintentionally, also act as a secondary form of authority and harbingers of change. VL - 33 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0267323118763928 IS - 3 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Judaism on the Web Y1 - 1997 A1 - Green, Irving KW - internet KW - Israel KW - Jewish KW - religion AB - Surfing the Web for information on a particular subject can be both fun and daunting. It's easy to get overwhelmed when a simple Web search lists hundreds or even thousands of sites. Often times you're left with a case of information overload -- a feeling of helplessness that results from having too much data and too little idea where to start looking. Judaism is one such topic with a myriad of Web sites devoted to it. You can spend countless hours browsing the vast online resources on this religious and cultural community. Wouldn't it be great if there was a guide to the very best of these Web sites? Judaism on the Web is a highly focused collection of 500 first-class sites related to Judaica. Author Irving Green has done the bulk of the Web searching for you, assembling the cream of the crop and placing them into one of five categories: the Jewish world, the Jewish year, culture, intellectual life, and current issues. You find references to sites that offer 3D virtual synagogues, genealogy resources, Kosher recipes, Jewish comics, Yiddish culture, holiday calendars, Israeli Web sites, coverage of Jewish denominations, and much more. So don't get bogged down by information overload. Let Judaism on the Web make online learning a fun and enlightening experience. PB - MIS Press CY - New York UR - http://www.amazon.com/Judaism-Web-Irving-Green/dp/1558285156 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - An Ethnographic Method for the Study of Religion in Video Game Environments T2 - Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion Y1 - 2017 A1 - Grieve, G.P. KW - Ethnography KW - religion KW - video games AB - Focusing on the practice of Buddhism in Second Life, this chapter describes an ethnographic method for the study of religion in video game environments. Gregory Price Grieve argues that if one takes into consideration the narrative imagining of role-play, then Second Life can be considered a game and that its religion practice is authentic because its game play engages with what its users perceive as sacred. He then goes on to outline an ethnographic method based on the field of virtual game spaces, the methodological tool of participant observation, and the analytic instrument of thick description, as well as briefly touching on ethics. Finally, Gregory Price Grieve illustrates a case study by examining Second Life Zen Buddhist objects, places, avatars, groups, and events, as well as touching on the life cycle of the research project described. JF - Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion PB - Routledge CY - New York UR - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315518329 U1 - Vít Šisler, Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, Xenia Zeiler ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Imagining a Virtual Religious Community: Neo-pagans on The Internet JF - Chicago Anthropology Exchange Y1 - 1995 A1 - Grieve, Gregory KW - community KW - internet KW - neo-pagan KW - religion KW - Virtual VL - 7 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - There is no Spoon? The Matrix, Ideology, and The Spiritual logic of Late Capital T2 - Teaching Religion and Film Y1 - 2009 A1 - Grieve, Gregory KW - Ideology KW - religion KW - spiritual JF - Teaching Religion and Film PB - Oxford University Press CY - Oxford ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Finding Liquid Salvation: Using The Cardean Ethnographic Method To Document Second Life Residents And Religious Cloud Communities T2 - Virtual Worlds, Second Life, and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms Y1 - 2011 A1 - Grieve, Gregory KW - religion KW - Salvation KW - Second Life KW - virtual communities JF - Virtual Worlds, Second Life, and Metaverse Platforms: New Communication and Identity Paradigms PB - IGI Global CY - Hershey, PA VL - ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Religion T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Grieve, Gregory KW - religion JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge CY - New York ER - TY - CHAP T1 - The Goddess Net. In Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet T2 - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet Y1 - 2004 A1 - Griffin, Wendy KW - Faith KW - internet KW - Online KW - religion AB - After sex, religion is one of the most popular and pervasive topics of interest online, with over three million Americans turning to the internet each day for religious information and spiritual guidance. Tens of thousands of elaborate websites are dedicated to every manner of expression. Religion Online provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this burgeoning new religious reality, from cyberpilgrimages to neo-pagan chatroom communities. A substantial introduction by the editors presenting the main themes and issues is followed by sixteen chapters addressing core issues of concern such as youth, religion and the internet, new religious movements and recruitment, propaganda and the countercult, and religious tradition and innovation. The volume also includes the Pew Internet and American Life ProjectExecutiveSummary, the most comprehensive and widely cited study on how Americans pursue religion online, and Steven O'Leary's field-defining Cyberspace as SacredSpace. JF - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet PB - Routledge CY - New York UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=xy0PJrrWXH4C&dq=The+Goddess+Net.+In+Religion+Online:+Finding+Faith+on+the+Internet&source=gbs_navlinks_s U1 - Dawson, Lorne and Cowan, Douglas ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religion and the Internet JF - Diogenes Y1 - 2006 A1 - Rosalind I. J. Hackett KW - internet KW - religion AB - Emergent scholarship on the most radical technological invention of our time confirms what most of us know from first-hand experience – that the internet has fundamentally altered our perceptions and our knowledge, as well as our sense of subjectivity, community and agency (see for example Vries, 2002: 19). The American scholar of religion and communications, Stephen O’Leary, one of the first scholars to analyze the role of the new media for religious communities, claims that the advent of the internet has been as revolutionary for religious growth and dissemination as was the invention of the printing press (O’Leary, 1996). In the present essay, I consider the transformations of both religion, and by extension scholarship on religion, occasioned by computer-mediated communication (CMC) and information. I lay out a basic framework for analyzing the multifunctionality of the internet with regard to religion. I also briefly address the multidisciplinarity required to comprehend this multi-dimensional technological revolution. My primary focus is religious uses (Lawrence, 2000), but some reference is also made to religious perceptions of this new medium. In my broader research, I am particularly interested in some of the latest forms of internet applications by religious individuals and organizations, and their consequence for inter-religious conflict or harmony in what sociologist Manuel Castells calls our ‘global network society’ (Castells, 1997; Hackett, 2003, 2005). The information technology revolution and the restructuring of late capitalist economies have generated this new form of society. But as to whether the internet is predominantly utopian or dystopian is hard to discern, conclusions may be determined by one’s own interests and vantage-point. VL - 53 UR - http://dio.sagepub.com/content/53/3/67.citation ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Interview with Rosalind I. J. Hackett on religion and digital media trends in Africa JF - Émulations. Revue de sciences sociales Y1 - 2017 A1 - Hackett, Rosalind I. J A1 - Madore, F A1 - Millet-Mouity, P KW - Africa KW - digital media KW - religion AB - On October 21st, 2017, the editors of this special issue conducted an interview with Rosalind I. J. Hackett, one of the pioneering scholars in the field of media and religion in Africa. The interview took place via Skype and consisted of five questions on the study of religion and digital media in the African context. UR - http://www.revue-emulations.net/archives/24-les-acteurs-religieux-africains-numerique/interview-with-rosalind-i-j-hackett IS - 24 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises Y1 - 2000 A1 - Hadden, Jeffery A1 - Cowan, Douglas KW - internet KW - religion KW - Research AB - Religion on the Internet is the first systematic inquiry into the nature, scope and content of religion in cyberspace. Contributors to this volume include leading social scientists engaged in systematic studies of how organizations and individuals are presenting religion on the Internet. Their combined efforts provide a conceptual mapping of religion in cyberspace at this moment. The individual papers and collective insights found in this volume add up to a valuable agenda of research that will enrich understanding of this new phenomenon. Among the contributors are the founders of three of the most important scholarly religion web sites on the Internet: American Religion Data Archive, Religious Tolerance, and Religious Movements Homepage. Religion and the Internet is essential reading for all who seek to understand how religion is being presented on the Internet and how this topic is likely to unfold in the years ahead. PB - JAI Press/Elsevier Science CY - London UR - http://collections.lib.uwm.edu/cipr/image/304.pdf ER - TY - UNPB T1 - Network Sociality and Religion in the Digital Age Y1 - 0 A1 - Halprin, E KW - digital age KW - religion KW - sociality AB - The study of religion through a community-building paradigm has dominated sociology of religion, but does not account for changes to sociality and social spaces in the digital era which have influenced the ways individuals express their religiosity. A network sociality paradigm better explains increasingly personal and individualised approaches to religiosity in a contemporary social setting because of the de-hierarchized nature of computer mediated communication. Approaching religion, and digital religion through the lens of mediatised network sociality reveals the development of new groups and identities using the internet as an accessible translocal socio-cultural space. PB - Queen’s University Kingston CY - Ontario, Canada UR - https://www.queensu.ca ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Ultima IV: Simulating the Religious Quest T2 - Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God Y1 - 2010 A1 - Mark Hayse KW - Britannia KW - messianic figure KW - quest KW - religion KW - religious games KW - religious video games KW - Spirituality KW - Ultima KW - video games JF - Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God PB - Westminster John Knox Press UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=GomyEvcocJsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=wagner&f=false U1 - Craig Detweiler ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Online religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet JF - Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2005 A1 - Helland, Christopher KW - internet KW - Online KW - Participation KW - religion AB - In his article Christopher Helland proposes a more comprehensive framework for his theoretical distinction for online religion and religion online. When he developed this typology in 1999, Helland recognized a clear distinction between religious Web sites where people could act with unrestricted freedom and a high level of interactivity (online religion) versus the majority of religious Web sites, which seemed to provide only religious information and no interaction (religion online). He now advances the religion online / online religion framework by drawing from the ongoing critique of his earlier work. He concludes that many religious Web sites today provide both information and an area where this information can be lived and communicated. This occurs on the Internet where Web sites try to incorporate both an information zone and interaction zone in a single site or, more commonly, where popular unofficial Web sites provide the area for online religion, while the official religious Web site supplies religion online. In cases where institutional religious organizations do not support online religion he assumes that it may be due to their perception of the Internet as a tool for communicating rather than an extension of our social world. VL - 1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2005/5823/ IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Online religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet JF - Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2005 A1 - Helland, Christopher KW - internet KW - Online KW - Participation KW - religion AB - In his article Christopher Helland proposes a more comprehensive framework for his theoretical distinction for online religion and religion online. When he developed this typology in 1999, Helland recognized a clear distinction between religious Web sites where people could act with unrestricted freedom and a high level of interactivity (online religion) versus the majority of religious Web sites, which seemed to provide only religious information and no interaction (religion online). He now advances the religion online / online religion framework by drawing from the ongoing critique of his earlier work. He concludes that many religious Web sites today provide both information and an area where this information can be lived and communicated. This occurs on the Internet where Web sites try to incorporate both an information zone and interaction zone in a single site or, more commonly, where popular unofficial Web sites provide the area for online religion, while the official religious Web site supplies religion online. In cases where institutional religious organizations do not support online religion he assumes that it may be due to their perception of the Internet as a tool for communicating rather than an extension of our social world. VL - 1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2005/5823/ IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Online religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet JF - Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2005 A1 - Helland, Christopher KW - internet KW - Online KW - Participation KW - religion AB - In his article Christopher Helland proposes a more comprehensive framework for his theoretical distinction for online religion and religion online. When he developed this typology in 1999, Helland recognized a clear distinction between religious Web sites where people could act with unrestricted freedom and a high level of interactivity (online religion) versus the majority of religious Web sites, which seemed to provide only religious information and no interaction (religion online). He now advances the religion online / online religion framework by drawing from the ongoing critique of his earlier work. He concludes that many religious Web sites today provide both information and an area where this information can be lived and communicated. This occurs on the Internet where Web sites try to incorporate both an information zone and interaction zone in a single site or, more commonly, where popular unofficial Web sites provide the area for online religion, while the official religious Web site supplies religion online. In cases where institutional religious organizations do not support online religion he assumes that it may be due to their perception of the Internet as a tool for communicating rather than an extension of our social world. VL - 1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2005/5823/ IS - 1 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Canadian Religious Diversity Online: A Network of Possibilities T2 - Religion and Diversity in Canada Y1 - 2008 A1 - Helland, Christopher KW - Canada KW - culture KW - diversity KW - religion AB - Canada officially prides itself on being a multicultural nation, welcoming people from all around the world, and enshrining that status in its Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as in an array of laws and policies that aim to protect citizens from discrimination on various grounds, including race, cultural origin, sexual orientation, and religion. This volume explores the intersection of these diversities, foregrounding religion as the primary focus of analysis. Taking as their point of departure the contested meaning and implications of the term diversity, the various contributions address issues such as the power relations that diversity implies, the cultural context that limits the understanding and practical acceptance of religious diversity, and how Canada compares in these matters to other countries. Taken together the essays therefore elucidate the Canadian case while also having relevance for understanding this critical issue globally. JF - Religion and Diversity in Canada PB - Brill Academic Publishers CY - Boston UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=79bUL99FnVUC&pg=PA127&lpg=PA127&dq=Canadian+Religious+Diversity+Online:+Network+of+Possibilities&source=bl&ots=rOhSBr_4tC&sig=dkyQ6cs6cNZaqRdO4XYGpfWek9g&hl=en&ei=BxfoTrObO-jHsQKAleiCCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum U1 - Peter Beyer, Lori Beaman ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Online religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet JF - Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2005 A1 - Helland, Christopher KW - internet KW - Online KW - Participation KW - religion AB - In his article Christopher Helland proposes a more comprehensive framework for his theoretical distinction for online religion and religion online. When he developed this typology in 1999, Helland recognized a clear distinction between religious Web sites where people could act with unrestricted freedom and a high level of interactivity (online religion) versus the majority of religious Web sites, which seemed to provide only religious information and no interaction (religion online). He now advances the religion online / online religion framework by drawing from the ongoing critique of his earlier work. He concludes that many religious Web sites today provide both information and an area where this information can be lived and communicated. This occurs on the Internet where Web sites try to incorporate both an information zone and interaction zone in a single site or, more commonly, where popular unofficial Web sites provide the area for online religion, while the official religious Web site supplies religion online. In cases where institutional religious organizations do not support online religion he assumes that it may be due to their perception of the Internet as a tool for communicating rather than an extension of our social world. VL - 1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2005/5823/ IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Relationship Between Religiosity and Internet Use JF - Journal of Media and Religion Y1 - 2003 A1 - Greg G. Armfield & R. Lance Holbert KW - Computer KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - internet KW - Mass media KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - religion and internet KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religiosity KW - religious engagement KW - religious identity KW - Religious Internet Communication KW - Religious Internet Communities KW - secularization theory KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation KW - uses and gratifications KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “media research” KW - “religion online” KW - “religious media research” AB - With the solidifying of the Internet as an influential form of mediated communication has come a surge of activity among media scholars looking into what leads individuals to use this emerging technology. This study focuses on religiosity as a potential predictor of Internet activity, and uses a combination of secularization theory and uses and gratifications theory as a foundation from which to posit a negative relation between these 2 variables. Religiosity is found to retain a significant negative relation with Internet use at the zero order, and remains a robust negative predictor of the criterion variable even after accounting for a host of demographic, contextual, and situational variables. Ramifications for these findings are discussed and an outline for future research building on our analyses is provided. VL - 2 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15328415JMR0203_01#.UikaxDasim5 IS - 3 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Personal Religion Online Y1 - 2004 A1 - Stewart Hoover A1 - Lynn Schofield Clark KW - American Life Project KW - internet KW - Pew Internet KW - religion KW - spiritual religious KW - survey AB - Paper presented at Internet Research 5.0, University of Sussex, England. UR - http://gsb.haifa.ac.il/~sheizaf/AOIR5/131.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A mediated religion: historical perspectives on Christianity and the Internet JF - Studies in World Christianity Y1 - 2007 A1 - Horsfield, P. G. A1 - Teusner, P. KW - Christianity KW - media KW - religion VL - 13 UR - http://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/swc.2007.13.3.278 IS - 3 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - From Jesus to the Internet: A History of Christianity and Media Y1 - 2015 A1 - Peter Horsfield KW - Christianity KW - Digital KW - internet KW - intersection KW - media KW - religion PB - Wiley Blackwell CY - Hoboken, New Jersey ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Creating Church Online: A Case-Study Approach to Religious Experience JF - Studies in World Christianity Y1 - 2007 A1 - Hutchings, T. KW - Church KW - Experience KW - Online KW - religion VL - 13 UR - http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/edinburgh-university-press/creating-church-online-a-case-study-approach-to-religious-experience-Rjr4uCIo7a IS - 3 ER - TY - UNPB T1 - Waving a "Hi": Religion Among Facebook Users Y1 - 2008 A1 - Johns, M.D. KW - Facebook KW - religion KW - social media KW - user PB - Association of Internet Researchers 9.0 CY - Copenhagen ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Going on Pilgrimage Online : the Representation of Shia Rituals on the Internet JF - Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2006 A1 - Sabine Kalinock KW - analyzing rituals KW - communication within the Internet KW - media and religion KW - New Technology and Society KW - Online community KW - Pilgrimage Online KW - Practicing Faith in Cyberspace KW - religion KW - religious practice KW - Shia AB - In her article Going on Pilgrimage Online. The Representation of Shia Rituals on the Internet, Sabine Kalinock gives an overview of the representation of Shia ritual in the Internet and discusses the relation between innovations and traditional discourses. Emphasis is laid on the possibilities that the Internet offers and which are especially important in the Muslim and Iranian context: the mixing of the sexes, exchange with believers in other parts of the world and the free expression of critical ideas. Kalinock thereby concentrates on case studies from Iranian religious websites set up by various Shiite communities, official institutions as well as private persons. These Websites are usually presented in at least three languages: Arab, Persian, and English, and deal with religious regulations and rituals, hagiographies and recent miracle stories that are recorded with modern technology and confirmed by physicians. Pictures, video films and audio records supplement the texts. Via email believers can seek the guidance of a leading clergyman of their choice (marja at-taqlid) while various books and online resources provide further advice. In chat rooms men and women discuss, affirm or question the meaning and validity of certain religious rules and rituals. VL - 02.1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/religions/article/view/373 IS - Special Issue on Rituals on the Internet ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religious Discourse and Cyberspace JF - Religion Y1 - 2002 A1 - Anastasia Karaflogka KW - Attitude KW - cyberspace KW - religion KW - Typology AB - This article explores the evolution and development of a typology of cyberspatial religious discourse over the course of a few years. The vast quantity of information published on the Net requires the creation of a typology in order to identify and classify the different approaches, attitudes, applications and functions of religion on and in cyberspace. The three different typologies indicate, on the one hand, the versatile character of cyberspace, and on the other hand, the ever-expanding nature of its perimeters. They show that cyberspatial discourse, religious or not, cannot be confined within restricted boundaries but must be perceived as a changeable and unforeseen structure, having the capacity to adapt itself according to the visions, fantasies, ingenuities and inventiveness of the users. They also suggest that despite the rhizomatic construction of cyberspace, the information published on the innumerable religious sites can be systematised in a ‘logical’ formation. VL - 32 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WWN-47YPV51-2&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1395870485&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_us ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Excess, Artifice, Sentimentality: Almodóvar’s Camp Cinema as a Challenge for Theological Aesthetics JF - Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture Y1 - 2014 A1 - S Knauss KW - Camp Cinema KW - Christianinty KW - religion KW - Sentimentality KW - Theological Aesthetics AB - Camp is defined as a style that is characterised by excess, artificiality, theatricality, exaggeration, sentimentality. What could this possibly contribute to Christian theological aesthetics, the study of God and theological issues through the aesthetic, art, beauty? This paper proposes, through a discussion of camp in its “incarnation” in Pedro Almodóvar’s cinema, that it has several aspects to offer. Camp uncovers and challenges the categories of truth and reality in theological aesthetics as well as the artforms in which this truth can be discovered. Its embrace of the superficial and material can be seen, in theological terms, as an incarnational aesthetics that offers redemption through the affirmation of the material, not its disruption or negation. Camp underlines the subversive power of pleasure and laughter against tendencies that dismiss pleasure as escapism, and challenges theological aesthetics to acknowledge the wisdom that lies in emotions and affects. It criticizes by fostering solidarity and empathy, rather than antagonism. Thus camp represents a challenge to self-critically reflect on processes of exclusion on an aesthetic and a social level, and challenges us to imagine a different world, a world of beauty, love and passion VL - 3 UR - http://jrmdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Knauss.pdf IS - 1 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - The changing faces of media and religion T2 - Religion and Change in Modern Britain Y1 - 2012 A1 - Knott, Kim. A1 - Mitchell, Jolyon KW - media KW - religion AB - This book offers a fully up-to-date and comprehensive guide to religion in Britain since 1945. A team of leading scholars provide a fresh analysis and overview, with a particular focus on diversity and change. They examine: relations between religious and secular beliefs and institutions the evolving role and status of the churches the growth and settlement of non-Christian religious communities the spread and diversification of alternative spiritualities religion in welfare, education, media, politics and law theoretical perspectives on religious change. The volume presents the latest research, including results from the largest-ever research initiative on religion in Britain, the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme. Survey chapters are combined with detailed case studies to give both breadth and depth of coverage. The text is accompanied by relevant photographs and a companion website. JF - Religion and Change in Modern Britain PB - Routledge CY - London UR - http://books.google.com/books/about/Religion_And_Change_In_Modern_Britain.html?id=4OCMRAAACAAJ ER - TY - JOUR T1 - RELIGION ON CATHOLIC INTERNET FORUMS IN POLAND. A MEMORY MEDIATED JF - Nordic Journal of Religion and Society Y1 - 2014 A1 - Kolodziejska, Marta KW - Catholicism KW - forums KW - internet KW - memory KW - religion AB - The following article aims to show that on Catholic Internet forums in Poland, religion—in this case Roman Catholicism—serves as a mediated chain of memory fulfilling two main functions simultaneously: an integrating function and a differentiating function. The analysis will be based on Hervieu-Léger’s concept of religion as a chain of memory (2000, 2006) and Davie’s modified concept of religion as memory that mutates (2000, 2006).A thread from 2011 on one of the most popular Catholic forums in Poland—forum.wiara.pl—will be used as a case study. It will be shown that through voicing various notions of the meaning of religion, faith, the institutional Church, and the connection between science and religion, users both distinguish themselves from and integrate themselves with other users, as well as with their representation of ‘average’ Catholics in Poland. VL - 27 UR - http://www.akademikaforlag.no/content/nordic-journal-religion-and-society-272 IS - 2 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Christian Evangelizing Across National Boundaries: Technology, Cultural Capital and the Intellectualization of Religio T2 - Religion and Place Y1 - 2013 A1 - Lily Kong KW - Alpha course KW - audience KW - Christianity KW - cultural capital KW - evangelical KW - intellectual capital KW - intellectualization KW - London KW - religion KW - Singapore AB - Christian evangelical work across national boundaries is often associated with missionary work. In this chapter, I focus on other strategies used in Christian evangelizing, particularly the widespread international dissemination and replication of courses about Christianity for the unconverted using standardized material and approaches. I examine how religious globalization (i.e. the convergence and conformity of religious practice across national boundaries) through such courses takes place, with the aid of technology, the tapping of shared cultural capital and the “intellectualization” of religion. I argue that such forms of evangelization work for certain audiences better than for others. Using the case of the Alpha course, an evangelical Christian course originating in London and replicated in different parts of the world, and focusing on its dissemination and effects in Singapore, I demonstrate how the evangelical material works best with a transnational elite audience with a shared cultural and intellectual capital JF - Religion and Place PB - Springer Netherlands UR - http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-4685-5_2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religion and technology: refiguring place, space, identity and community JF - Area Y1 - 2001 A1 - Lily Kong KW - community KW - cyberspace KW - place KW - religion KW - space KW - technology AB - This paper reviews the literature on the religion–technology nexus, drawing up a research agenda and offering preliminary empirical insights. First, I stress the need to explore the new politics of space as a consequence of technological development, emphasizing questions about the role of religion in effecting a form of religious (neo)imperialism, and uneven access to techno-religious spaces. Second, I highlight the need to examine the politics of identity and community, since cyberspace is not an isotropic surface. Third, I underscore the need to engage with questions about the poetics of religious community as social relations become mediated by technology. Finally, I focus on questions about the poetics of place, particularly the technological mediation of rituals. VL - 33 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118968381/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Mediatization: analyzing transformations of religion from a gender perspective JF - Media, Culture & Society Y1 - 2016 A1 - Lövheim, M KW - GENDER KW - mediatization KW - public sphere KW - religion AB - This book presents new research on the changing relationship between the media, religion and culture from a Nordic perspective, while engaging with the theory of the mediatization of religion. In contemporary society, news journalism, film and television series, as well as new digital media, provide critical commentary on religion while also enabling new forms of religious imagery and interaction. Religious leaders, communities and individuals reflexively negotiate their presence within this new mediatized reality. In an increasingly globalized Nordic context, the media have also come to play an important role in the performance of both individual and social identities, and in the representation and development of social and religious conflicts. Through empirical analysis and theoretical discussions, scholars from film and media studies, the sociology of religion, and theology contribute to the development of the theory of the mediatization of religion as well as to the broader research field of media, religion and culture. VL - 38 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0163443715615411?journalCode=mcsa IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Considering Critical Methods and Theoretical Lenses in Digital Religion Studies JF - New Media and Society Y1 - 2017 A1 - Lövheim, M A1 - Campbell, H KW - Digital Religion KW - internet KW - media technologies KW - methodology KW - religion KW - theory AB - This article introduces a special issue on critical methods and theoretical lenses in Digital Religion studies, through contextualising them within research trajectories found in this emerging field. By starting from the assertion that current “fourth-wave of research on religion and the Internet,” is focused on how religious actors negotiate the relationships between multiple spheres of their online and offline lives, article authors spotlight key theoretical discussions and methodological approaches occurring within this interdisciplinary area of inquiry. It concludes with notable methodological and theoretical challenges in need of further exploration. Together it demonstrates how religion is practiced and reimagined within digital media spaces, and how such analysis can contribute to broader understanding of the social and cultural changes new media technologies are facilitating within society. VL - 19 UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1461444816649911 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The mediatisation of religion debate: an introduction JF - Culture and Religion  Y1 - 2011 A1 - Lövheim, M A1 - Lynch, G KW - mediatisation KW - religion AB - Within the growing literature on religion and media, a more specific debate has recently developed in relation to the mediatisation of religion. The Danish scholar, Stig Hjarvard, has undertaken leading work in articulating a detailed theory of the mediatisation of religion, arguing that contemporary religion is increasingly mediated through secular, autonomous media institutions and is shaped according to the logics of those media. This special issue is the first extended discussion of Hjarvard's thesis by researchers working across different disciplines and areas of study. This introduction sets out the background and key concepts for this debate, discusses why the mediatisation of religion debate is important for sociological and cultural understandings of contemporary religion, and provides a brief summary of the arguments of the individual articles within this collection. VL - 12 UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14755610.2011.579715 IS - 2 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Media and religion: Bridging ‘incompatible agendas’ T2 - Foundations and Futures in the Sociology of Religion Y1 - 2018 A1 - Lövheim, M KW - media KW - religion AB - This chapter addresses the challenge of finding adequate theories for understanding the growing complexity of the religious situation in Europe and the rest of the world through discussing the insights that can be gained through engagement with theories of the role of media in contemporary society. Various forms of media have become pivotal arenas for the new visibility of religion in Europe. While sociologists of religion are becoming more sensitive to these developments, they continue to lack the conceptual tools to adequately analyse what this means for the role and presence of religion in contemporary society. Following Grace Davie’s (2000) exploration of the incompatible agendas between sociologists of religion on the one hand and media scholars on the other, the aim of this chapter will be to highlight the changes currently taking place and the emerging potential for closer dialogue between these two factions in the future. JF - Foundations and Futures in the Sociology of Religion PB - Routledge CY - London UR - https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781351607391 U1 - Luke Doggett, Alp Arat ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Identity T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Lövheim, M. ED - Campbell, H. KW - Digital KW - identity KW - religion AB - Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs and Second Life, the book: provides a detailed review of major topics includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised. Drawing together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives, Digital Religion is invaluable for students wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the field. JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge CY - London ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religion between Politics and Media: Conflicting Attitudes towards Islam in Scandinavia JF - Journal of Religion in Europe Y1 - 2017 A1 - Lundby, K A1 - Hjarvard, S A1 - Lövheim, M A1 - Jernsletten, H.H KW - Islam KW - media KW - Politics KW - religion KW - Scandinavia AB - Based on a comparative project on media and religion across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, this article analyzes relationships between religiosity and political attitudes in Scandinavia and how these connect with attitudes regarding the representation of Islam in various media. Data comes from population-wide surveys conducted in the three countries in April 2015. Most Scandinavians relate ‘religion’ with conflict, and half of the population perceives Islam as a threat to their national culture. Scandinavians thus perceive religion in terms of political tensions and predominantly feel that news media should serve a critical function towards Islam and religious conflicts. Finally, the results of the empirical analysis are discussed in view of the intertwined processes of politicization of Islam and mediatization of religion. VL - 10 UR - http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/18748929-01004005 IS - 4 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Media and transformations of religion T2 - Religion across Media: From Early Antiquity to Late Modernity Y1 - 2013 A1 - Lundby, K KW - media KW - religion JF - Religion across Media: From Early Antiquity to Late Modernity PB - Peter Lang CY - New York UR - https://books.google.com/books/about/Religion_Across_Media.html?id=6yDUngEACAAJ U1 - K Lundby ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Would God Use Email? JF - Zadok Perspectives Y1 - 2001 A1 - Lyon, D. KW - email KW - God KW - religion AB - Email is an ever-present tool of communication. It is used in business, among community groups, between friends and within families. But what is appropriate use? Are there occasions when email is inappropriate? David Lyon suggests a framework for answering these questions. VL - 71 UR - http://www.zadok.org.au/perspectives/issue71/articles/lyon.shtml ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Techno-Ritualization : the Gohozon Controversy on the Internet JF - Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2006 A1 - Marc MacWilliams KW - Digital Religion KW - Gohonzon KW - Lotus Sutra KW - Nichiren KW - Nichiren Buddhist sects KW - religion KW - Ritual KW - sacred mandala KW - Sôka Gakkai KW - worship AB - In Techno-Ritualization – The Gohozon Controversy on the Internet, Mark MacWilliams describes the case of the “Gohonzon”, Nichiren’s sacred mandala consisting of the title of the Lotus Sutra that is used for worship in the various Nichiren Buddhist sects. Whereas this mandala is generally considered as extremely sacred and it is demanded that it should be housed in the home altar and only displayed privately for devotional chanting, it can nowadays be found on the Internet as a “prayer Gohonzon” from the American Independent Movement, a Buddhist group unaffiliated with the official authority Sôka Gakkai International (SGI). The Internet site offers a virtual altar with a fully displayed Gohonzon, twinkling lighted candles before it, and the chant, “Namu Myoho Renge Kyo,” flashing syllable by syllable on the screen. MacWilliam underlines the power of the Internet to transform religious practice with the example of the virtual prayer and to challenge real life ecclesiastical organizations: the way the Internet is being used is transforming the way people “do” religion. VL - 02.1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/religions/article/view/371 IS - Special Issue on Rituals on the Internet ER - TY - JOUR T1 - User need and experience of Hajj mobile and ubiquitous systems: Designing for the largest religious annual gathering JF - Cogent Engineering Y1 - 2018 A1 - Majrashi, K A1 - Borsci, S KW - crowd KW - hajj KW - HCI KW - mobile applications KW - mobility KW - religion KW - ubiquity KW - usability KW - user experience AB - The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the largest annual events in the world. Each year, millions of Muslims visit the holy sites in Makkah. While Hajj mobile applications that help pilgrims perform Hajj activities efficiently are gaining popularity, little has been done to investigate pilgrims’ needs and their experiences of these applications. During the 2017 Hajj season, we conducted a study to investigate the needs and experiences of Hajj mobile service users. We used a questionnaire to investigate the need for 20 Hajj mobile features and found that maps (particularly offline maps) were the most needed feature. We also interviewed 16 pilgrims to investigate user experience (UX) of Hajj mobile applications. Three major themes emerged from our qualitative analysis of the perceptions reported by our participants: UX problems with the current mobile applications, the importance level of application features, and opportunities for improving the UX of applications. We relate these themes to specific implications for designing a better UX of mobile applications used for Hajj and its related domain (religion) and to applications for use in similar contexts (e.g., crowd and movement situations). VL - 5 UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23311916.2018.1480303 IS - 1 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Fundamentalisms Comprehended T2 - The Fundamentalism Project Y1 - 1995 A1 - ARTIN E. MARTY A1 - R. SCOTT APPLEBY KW - activism KW - anti-secular KW - family resemblances KW - religion AB - In this fifth volume of the Fundamentalism Project, Fundamentalisms Comprehended, the distinguished contributors return to and test the endeavor's beginning premise: that fundamentalisms in all faiths share certain "family resemblances." Several of the essays reconsider the project's original definition of fundamentalism as a reactive, absolutist, and comprehensive mode of anti-secular religious activism. The book concludes with a capstone statement by R. Scott Appleby, Emmanuel Sivan, and Gabriel Almond that builds upon the entire Fundamentalism Project. Identifying different categories of fundamentalist movements, and delineating four distinct patterns of fundamentalist behavior toward outsiders, this statement provides an explanatory framework for understanding and comparing fundamentalisms around the world. JF - The Fundamentalism Project PB - The University of Chicago Press CY - Chicago VL - 5 UR - http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/F/bo3631732.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Virtual Religion in Context JF - Religion Y1 - 2002 A1 - Maxwell, P KW - community KW - Context KW - religion KW - Spirituality KW - Virtual AB - This article explores the notion of 'virtual religion' in various ways. In part, it is a response to a number of ideas found in the articles by Philip P. Arnold, Shawn Arthur, Christopher Helland, Anastasia Karaflogka and Mark MacWilliams which appear in this issue of Religion, but it also discusses religion in online contexts in relation to various important themes such as the character of cyberspace both present and future, the multimedia Web and its alleged postmodern orientations, virtual identity, the dynamics of virtual community, and the controversies concerning the positive and negative ramifications of online life and experience, as discussed by technomystics, technophobes and others who hold more moderate views. The article ends by raising some questions about the future character of religion and spirituality in cyberspace VL - 32 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1006/reli.2002.0410 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Virtual Religion in Context JF - Religion Y1 - 2002 A1 - Maxwell, P KW - Context KW - religion KW - Virtual AB - This article explores the notion of ‘virtual religion’ in various ways. In part, it is a response to a number of ideas found in the articles by Philip P. Arnold, Shawn Arthur, Christopher Helland, Anastasia Karaflogka and Mark MacWilliams which appear in this issue of Religion, but it also discusses religion in online contexts in relation to various important themes such as the character of cyberspace both present and future, the multimedia Web and its alleged postmodern orientations, virtual identity, the dynamics of virtual community, and the controversies concerning the positive and negative ramifications of online life and experience, as discussed by technomystics, technophobes and others who hold more moderate views. The article ends by raising some questions about the future character of religion and spirituality in cyberspace. VL - 32 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1006/reli.2002.0410#preview IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Language of Islamophobia in Internet Articles JF - INTELLECTUAL DISCOURSE Y1 - 2008 A1 - Haja Mohideen A1 - Shamimah Mohideen KW - internet KW - Islamophobia KW - language KW - Muslims KW - political Islam KW - religion AB - Islamophobia, the hatred for and fear of Islam and Muslims, manifests itself in physical, political, cultural, linguistic and other forms. From the linguistic perspective, many words have been coined to perpetuate prejudices against Muslims and their religion. Expressions are freely used to associate Islam, which means “peace” in Arabic, with concepts and actions which the religion and practising Muslims do not approve of, much less condone. Expressions such as Islamic terrorism, Islamic fanaticism, Muslim extremists, Islamist and political Islam have been used pejoratively. To strike fear and misgivings in the minds of many Europeans, the British capital has even been mischievously called “Londonistan” by anti-Muslim elements. Known Islamophobic items taken from Internet articles need to be analysed to respond objectively to linguistic Islamophobia VL - 16 UR - http://www.iium.edu.my/intdiscourse/index.php/islam/article/view/31 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Catholic, protestant and holistic spiritual appropriations of the internet JF - Information, Communication & Society Y1 - 2011 A1 - Noomen, I A1 - Aupers, S A1 - Houtman, D KW - Catholic KW - internet KW - Protestant KW - religion KW - spiritual AB - This article relies on in-depth qualitative interviews with 21 web designers, active in the fields of Catholicism, Protestantism and holistic spirituality in the Netherlands, to study religious appropriations of the Internet. The authors found that these different religious groups embraced the medium of the Internet motivated by a common desire to make oneself heard in the cacophony of voices that has resulted from processes of secularization and religious change. In doing so, Catholic web designers struggle with the dilemma of either following Roman orthodoxy or creating room for dialogue and diversity, whereas their Protestant counterparts feel forced to either let a thousand flowers bloom or surrender to a highly compromised image of their faith. Holistic spirituality, finally, struggles with neither of these problems and appropriates the Internet as its virtually natural habitat for sharing and connecting. The authors conclude that, consistent with theories about cultured technology and spiritualizing of the Internet, offline religious heritages matter a lot when religions seek to appropriate the Internet through web design. These appropriations tend not to be smooth transpositions of coherent and conflict-free offline religious heritages to online environments, however, but conflict-ridden processes stirring long-standing struggles over authority and identity. VL - 14 UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2011.597415 IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Essentiality of “Culture” in the Study of Religion and Politics JF - Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Y1 - 2011 A1 - Laura R. Olson KW - analysis KW - culture KW - Politics KW - religion KW - Research KW - Sociology of religion KW - study of religion KW - theoretical approaches AB - This article reviews various theoretical approaches political scientists employ in the analysis of religion and politics and posits culture as a conceptual bridge between competing approaches. After coming to the study of religion slowly in comparison with other social science disciplines, political science finally has a theoretically diverse and thriving religion and politics subfield. However, political scientists’ contributions to the social scientific study of religion are hampered by a lack of agreement about whether endogenous or exogenous theoretical approaches ought to dominate our scholarship. I assert that the concept of culture—and more specifically, subculture—might help create more connections across theoretical research traditions. I emphasize how the concept of religion-based subculture is inherent in psychological, social psychological, social movement, and contextual approaches to religion and politics scholarship, and I explore these theoretical connections using the example of religion-based “us versus them” discourses in contemporary American politics. VL - 50 UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-5906.2011.01608.x/abstract IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religious Leaders, Mediated Authority and Social Change JF - Journal of Applied Communication Research Y1 - 2012 A1 - Cheong P.H. KW - Authority KW - Leaders KW - religion KW - social media AB - This essay discusses the relationships between mediated religious authority and social change, in terms of clergy's social media negotiation and multimodal communication competence, with implications for attracting attention and galvanizing active networks and resources for social initiatives. VL - 39 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00909882.2011.577085 IS - 4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Miracles or Love? How Religious Leaders Communicate Trustworthiness through the Web JF - Journal of Religion and Popular Culture Y1 - 2004 A1 - Pace, Stefano KW - Communication KW - Love KW - religion AB - A religious organization should communicate trustworthiness by attempting correctly to interpret its message and by recruiting new members. Modern communication involves new means of communication like the Internet, which has become an important medium capable of spreading a complex message to a large audience. Religious movements are a growing social and organizational force that employ modern communication methods and criteria. This paper addresses the convergence of religious communication and the Internet, by focusing on trust, a fundamental element of any type of communication, especially of a religious kind. Two main drivers can elicit trust: capabilities (the skill to realize what is promised) and benevolence (the lack of any opportunistic or egoistic goal). This paper employs the content analysis method to analyze the biographies of religious leaders posted on the their official web-sites, in order to verify the existence of these two trust drivers, i.e., leader’s capabilities and benevolence. The results demonstrate the different stress placed on each. UR - http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art7-miraclesorlove.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Religion and Views on Reproductive Technologies: A Comparative Study of Jews and Non-Jews JF - Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies Y1 - 1991 A1 - Harriet L. Parmet A1 - Judith N. Lasker KW - children KW - education KW - Jews KW - Non-Jews KW - religion KW - technology KW - Youth AB - New developments in reproductive technology have proliferated throughout the last decade and received enormous attention from the public. In vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, and surrogate motherhood have all been the subject of controversy at the same time as they are becoming more widely VL - 10 UR - http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/shofar/summary/v010/10.1.parmet.html IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Mediatisation of Catholicism in Croatia: A Networked Religion? JF - Revija za sociologiju Y1 - 2017 A1 - Pavić, Z A1 - Kurbanović, F A1 - Levak, T KW - Catholicism KW - Croatia KW - mediatisation KW - networked religion KW - religion AB - This paper deals with the topic of mediatisation of religion. It is seen as a process wherein the structural logic and communicative characteristics of the media play a significant role in religious communication, thus exerting an influence on the success of the transmission of such messages and on religion as a whole. Consequently, it is argued that contemporary social transformations of religion cannot be properly analysed and understood without the acknowledgement of the increasing mediatisation of religion and its effects. Having in mind the overarching importance of the Internet as a communication platform, the authors investigated whether the Internet presence of Catholicism in Croatia can be identified as a networked religion with its main components (networked communities, storied identities, shifting authority, convergent practice and multisite reality). Media content analysis using a sample (N = 200) of various categories of Catholic websites and Facebook pages was employed. Even though noteworthy differences were found between the sites affiliated, semi-affiliated and non-affiliated with the Catholic Church in Croatia, as well as between such websites and Facebook pages, the findings suggest that in the case of Catholicism in Croatia, Internet religious communication bears close connections to the offline world, does not challenge formal religious authorities, nor does it lead to new interpretations of religious doctrines and texts. The authors concluded that the Internet presence of Catholicism in Croatia leads to the re-affirmation and deepening of the existing forms of religion in the new media environments. VL - 47 UR - https://hrcak.srce.hr/193686 IS - 3 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Webs of reality: social perspectives on science and religion Y1 - 2002 A1 - Petry, Y. A1 - Stahl, W. A. A1 - Campbell, R. A. A1 - Diver, G. KW - religion KW - science KW - social perceptions KW - Webs AB - Science and religion are often thought to be advancing irreconcilable goals and thus to be mutually antagonistic. Yet in the often acrimonious debates between the scientific and religious communities, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that both science and religion are systems of thought and knowledge that aim to understand the world and our place in it.Webs of Reality is a rare examination of the interrelationship between religion and science from a social science perspective, offering a broad view of the relationship, and posing practical questions regarding technology and ethics. Emphasizing how science and religion are practiced instead of highlighting the differences between them, the authors look for the subtle connections, tacit understandings, common history, symbols, and implicit myths that tie them together. How can the practice of science be understood from a religious point of view? What contributions can science make to religious understanding of the world? What contributions can the social sciences make to understanding both knowledge systems? Looking at religion and science as fields of inquiry and habits of mind, the authors discover not only similarities between them but also a wide number of ways in which they complement each other. PB - Rutgers University Press CY - New Brunswick UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=GY6i84rSKMcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Webs of reality: social perspectives on science and religion Y1 - 2002 A1 - Petry, Y. A1 - Stahl, W. A. A1 - Campbell, R. A. A1 - Diver, G. KW - religion KW - science KW - social perceptions KW - Webs AB - Science and religion are often thought to be advancing irreconcilable goals and thus to be mutually antagonistic. Yet in the often acrimonious debates between the scientific and religious communities, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that both science and religion are systems of thought and knowledge that aim to understand the world and our place in it.Webs of Reality is a rare examination of the interrelationship between religion and science from a social science perspective, offering a broad view of the relationship, and posing practical questions regarding technology and ethics. Emphasizing how science and religion are practiced instead of highlighting the differences between them, the authors look for the subtle connections, tacit understandings, common history, symbols, and implicit myths that tie them together. How can the practice of science be understood from a religious point of view? What contributions can science make to religious understanding of the world? What contributions can the social sciences make to understanding both knowledge systems? Looking at religion and science as fields of inquiry and habits of mind, the authors discover not only similarities between them but also a wide number of ways in which they complement each other. PB - Rutgers University Press CY - New Brunswick UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=GY6i84rSKMcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Media, religion and the marketplace in the information economy: evidence from Singapore JF - Environment and Planning Y1 - 2012 A1 - Jessie Poon A1 - Shirlena Huang A1 - Pauline Hope Cheong KW - Buddhism KW - Computer KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - digital media KW - hybridization KW - information economy KW - internet KW - Mass media KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - Protestantism KW - religion KW - religion and internet KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religiosity KW - religious engagement KW - religious identity KW - Religious Internet Communication KW - Religious Internet Communities KW - Singapore KW - sociability unbound KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “digital religion” KW - “Internet Studies” KW - “media and religion” KW - “media research” KW - “networked society” KW - “online identity” KW - “religion online” KW - “religious congregations” KW - “religious media research” KW - “religious practice online” AB - In this paper we suggest that the exchange of communication in a mediatized environment is transforming the nature of transactions in the religious marketplace. In this economy of religious informational exchanges, digitalization facilitates a process of mediatization that converts religious performance into forms suitable for commodifi cation and commoditization. The intersection of digital media, religion, and the marketplace is demonstrated in the context of mega Protestant and Buddhist organizations in Singapore. We show how these large organizations embed media relations in their sacred spaces through a process of hybridization. In turn, hybrid spaces are converted into material outputs that may be readily transacted in real and virtual spaces. Hybridization attends to a postmodern audience and consumers who value experience and sensorial stimulations. It integrates retail, entertainment, and the aesthetics into a space of ascetic performance that is digitally transportable. Digital transactional spaces thrive on the abundance of information, and information multiplies when communication is unfettered by the absence of proprietary safeguards. The religious marketplace may therefore be understood as a medially driven performance space where points of interaction are digitally VL - 44 UR - http://paulinehopecheong.com/media/8eb82a57db78bb75ffff839dffffe41e.pdf ER - TY - CHAP T1 - The Cybersangha: Buddhism on the Internet T2 - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet Y1 - 2004 A1 - Prebish, C.D. ED - Dawson, L. ED - Cowan, D. KW - Buddhism KW - Cybersangha KW - cyberspace KW - internet KW - Online KW - religion AB - After sex, religion is one of the most popular and pervasive topics of interest online, with over three million Americans turning to the internet each day for religious information and spiritual guidance. Tens of thousands of elaborate websites are dedicated to every manner of expression. Religion Online provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this burgeoning new religious reality, from cyberpilgrimages to neo-pagan chatroom communities. A substantial introduction by the editors presenting the main themes and issues is followed by sixteen chapters addressing core issues of concern such as youth, religion and the internet, new religious movements and recruitment, propaganda and the countercult, and religious tradition and innovation. The volume also includes the Pew Internet and American Life Project Executive Summary, the most comprehensive and widely cited study on how Americans pursue religion online, and Steven O'Leary's field-defining Cyberspace as Sacred Space. JF - Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet PB - Routledge CY - New York UR - http://books.google.com/books?id=xy0PJrrWXH4C&pg=PA123&lpg=PA123&dq=The+Cyber+Sangha:+Buddhism+on+the+Internet+by+Prebish&source=bl&ots=ahTmLWH6rM&sig=X9S_FlncZAcHkpdQKYBhigIdegU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lmVvUOnmOeGg2AXF24GYBw&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false ER - TY - CHAP T1 - How to Study Religion and Video Gaming - A Critical Discussion T2 - Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion Y1 - 2017 A1 - Radde-Antweiler, K KW - religion KW - video games AB - Game studies has been an understudied area within the emerging field of digital media and religion. Video games can reflect, reject, or reconfigure traditionally held religious ideas and often serve as sources for the production of religious practices and ideas. This collection of essays presents a broad range of influential methodological approaches that illuminate how and why video games shape the construction of religious beliefs and practices, and also situates such research within the wider discourse on how digital media intersect with the religious worlds of the 21st century. Each chapter discusses a particular method and its theoretical background, summarizes existing research, and provides a practical case study that demonstrates how the method specifically contributes to the wider study of video games and religion. Featuring contributions from leading and emerging scholars of religion and digital gaming, this book will be an invaluable resource for scholars in the areas of digital culture, new media, religious studies, and game studies across a wide range of disciplines. JF - Methods for Studying Video Games and Religion PB - Routledge VL - 3 UR - https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dJxADwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT295&ots=KqNH4Zgwjv&sig=9ukURAVWgz97H3PGhv2etObsjKw#v=onepage&q&f=false U1 - Vít Šisler, Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, Xenia Zeiler ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Ritual is becoming digitalised". Introduction to the Special Issue on Rituals on the Internet JF - Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2006 A1 - Kerstin Radde-Antweiler KW - analysing rituals KW - communication within the Internet KW - media and religion KW - New Technology and Society KW - Online community KW - Practicing Faith in Cyberspace KW - religion KW - religious practice KW - RITUALS ON THE INTERNET KW - Techno-Ritualization VL - 02.1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/religions/article/view/372 IS - Special Issue on Rituals on the Internet ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Rituals Online : Transferring and Designing Rituals JF - Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2006 A1 - Kerstin Radde-Antweiler KW - Authority KW - Digital Religion KW - Hexe KW - Hexenglaube KW - internet KW - Online-Rituals KW - Patchwork KW - religion KW - Ritual KW - Wiccakult AB - Kerstin Radde-Antweiler stresses the aspect of ritual construction by the individual believers in her paper Rituals Online. Transferring and Designing Rituals. In addition to the potential of the Internet to offer interaction and new processes of communication in the context of rituals – the so called "Online-Rituals" –, this medium also offers much information about rituals and instructions how to perform a ritual, in and outside the Internet. This varies from the publication of – at first glance - fixed ritual prescripts to texts on how to design a ritual by him- or herself. These fixed texts are often identified as old traditional scripts, whereas critical analyses show explicit or implicit transfers and receptions of various religious traditions. In the paper, different ritual prescripts presented on Wicca- and Solitaire Homepages, which are often seen as continuation of pre-Christian, matriarchal, Celtic and Germanic cults and mythologies, are analysed and their transfer processes are exemplified. Instances that show the processes of ritual transfer are the choice of the owner-names, the mixture of deities of different religions, the integration of different feasts and festivals etc. The assertion of perpetual continuity from the insider perspective seems contradict those texts which encourage the believers to develop their own individual ritual. Therefore, the elements of newness and invention as well as the phenomenon of Ritual Design in their processes of gaining legitimacy and authority has to be examined VL - 02.1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/religions/article/view/376/352 IS - Special Issue on Rituals on the Internet ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Virtual Religion. An Approach to a Religious and Ritual Topography of Second Life JF - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2008 A1 - Radde-Antweiler, Kerstin KW - Actor KW - religion KW - Second Life AB - Kerstin Radde-Antweiler gives an overview or a cross section about the religious and ritualistic settings within “Second Life” and explores the question why studies in and around Virtual Worlds represent an important issue in the Study of Religions. In her article about “Virtual Religion. An Approach to a Religious and Ritual Topography of Second Life” she introduces the theoretical concept of an “actor-related religious historiography” which tries to take into account the religiousness of the individual actor. UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2008/8294/pdf/Radde.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Virtual Warfare: The Internet as the New Site for Global Religious Conflict JF - Asian Journal of Social Science Y1 - 2004 A1 - Robinson, Rowena KW - Communication KW - Globalization KW - Hindu KW - religion AB - This paper explores the ways in which a resurgent Hindu fundamentalism (Hindutva) is redefining Hinduism and Hindu identities in a transnational, global context. The global project of Hindutva makes use of new global communication channels, including the Internet, and is apparently espoused by influential sections of the transnational Hindu middle class, especially in the United States. This paper examines a selected sample of Internet sites devoted to the spread of religious and fundamentalist beliefs and ideas particularly relevant to India and transnational Hinduism, and explores the ways in which the Internet is changing the shape of communities and the ways in which they represent one another. The paper puts forth the argument that in the context of globalization, the Net has become an important space for the creation of transnational religious identities. The Net is shaping religion, specifically Hinduism, in distinct ways and is the newest expression of religion's changing face. The battle for souls is being fought on Internet sites. The questions of this paper relate to the modes of representation of "other religions" as revealed particularly by Hindu sites, the ways in which Internet sites garner audiences, and the strategies they adopt to link themselves with both global audiences and local groups. A sociological analysis will reveal the shape of these discourses and link their popularity with the social and political context of globalization, a liberalized economy, and the organization of religious practice in post 1990s India. VL - 32 UR - http://www.kamat.com/database/?CitationID=11007 IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Effects of Religiousity on Internet Consumption JF - Information, Communication & Society Y1 - 2012 A1 - Ozlem Hesapci Sanaktekina A1 - Yonca Aslanbayb A1 - Vehbi Gorguluc KW - Internet use KW - religion KW - religiousity KW - social media AB - The relationship between technology adoption and religion has received scant research attention. The complicated process of Internet use among contemporary religious people is affected by the tension between technological developments and religious beliefs. The current research aims to explore the effects of religiosity on Internet consumption in a newly industrialized Muslim country, Turkey. The study utilized a cross-sectional design based on data from 2,698 subjects, selected by stratified random sampling, covering all 12 regions of the country. By offering an exploratory approach, this study sheds light on how various interpretations of religion enable culture-specific observations on Internet consumption patterns, and its relation with different levels of religiosity. The findings revealed that the level of religiosity has a significant effect on the patterns of Internet consumption. UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2012.722663#.UijPtkoo7Mw ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Tweeting Prayers and Communicating Grief over Michael Jackson Online JF - Bulletin of Science, Technology, & Society Y1 - 2010 A1 - Sanderson, James A1 - Pauline Hope Cheong KW - blogs KW - celebrity KW - internet KW - microblogging KW - popular culture KW - religion KW - social media AB - Death and bereavement are human experiences that new media helps facilitate alongside creating new social grief practices that occur online. This study investigated how people’s postings and tweets facilitated the communication of grief after pop music icon Michael Jackson died. Drawing upon past grief research, religion and new media studies, a thematic analysis of 1,046 messages was conducted on three mediated sites (Twitter, TMZ.com, and Facebook). Results suggested that social media served as grieving spaces for people to accept Jackson’s death rather than denying it or expressing anger over his passing. The findings also illustrate how interactive exchanges online helped recycle news and “resurrected” the life of Jackson. Additionally, as fans of deceased celebrities create and disseminate web-based memorials, new social media practices like “Michael Mondays” synchronize tweets within everyday life rhythms and foster practices to hasten the grieving process. VL - 30 UR - http://www.paulinehopecheong.com IS - 5 ER - TY - Generic T1 - 'E o Verbo se fez bit': Uma análise da experiência religiosa na internet Y1 - 2011 A1 - Moisés Sbardelotto KW - Interaction KW - internet KW - mediatization KW - religion KW - system AB - Com a manifestação de um fenômeno de apropriação da Internet por parte das instituições religiosas católicas, este texto busca analisar o funcionamento das interações entre fiel-Igreja-Deus para a vivência, a prática e a experiência da fé nos rituais online do ambiente digital católico brasileiro. Examina-se particularmente, por meio de uma metodologia analítica qualitativa, fundamentada nas contribuições do pensamento sistêmico e complexo, um corpus de pesquisa de quatro sites católicos: CatolicaNet, Irmãs Apóstolas do Sagrado Coração de Jesus – Província do Paraná, A12 e Pe. Reginaldo Manzotti. Perscruta-se, assim, que religião resulta dessa manifestação de práticas religiosas a partir do emprego e da atividade dos meios digitais, com o objetivo de colaborar com a análise das primeiras consequências diretas que esse fenômeno está trazendo para a religião e, particularmente, para a Igreja Católica como a conhecemos hoje. A partir de uma leitura de alguns estudos que abordam a interface entre comunicação e fenômeno religioso na Internet, reflete-se sobre alguns conceitos e perspectivas de análise para a investigação dos sites católicos institucionais brasileiros, como a midiatização digital do sistema religioso; a questão da técnica transformada em meio; novas modalidades de experienciação; e novas configurações de tempo-espaço-materialidades na experiência religiosa do fiel-internauta. Em seguida, descrevem-se três modalidades de estratégias de oferta de sagrado por parte do sistema e de apropriação por parte do fiel nos sites católicos brasileiros, a partir de inferências obtidas em nosso corpus de pesquisa: os níveis tecnológico e simbólico da interface interacional; quatro fluxos de interações discursivas; e dois fluxos, com dois subfluxos cada, de interações rituais. Como pistas de conclusão, aponta-se que, por meio dessas estratégias interacionais, a religião que nasce no ambiente online é vivenciada, praticada e experienciada por meio de novas temporalidades, novas espacialidades, novas materialidades, novas discursividades e novas ritualidades marcadas pelos protocolos e processualidades da Internet. SN - 1806-003X UR - http://www.ihu.unisinos.br/images/stories/cadernos/ihu/035cadernosihu.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Sacred in Bits and Pixels: An Analysis of the Interactional Interface in Brazilian Catholic Online Rituals JF - Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture (JRMDC) Y1 - 2014 A1 - Moisés Sbardelotto KW - Brazil KW - Catholic Church KW - Catholicism KW - Interaction KW - interface KW - internet KW - mediatization KW - mediatization of religion KW - online rituals KW - religion KW - technology AB - Through digital technologies, a new form of communicational interaction between the user and the sacred occurs in an online religious experience. This phenomenon is illustrated in practice by numerous religious services present in the online Catholic environment, which manifest new modes of discourse and religious practices, beyond the scope of the traditional church – what I term here “online rituals” – marked by a process of mediatization of religion. In this paper, from a corpus of four Brazilian websites, I analyze key concepts for the understanding of this phenomenon, including digital mediatization and interface. I examine, in these Brazilian Catholic websites, the communicational configurations of the religious experience from five areas of the interactional interface: the screen; peripherals; the organizational structure of content on websites; the graphic composition of the webpages; and possible interface failures. Finally, I examine a shift in the communicational dynamics of religion today, marked by new materialities present in online religious rituals. VL - 3 UR - http://jrmdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Sbardelotto-Catholic-Sacred.pdf IS - 2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Close Ties, Intercessory Prayer, and Optimism Among American Adults: Locating God in the Social Support Network JF - Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion Y1 - 2013 A1 - Markus H. Schafer KW - intercession KW - offline KW - optimism KW - Prayer KW - religion KW - social networks KW - social support KW - well-being AB - Prayer is often an interpersonal phenomenon. It represents not only a form of social support shared between or among people, but also a means of embedding an unobservable actor (God) within a conventionally observable social network. This study considers whether the receipt of intercessory prayer from close network ties is associated with future-oriented well-being. Analyses use social network module data from the Portraits of American Life Study (PALS), a nationally representative study of American adults containing a breadth of information not available in prior studies of networks, prayer, and well-being. Despite experiencing more instances of recent adversity (mental or physical health problem, financial trouble, and unemployment), prayed-for PALS respondents report the highest levels of optimism. Furthermore, the association between network prayer and optimism is robust to inclusion of individual-level indicators of religiosity. Finally, other forms of social support that an individual receives from his or her close ties do not explain the benefits of intercessory prayer. VL - 52 UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jssr.12010/abstract IS - 1 ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Christianity and the mass media in America : toward a democratic accommodation T2 - Rhetoric and public affairs series. Y1 - 2003 A1 - Quentin J Schultze KW - America KW - Christian media KW - communication research KW - media KW - media criticism KW - religion KW - religious life KW - Religious sociology KW - rhetoric AB - Demonstrates how religion and the media in America have borrowed each other's rhetoric. In the process, they have also helped to keep each other honest, pointing out respective foibles and pretensions. Christian media have offered the public as well as religious tribes some of the best media criticism - better than most of the media criticism produced by mainstream media themselves. Meanwhile, mainstream media have rightly taken particular churches to task for misdeeds as well as offered some surprisingly good depictions of religious life JF - Rhetoric and public affairs series. PB - East Lansing, Mich. : Michigan State University Press UR - http://www.worldcat.org/title/christianity-and-the-mass-media-in-america-toward-a-democratic-accommodation/oclc/53045150/editions?referer=di&editionsView=true ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Gender, religion and new media: attitudes and behaviors related to the internet among Ultra-Orthodox women employed in computerized environments JF - International Journal of Communication System  Y1 - 2011 A1 - Shahar, RNB A1 - Lev-On, A KW - GENDER KW - internet KW - New Media KW - religion KW - ultra Orthodox KW - Women AB - This article focuses on the interface between gender, religion, and new technology, and examines the attitudes and behaviors pertaining to the Internet among ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) women working in designated “technological hothouses.” VL - 5 UR - https://hcommons.org/deposits/objects/hc:18004/datastreams/CONTENT/content IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The Technology of Religion: Mapping Religious Cyberscapes JF - The Professional Geographer Y1 - 2012 A1 - Shelton, Taylor ED - Zook, Matthew KW - cyberscapes KW - geography KW - internet KW - religion AB - This article combines geographical studies of both the Internet and religion in an analysis of where and how a variety of religious practices are represented in geotagged Web content. This method provides needed insight into the geography of virtual expressions of religion and highlights the mutually constitutive, and at times contradictory, relationship between the virtual and material dimensions of religious expression. By using the spatialities of religious practice and contestation as an example, this article argues that mappings of virtual representations of material practices are important tools for understanding how online activities simultaneously represent and reproduce the material world. VL - 64 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00330124.2011.614571 IS - 4 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Religion from Scholarly Worlds to Digital Games: The Case of Risen T2 - Religions in Play. Games, Rituals, and Virtual Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Steffen, Oliver ED - Bornet, Philippe ED - Burger, Maya KW - Computer games KW - digital games KW - religion AB - A content analysis of the fantasy role-playing game Risen is conducted. Methodically, the case study shows that the ludological concept of hit points may be taken as a starting point for the investigation of the religious repertoire. In addition, the comparison with the original German work of Dutch phenomenologist Gerardus van der Leeuw suggests that Risen’s ludological-narrative complex of hit points (“life energy”) enacts a 20th century essentialistic and phenomenological conception of religion that has made its way into, and was specifically framed by, the new medium of digital games. JF - Religions in Play. Games, Rituals, and Virtual Worlds T3 - CULTuREL PB - Pano CY - Zurich ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Introduction: Approaches to Digital Games in the Study of Religions T2 - Religions in Play. Games, Rituals, and Virtual Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Steffen, Oliver ED - Bornet, Philippe ED - Burger, Maya KW - Computer games KW - digital games KW - religion AB - The content and structure of entertaining digital games often refer to the imaginary worlds of historical religion. However, the religious dimensions of this new medium have hardly been addressed by scholars of both, game studies and religious studies. In this introductory article, initial thoughts on areas of study and approaches are given to scholars of religion who investigate computer games. JF - Religions in Play. Games, Rituals, and Virtual Worlds T3 - CULTuREL PB - Pano CY - Zurich ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A Study of Church/Ministry Internet Usage JF - Journal of Ministry Marketing & Management Y1 - 2002 A1 - Robert E. Stevens A1 - Paul Dunn A1 - David L. Loudon A1 - Henry S. Cole KW - Church KW - Computer KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - internet KW - Internet access KW - Internet use by churches and ministries KW - Mass media KW - national survey KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online activities KW - online communication KW - Online community KW - religion KW - religion and internet KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religiosity KW - religious engagement KW - religious identity KW - Religious Internet Communication KW - Religious Internet Communities KW - religious organizations KW - sociability unbound KW - Sociology of religion KW - users’ participation KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere KW - “digital religion” KW - “media and religion” KW - “media research” KW - “online identity” KW - “religion online” KW - “religious congregations” KW - “religious media research” AB - This manuscript reports the results of a national survey of Internet use by churches and ministries. The mail survey to a random sample of 500 churches and ministries sought to determine the proportion of churches/ministries with Internet access, how the Internet was being used by their organization, and organizational characteristics. A total of 448 questionnaires were delivered and 113 were returned resulting in a response rate of 25.2%. About 93 percent of the respondents surveyed reported using a computer. Of that 93 percent, about 70 percent reported they had Internet access. When asked about how the Internet has helped their church, respondents reported communications with others as the most important benefit, followed by staying better informed on products and services, and as a research tool for sermons and Bible studies. Among respondent churches who had Internet access, about 37 percent had a webpage. Of those who did not have a webpage, 58 percent plan on having one within a year. The most common ways churches use their website were found to be (1) describing features of the church such as service times or scheduled events, (2) creating a way to communicate with others about the church, (3) providing a way for people to contact the church by e-mail, and (4) image creation. Respondents cited several benefits of having a website: (1) improved communication, (2) increased member knowledge about church programs and (3) increased attendance at church services or activities. VL - 7 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J093v07n01_03#.Uin3-Masim5 IS - 1 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Malaysian Christians Online: Online/Offline Interactions and Integration T2 - Cyberculture Now: Social and Communication Behaviour on the Web Y1 - 2013 A1 - Meng Yoe Tan KW - everyday KW - helland KW - malaysia KW - offline KW - Online KW - religion AB - There has been a vibrant discussion in recent years since Christopher Helland’s novel definitions and differentiation of online-religion/religion-online came to the fore of cyber-religious research. Much of the discussion since then has dealt primarily with certain features of particular religious websites, such as its level of user interactivity. My chapter is an attempt to side-step what a ‘religious’ website is or is not, and to locate specific Christian individuals in Malaysia and their online habits within the larger context of what they consider to be their Christian life - be it online/offline. In short, this chapter explores the ways in which online Christianity, in its varied forms, as practiced by its users, play a part in engaging an individual’s faith. Drawing two case studies from my ethnographic fieldwork, this paper constructs and establishes the multiple contexts and environments that shape some Malaysian Christians’ online expressions of their faith, as well as how their current practice of blogging contributes back to their personal spirituality, contexts, and environments. Rather than dwelling on whether a website allows for physical or practical interactivity, this chapter explores the possibility that the Internet is yet another incorporated extension to the already diverse repertoire of Christian expression of spirituality. JF - Cyberculture Now: Social and Communication Behaviour on the Web PB - Inter-Disciplinary Press CY - Oxfordshire U1 - Anna Maj ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Negotiating the Liberties and Boundaries of Malaysian Online Christian Expression: Case Studies T2 - Thinking Through Malaysia: Culture and Identity in the 21st Century Y1 - 2012 A1 - Meng Yoe Tan KW - Blog KW - boundaries KW - liberties KW - malaysia KW - Online KW - religion AB - How do Malaysian Christians express their personal Christianity online? Compared to other communication technologies, the Internet allows more non-institutional individual expression to come to the fore. This is mainly due to the nature of the Internet which allows greater flexibility in authorship of expression and content. Using case studies from my interviews with Christian bloggers in Malaysia who actively post Christian content online, we can see how the Internet has provided these bloggers with new tools to express their unique personal spirituality – but at the same time, how they recreate and maintain existing offline social boundaries in the context of their personal Christianity in this ‘liberating’ platform. These case studies also provide some insight into the many ways individuals interact with cyberspace – that individuals do, in fact, do new things on the Internet, do old things in new ways, and very importantly, do old things in old ways. JF - Thinking Through Malaysia: Culture and Identity in the 21st Century PB - Strategic Information and Research Development Center (SIRD) CY - Puchong U1 - Julian Hopkins Julian C.H. Lee ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Formation of a Religious Technorati: Negotiations of Authority Among Austrailian Emerging Church Blogs T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Teusner, P. A1 - Campbell, H. KW - Authority KW - Blogging KW - Church KW - religion JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge CY - London ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Resident evil: Horror film and the construction of religious identity in contemporary media culture JF - Colloquium Y1 - 2005 A1 - Teusner, P. KW - media KW - popular culture KW - religion VL - 37 IS - 2 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Representations de la diversité religieuse à la télévision publique T2 - 4th Workshop international Essachess: Média, spiritualité et laïcité : Regards croisés franco-roumains Y1 - 2015 A1 - Tudor, Mihaela-Alexandra KW - cultural diversity KW - Faith KW - freedom of opinion KW - laicism KW - pluralism KW - public institution KW - religion KW - religious community representation KW - Television AB - Le problème que je pose dans ce cadre consiste à voir quel sont les pratiques des médias de service public à l’égard des représentations de la diversité religieuse et, plus précisément, à l’égard des représentations de transmission et communication de la foi dans deux pays européens dont l’un fort religieux et l’autre fort laïc, la Roumanie et la France. Il est question de voir en quoi le discours des médias publics sur la diversité n’altère pas le principe de la laïcité, la neutralité, le respect du pluralisme et l’intégralité des consciences. Pour ce faire, je vais retenir deux cas de figure, deux émissions télévisées diffusées sur les chaînes publiques de télévision en France et en Roumanie : l’émission « Le jour du Seigneur », avec ses déclinaisons d’intitulé au fil du temps « Programme du dimanche » et « Les chemins de la foi », diffusée sur France 2 et « Universul credintei » (« l’Univers de la foi ») diffusée sur TVR1. En considérant ces deux programmes de télévision, je vais tenter de répondre globalement aux questionnements suivants : est-ce que tous les mouvements religieux sont-ils présents dans les médias audiovisuels publics autant que les acteurs des confessions religieuses traditionnellement implantées ? Oui, c’est une réalité, certains mouvements disposent de leurs propres chaînes, mais leur présence sur leurs chaînes privées ne remplace pas un droit par un autre. S’agit-t-il alors d’une situation de monopole et de visibilité maximale des courants religieux dominants dans l’espace public au travers des médias publics ? Plus de normalisation garantit plus d’accès compte tenu que le principe de laïcité prévoit l’égalité et l’absence de hiérarchie entre les différentes croyances et cultes ? JF - 4th Workshop international Essachess: Média, spiritualité et laïcité : Regards croisés franco-roumains PB - Iarsic CY - Bucarest-Villa Noel SN - 978-2-9532450-6-6 UR - http://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/bitstream/handle/document/45739/ssoar-2015-tudor-Representations_de_la_diversite_religieuse.pdf?sequence=3 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Religioni e Internet: Evangelizzazione o Reincantamento del Mondo? T2 - Rapporto sull’Analfabetismo Religioso in Italia Y1 - 2014 A1 - Vitullo, A KW - evangelism KW - internet KW - religion AB - Il rapporto sull'analfabetismo religioso in Italia intende porre domande, tracciare percorsi e contestualizzare il tema dell'assenza del religioso nei processi educativi su scala internazionale. Il volume offre una riflessione organica su ciò che viene ignorato dal sistema scolastico e sui perché storico-teologici, oltreché storico-politici, di queste omissioni e lacune. A un'ampia analisi delle premesse teorico-critiche e dello scenario storico italiano da cui il fenomeno trae la propria natura si affiancano rassegne di studi, analisi delle esperienze riuscite e fallite e alcuni primi strumenti di cura che ambiscono a generare un dibattito pubblico sul tema e a costruire una riflessione capace di coinvolgere tutti gli attori sociali impegnati nel settore educativo e della formazione. Correda il volume una sezione info-grafica e di mappe che rende la lettura più intuitiva, trasferendo su immagini e simboli la complessità delle informazioni e dei dati raccolti. JF - Rapporto sull’Analfabetismo Religioso in Italia PB - Il Mulino CY - Bologna UR - https://books.google.com/books?id=V1bYngEACAAJ&dq=Rapporto+sull%E2%80%99Analfabetismo+Religioso+in+Italia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjNs_2y1uDbAhVmxlQKHeAXDaQQ6AEIJzAA U1 - A. Melloni ER - TY - CHAP T1 - You Are What You Install: Religious Authenticity and Identity in Mobile Apps T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2012 A1 - Wagner, R ED - Campbell, H. KW - Apps KW - identity KW - iPhone KW - religion KW - technology AB - Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs and Second Life, the book: provides a detailed review of major topics includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised. Drawing together the work of experts from key disciplinary perspectives, Digital Religion is invaluable for students wanting to develop a deeper understanding of the field. JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge CY - London ER - TY - BOOK T1 - Godwired: Religion, ritual and virtual reality Y1 - 2012 A1 - Wagner, R KW - Godwired KW - religion KW - Ritual KW - virtual reality AB - Godwired offers an engaging exploration of religious practice in the digital age. It considers how virtual experiences, like stories, games and rituals, are forms of world-building or "cosmos construction" that serve as a means of making sense of our own world. Such creative and interactive activity is, arguably, patently religious. PB - Routledge CY - New York UR - https://books.google.com/books/about/Godwired.html?id=aHOHZwEACAAJ ER - TY - JOUR T1 - God in the Game: Cosmopolitanism and Religious Conflict in Videogames JF - Journal of the American Academy of Religion Y1 - 2013 A1 - Wagner, Rachel KW - Cosmopolitanism KW - religion KW - video games UR - http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/01/22/jaarel.lfs102.extract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Investigating religious information searching through analysis of a search engine log JF - Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology Y1 - 2013 A1 - Rita Wan-Chik A1 - Paul Clough A1 - Mark Sanderson KW - Buddhism KW - Christianity KW - Digital KW - Hinduism KW - information KW - Islam KW - Judaism KW - queries KW - religion KW - search behavior KW - search engine AB - In this paper we present results from an investigation of religious information searching based on analyzing log files from a large general-purpose search engine. From approximately 15 million queries, we identified 124,422 that were part of 60,759 user sessions. We present a method for categorizing queries based on related terms and show differences in search patterns between religious searches and web searching more generally. We also investigate the search patterns found in queries related to 5 religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. Different search patterns are found to emerge. Results from this study complement existing studies of religious information searching and provide a level of detailed analysis not reported to date. We show, for example, that sessions involving religion-related queries tend to last longer, that the lengths of religion-related queries are greater, and that the number of unique URLs clicked is higher when compared to all queries. The results of the study can serve to provide information on what this large population of users is actually searching for. UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.22945/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Hope and Sorrow: Uncivil Religion, Tibetan Music Videos, and YouTube JF - Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology Y1 - 2013 A1 - Cameron David Warner KW - China KW - media KW - Music KW - religion KW - Tibet KW - YouTube AB - Tibetan activists and their supporters are interpreting the lyrical and visual symbolism of contemporary Tibetan music videos from China as a call for Tibetans to return to a shared Tibetan identity, centered around religious piety and implied civil disobedience, in order to counter fears of cultural assimilation. As the popularity of some videos on social-networking sites dovetailed with the 2008 protests in Tibet, viewers employed a progressive hermeneutical strategy which demanded a sectarian political interpretation of the lyrics and imagery of the most popular videos out of Tibet. Within China, Tibetans have begun to add these videos to the growing canon of an emerging uncivil religion, which emphasizes Tibetan cultural, linguistic, and religious autonomy within China. Through comparing online and offline ethnography, this article explores the relationship between offline and online worlds and the connections between Tibetans in China and their supporters. UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00141844.2012.724433 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Internet Accessibility of the Mizuko Kuyo (Water-Child Ritual) in Modern Japan: A Case Study in Weberian Rationality JF - Sociological Focus Y1 - 2013 A1 - Mieko Yamadaa A1 - Anson Shupea KW - Buddhist KW - children KW - infants KW - Japan KW - memorial service KW - mizuko kuyo KW - New Religious KW - religion KW - Ritual KW - Shinto KW - Spirituality KW - websites AB - The mizuko kuyo is a Japanese (Buddhist, Shinto, New Religious, other) memorial service for infants or young children who have died through some misfortune, including disease, miscarriage, and, increasingly, elective abortion. Indeed, abortion is the predominant form of contraception for many Japanese families. Here we consider, in Weberian terms of the rationalization of institutions, how Internet accessibility and its created virtual reality of the mizuko kuyo has driven its popularity along the dimensions of privatization, bureaucratization, and commodification in decisions to perform the ritual by Internet. We utilize a sample of Tokyo mizuko kuyo Web sites and the contexts of their advertisements and available services for mizuko kuyo, including fee structures and other advertising “lures,” to analyze this merging of traditional and modern technological paths of spirituality along Weberian theoretical lines. VL - 46 UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00380237.2013.796833#.Ul1LyVCsim5 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Extrapolating Psychological Insights from Facebook Profiles: A Study of Religion and Relationship Status JF - CyberPsychology & Behavior Y1 - 2009 A1 - Sean Young A1 - Debo Dutta A1 - Gopal Dommety KW - dating KW - Facebook KW - online profiles KW - participants KW - relationship KW - religion KW - religious information KW - social network AB - Online social network users may leave creative, subtle cues on their public profiles to communicate their motivations and interests to other network participants. This paper explores whether psychological predictions can be made about the motivations of social network users by identifying and analyzing these cues. Focusing on the domain of relationship seeking, we predicted that people using social networks for dating would reveal that they have a single relationship status as a method of eliciting contact from potential romantic others. Based on results from a pilot study (n = 20) supporting this hypothesis, we predicted that people attempting to attract users of the same religious background would report a religious affiliation along with a single relationship status. Using observational data from 150 Facebook profiles, results from a multivariate logistic regression suggest that people providing a religious affiliation were more likely to list themselves as single (a proxy for their interest in using the network to find romantic partners) than people who do not provide religious information. We discuss the implications for extracting psychological information from Facebook profiles. To our knowledge, this is the first study to suggest that information from publicly available online social networking profiles can be used to predict people's motivations for using social networks. VL - 12 UR - http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2008.0165 IS - 3 ER -