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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - CHAP T1 - Identity and deception in the virtual community T2 - Communities in Cyberspace Y1 - 1999 A1 - Donath, J. S. KW - deception KW - identity KW - virtual community AB - This wide-ranging introductory text looks at the virtual community of cyberspace and analyses its relationship to real communities lived out in today's societies. Issues such as race, gender, power, economics and ethics in cyberspace are grouped under four main sections and discussed by leading experts: * identity * social order and control * community structure and dynamics * collective action. This topical new book displays how the idea of community is being challenged and rewritten by the increasing power and range of cyberspace. As new societies and relationships are formed in this virtual landscape, we now have to consider the potential consequences this may have on our own community and societies. Clearly and concisely written with a wide range of international examples, this edited volume is an essential introduction to the sociology of the internet. It will appeal to students and professionals, and to those concerned about the changing relationships between information technology and a society which is fast becoming divided between those on-line and those not. JF - Communities in Cyberspace PB - Routledge CY - London & New York UR - http://harvard.academia.edu/JudithDonath/Papers/554206/Identity_and_deception_in_the_virtual_community U1 - M. A. Smith, P. Kollock 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 - 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 - Finding Religion in the Media: Work in Progress on the Third Spaces of Digital Religion Y1 - 2012 A1 - Stewart M. Hoover A1 - Nabil Echchaibi KW - Digital Religion KW - Internet Studies KW - media and religion KW - networked society KW - online identity KW - religion online KW - Third Spaces KW - users’ participation KW - virtual community KW - virtual public sphere UR - http://cmrc.colorado.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Hoover-Echchaibi-paper.pdf ER - TY - JOUR T1 - REAL VIRTUAL COMMUNITY JF - Word and World Y1 - 2015 A1 - Tim Hutchings KW - virtual community AB - Virtual community can be real community. An example is the Church of Fools (now St Pixels), launched as an experiment eleven years ago, meant to last but three months. However, that experiment created a congregation that is still alive today, one in which people carry on public discussions with sufficient human feelings to form webs of personal relationships online. VL - 35 UR - https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/issues.aspx?article_id=3847 IS - 2 ER - TY - CHAP T1 - Dreams of Church in Cyberspace T2 - Digital religion, social media and culture: Perspectives, Practices and Futures Y1 - 2012 A1 - Knut Lundby KW - Blogging KW - Church KW - cyberspace KW - mission KW - Networked individualism KW - social networks KW - virtual community KW - Virtual environments KW - Virtual World KW - virtuality JF - Digital religion, social media and culture: Perspectives, Practices and Futures PB - Peter Lang Publishing CY - New York UR - http://www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detailseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=60410&concordeid=311474 U1 - Cheong Pauline Hope; Fischer-Nielsen, Peter; Gelfgren, Stefan; Ess, Charles 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 - 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 -