%0 Book Section %B Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds %D 2012 %T You Are What You Install: Religious Authenticity and Identity in Mobile Apps %A Wagner, R %K Apps %K identity %K mobile %K religious %B Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds %I Routledge %C London %G eng %0 Book Section %B God in the Details Routledge Press %D 2010 %T Our Lady of Persistent Liminality: Virtual Church, Cyberspace, and Second Life %A Wagner, Rachel %B God in the Details Routledge Press %I Routledge %P 271-290. %U http://books.google.com/books?id=Fw8B6U2QLo4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false %1 Michael Mazur, Kate McCarthy %0 Book Section %B Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds %D 2012 %T You Are What You Install: Religious Authenticity and Identity in Mobile Apps %A Wagner, R %E Campbell, H. %K Apps %K identity %K iPhone %K religion %K technology %X 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. %B Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds %I Routledge %C London %G eng %0 Book %D 2015 %T Video Games and Religion %A Wagner, Rachel %X This article identifies key features of the comparison between video games and religion, focusing on contemporary video games based on specific ancient apocalypses including “The Book of the Watchers” in the Enoch corpus and the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Many contemporary video games function as rituals of order-making, creating spaces of play in which violence is a performative mode of metaphysical sorting, allowing for new negotiations between “good” and “evil.” Through a consideration of popular gaming elements (fragging, fiero, firepower, and fun), this article proposes that the strong relationship between video games and apocalyptic literature invites a closer examination of how eschatological tensions infuse contemporary times, too often inviting an overly simplistic apocalyptic response to contemporary global challenges. %I Oxford University Press %G eng %U https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199935420.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199935420-e-8 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of the American Academy of Religion %D 2013 %T God in the Game: Cosmopolitanism and Religious Conflict in Videogames %A Wagner, Rachel %K Cosmopolitanism %K religion %K video games %B Journal of the American Academy of Religion %G eng %U http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/01/22/jaarel.lfs102.extract %R 10.1093/jaarel/lfs102 %0 Book %D 2012 %T Godwired: Religion, ritual and virtual reality %A Wagner, R %K Godwired %K religion %K Ritual %K virtual reality %X 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. %I Routledge %C New York %G eng %U https://books.google.com/books/about/Godwired.html?id=aHOHZwEACAAJ %0 Book %D 2011 %T Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality %A Wagner, Rachel %X 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. This book examines: the nature of sacred space in virtual contexts technology as a vehicle for sacred texts who we are when we go online what rituals have in common with games and how they work online what happens to community when people worship online how religious "worlds" and virtual "worlds" nurture similar desires. Rachel Wagner suggests that whilst our engagement with virtual reality can be viewed as a form of religious activity, today's virtual religion marks a radical departure from traditional religious practice -- it is ephemeral, transient, rapid, disposable, hyper-individualized, hybrid, and in an ongoing state of flux. %I Routledge %C London %G English %U http://www.amazon.com/Godwired-Religion-Virtual-Reality-Culture/dp/0415781450 %0 Book Section %B Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God %D 2010 %T The Play Is the Thing: From Bible Fights to Passions of the Christ %A Wagner, R %K Christianity %K Immersion %K interactivity %K Jesus %K narrativity %K Parody %K player-viewer %K video games %B Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God %I Westminster John Knox Press %G eng %U http://books.google.com/books?id=GomyEvcocJsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false %1 Craig Detweiler %& 3 %0 Journal Article %D 2018 %T The Buddhist Dharma for Sale: Who Owns the Past? The Internet and Objects of Worship %A Wallinder-Pierini, Linda S E %X Is it possible to claim ownership of the Buddhist dharma; the teachings of the Buddha? Does a group’s relationship to its cultural productions constitute a form of ownership? Can a religious image be copyrighted? This article will focus on the emergence and transformation of the Moji-Mandala or Gohonzon (御本尊), created by the Japanese monk Nichiren (1222-1282). Nichiren’s followers were persecuted, and some were executed when the scroll was found in their possession. Nichiren’s hanging mandala was previously available only to individuals seriously practicing Nichiren’s Buddhism. Currently, Nichiren’s mandala is reproduced electronically over the internet by websites claiming to represent various Buddhist lay organizations. The digital revolution has increased the ability of individuals to appropriate and profit from the cultural knowledge of religious groups that are largely unprotected by existing intellectual property law. %G eng %U http://www.globalbuddhism.org/jgb/index.php/jgb/article/view/238 %0 Journal Article %J MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research %D 2015 %T Keeping cool, staying virtuous: Social media and the composite habitus of young Muslim women in Copenhagen %A Waltorp, Karen %X This article builds on long-term anthropological fieldwork among young Muslim women in a social housing area in Copenhagen. It explores how morality, modesty, and gender- and generational relations become reconfigured in the ways in which young women use the Smartphone and social media to navigate their everyday lives. I focus on love and marriage, the imperatives of appearing cool among peers, and keeping the family’s honour intact through the display of virtuous behaviour. Building on Bourdieu’s writings on the split habitus, I introduce the term composite habitus, as it underscores the aspect of a habitus that is split between (sometimes contradictory) composite parts. The composite habitus of the young women is more than a hysteresis effect (where disposition and field are in mismatch and the habitus misfires), as the composite habitus also opens up to a range of possible strategies. I present examples of how intimate and secret uses of Smartphones have played out and show how social media have allowed for multiple versions of the self through managing public and secret relationships locally and across long distances. %B MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research %G eng %U https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298428678_Keeping_cool_staying_virtuous_Social_media_and_the_composite_habitus_of_young_Muslim_women_in_Copenhagen %0 Book %D 2020 %T Why Muslim Women and Smartphones: Mirror Images %A Waltorp, Karen %X Using an assemblage approach to study how Muslim women in Norrebro, Denmark use their phones, Karen Waltorp examines how social media complicates the divide between public and private in relation to a group of people who find this distinction of utmost significance. Building on years of ethnographic fieldwork, Waltorp's ethnography reflects the trust and creativity of her relationships with these women which in turn open up nuanced discussions about both the subject at hand and best practice in conducting anthropological research. Combining rich ethnography with theoretical contextualization, Waltorp's book alternates between ethnography and analysis to illuminate a thoroughly modern community, and reveals the capacity of image-making technology to function as an infrastructure for seeing, thinking and engaging in fieldwork as an anthropologists. Waltorp identifies a series of important issues around anthropological approaches to new media, contributing to new debates around the anthropology of automation, data and self-tracking. %I Routledge %@ 9781350127357 %G eng %U https://www.routledge.com/Why-Muslim-Women-and-Smartphones-Mirror-Images/Waltorp/p/book/9781350127357 %0 Newspaper Article %B The Washington Post %D 2009 %T Soul-Searching on Facebook %A William Wan %X Such public proclamations of beliefs used to require a baptism in water, or a circumcision, or learning the five pillars of Islam. Now Facebook users announce their spiritual identity with the stroke of a few keys. And what they are typing into the open-ended box offers a revealing peek into modern faith and what happens to that faith as it migrates online. %B The Washington Post %8 August 30, 2009 %G eng %U http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/29/AR2009082902400.html?sid=ST2009082902522 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology %D 2013 %T Investigating religious information searching through analysis of a search engine log %A Rita Wan-Chik %A Paul Clough %A Mark Sanderson %K Buddhism %K Christianity %K Digital %K Hinduism %K information %K Islam %K Judaism %K queries %K religion %K search behavior %K search engine %X 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. %B Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology %G eng %U http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.22945/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false %0 Book %D 2019 %T Celebrity Worship %A Peter Ward %X Celebrity Worship provides an introduction to the fascinating study of celebrity culture and religion. The book argues for celebrity as a foundational component for any consideration of the relationship between religion, media and culture. Celebrity worship is seen as a vibrant and interactive discourse of the sacred self in contemporary society. Topics discussed include: Celebrity culture. Celebrity worship and project of the self as the new sacred. Social media and the democratisation of celebrity. Reactions to celebrity death. Celebrities as theologians of the self. Christian celebrity. Using contemporary case studies, such as lifestyle television, the religious vision of Oprah Winfrey and the death of David Bowie, this book is a gripping read for those with an interest in celebrity culture, cultural studies, media studies, religion in the media and the role of religion in society. %I Routledge %G eng %U https://www.amazon.com/Celebrity-Worship-Media-Religion-Culture/dp/1138587095 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture %D 2018 %T Digital Religion and Media Economics: Concentration and Convergence in the Electronic Church %A Ward, Mark %X The economics that push every medium toward market concentration have historically done likewise to every religious medium. “Online religion” is now, in its turn, colonized by an “electronic church” industry that, due to media deregulation, is dominated by religious media conglomerates—through whom North Americans are most likely to engage in digital religion. The largest conglomerate alone generates 110 million computer sessions and 79 million mobile sessions per month. This study reviews the economics of media concentration and applications to religious media, surveys the digital footprint of the institutional electronic church, and advocates integration of media practices into Digital Religion Studies. %B Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture %G eng %U https://brill.com/view/journals/rmdc/7/1/article-p90_90.xml?language=en %0 Journal Article %J Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology %D 2013 %T Hope and Sorrow: Uncivil Religion, Tibetan Music Videos, and YouTube %A Cameron David Warner %K China %K media %K Music %K religion %K Tibet %K YouTube %X 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. %B Ethnos: Journal of Anthropology %G eng %U http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00141844.2012.724433 %R 10.1080/00141844.2012.724433 %0 Journal Article %J Oxford University Press %D 1947 %T Theory of social and economic organization %A Weber, M. %B Oxford University Press %G eng %U https://www.britannica.com/topic/Theory-of-Social-and-Economic-Organization %0 Book Section %B The SAGE Handbook of Web History %D 2019 %T Religion and Web history %A Webster, Peter %B The SAGE Handbook of Web History %I Sage %P 479-90 %G eng %1 Niels Brügger and Ian Milligan %0 Book Section %B The Historical Web and Digital Humanities: the Case of National Web domains %D 2019 %T Lessons from cross-border religion in the Northern Irish web sphere: understanding the limitations of the ccTLD as a proxy for the national web %A Webster, Peter %B The Historical Web and Digital Humanities: the Case of National Web domains %I Routledge %P 110-23 %G eng %1 Niels Brügger & Ditte Laursen %0 Book Section %B The Web as History: the first two decades %D 2017 %T Religious discourse in the archived web: Rowan Williams, archbishop of Canterbury, and the sharia law controversy of 2008 %A Webster, Peter %B The Web as History: the first two decades %I UCL Press %C London %P 190-203 %G eng %U https://www.ucldigitalpress.co.uk/Book/Article/45/70/3464/ %1 Niels Brügger and Ralph Schroeder %0 Journal Article %J Internet Histories %D 2018 %T Technology, ethics and religious language: early Anglophone Christian reactions to “cyberspace” %A Webster, Peter %B Internet Histories %V 2 %P 299-314 %G eng %N 3/4 %& 299 %R https://doi.org/10.1080/24701475.2018.1468976 %0 Book Section %B Culture of the Internet %D 1997 %T An Electronic Group is Virtually a Social Network %A Barry Wellman %K computer-mediated communication %K social network %X When a computer network connects people, it is a social network. Just as a computer network is a set of machines connected by a set of cables, a social network is a set of people (or organizations or other social entities) connected by a set of socially meaningful relationships. I show how social network analysis might be useful for understanding how people relate to each other through computer-mediated communication (see also Wellman & Gulia, in press; Wellman et al., 1996). %B Culture of the Internet %I Psychology Press %G eng %U http://pdf.aminer.org/000/247/445/learning_in_the_network_form_implications_for_electronic_group_support.pdf %1 Sara Kiesler %& 9 %0 Book Section %B Handbook of Internet Studies %D 2011 %T Studying the Internet through the Ages %A Wellman, B. %X The Handbook of Internet Studies brings together scholars from a variety of fields to explore the profound shift that has occurred in how we communicate and experience our world as we have moved from the industrial era into the age of digital media. %B Handbook of Internet Studies %I Blackwell %C Oxford %P 17-23 %G English %U http://books.google.com/books?id=3CakiQW_GVAC&pg=PA17&lpg=PA17&dq=Studying+the+Internet+through+the+Ages&source=bl&ots=7jItTrTTkF&sig=nJOUdr-vI5dRfuLYlayzhWhlVIk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wlcsT4LzLujm2gXVjL3GCg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Studying%20the%20Internet%20 %0 Book %B Information Age Series %D 0 %T The Internet in Everyday Life %A Barry Wellman %A Caroline Haythornthwaite %K internet %K Internet Studies %K methodologies %K social effects %X The Internet in Everyday Life is the first book to systematically investigate how being online fits into people's everyday lives. Opens up a new line of inquiry into the social effects of the Internet. Focuses on how the Internet fits into everyday lives, rather than considering it as an alternate world. Chapters are contributed by leading researchers in the area. Studies are based on empirical data. Talks about the reality of being online now, not hopes or fears about the future effects of the Internet. %B Information Age Series %I Wiley-Blackwell %G eng %U http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9780470774298 %0 Journal Article %J Urban Affairs Review %D 1979 %T Networks, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Approaches to the Study of the Community Question %A Wellman, B. %A Leighton, B %K community %K media %K Neighborhoods %K networks %K social network %X We propose a network analytic approach to the community question in order to separate the study of communities from the study of neighborhoods. Three arguments about the community question-that "community" has been "lost," "saved," or "liberated"-are reviewed for their development, network depictions, imagery, policy implications, and current status. The lost argument contends that communal ties have become attenuated in industrial bureaucratic societies; the saved argument contends that neighborhood communities remain as important sources of sociability, support and mediation with formal institutions; the liberated argument maintains that while communal ties still flourish, they have dispersed beyond the neighborhood and are no longer clustered in solidary communities. Our review finds that both the saved and liberated arguments proposed viable network patterns under appropriate conditions, for social systems as well as individuals. %B Urban Affairs Review %V 14 %G eng %U http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcourseweb.lis.illinois.edu%2F~katewill%2Ffall2009-lis590col%2Fwellman%2520leighton%25201979%2520networks%2520neighborhoods.pdf&ei=0_0CUfHWFqb22AW68YG4Bw&usg=AFQj %& 363 %0 Book %D 2019 %T Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia: Of Dominance and Diversity %A Weng, Enqi %X This volume explores the contradiction between the news coverage given to issues of religion, particularly since 2001 in relation to issues such as terrorism, politics, security and gender, and the fact of its apparent decline according to Census data. Based on media research in Australia, and offering comparisons with the UK, the author demonstrates that media discussions overlook the diversity that exists within religions, particularly the country’s main religion, Christianity, and presents religion according to specific interpretations shaped by race, class and gender, which in turn result in very limited understandings of religion itself. Drawing on understandings of the sacred as a non-negotiable value present in religious and secular form, Media Perceptions of Religious Changes in Australia calls for a broader sociological perspective on religion and will appeal to scholars of sociology and media studies with interests in religion and public life. %I Routledge %@ 9780367192570 %G eng %U https://www.routledge.com/Media-Perceptions-of-Religious-Changes-in-Australia-Of-Dominance-and-Diversity/Weng/p/book/9780367192570 %0 Book %D 1999 %T The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace %A Wertheim, Maragret %X Cyberspace may seem an unlikely gateway for the soul. But as science commentator Margaret Wertheim argues in this "marvelously provocative" (Kirkus Reviews) book, cyberspace has in recent years become a repository for immense spiritual yearning. Wertheim explores the mapping of spiritual desire onto digitized space and suggests that the modem today has become a metaphysical escape-hatch from a materialism that many people find increasingly dissatisfying. Cyberspace opens up a collective space beyond the laws of physics-a space where mind rather than matter reigns. This strange refuge returns us to an almost medieval dualism between a physical space of body and an immaterial space of mind and psyche. %I Virago %C London %G English %U http://books.google.com/books?id=H7nH08cGvbcC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false %0 Journal Article %J MIT Sloan Management and Capgemini Consulting %D 2012 %T The digital advantage: How digital leaders outperform their peers in every industry %A Westerman, G. %A Tannou, M. %A Bonnet, D. %A Ferraris, P. %A McAfee, A. %B MIT Sloan Management and Capgemini Consulting %G eng %U https://www.capgemini.com/us-en/resources/the-digital-advantage-how-digital-leaders-outperform-their-peers-in-every-industry/ %0 Journal Article %D 2002 %T Islam, Community and the Internet: New possibilities in the digital age %A Wheeler, Deborah %X This essay uses three examples of Muslim cyberpractices as a means for understanding how the Internet enables the formation, maintenance, and management of certain kinds of Islamic communities. First is the case of the al-Qaeda movement and its critics. Case two is an Ask the Imam web site, where postings on cyberdating are analyzed as a means to define proper Muslim behavior in cyberspace. The third case is the gayegypt.com web site and the controversies surrounding it. It has been said that the Internet is producing a kind of Muslim Renaissance similar in scope and effect to the flowering of Islamic science, learning, and community values during the Abbassid period many centuries earlier. As this analysis illustrates, the kinds of changes in Muslim community enabled by the Internet are fundamentally altering the values and practices defined by Muslims in the Medieval period, especially in terms of the construction of authority. %G English %U http://bcis.pacificu.edu/journal/2002/02/islam.php %0 Journal Article %J Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet %D 2014 %T Remixing Images of Islam. The Creation of New Muslim Women Subjectivities on YouTube %A Wheeler, Kayla Renée %X This study provides a textual analysis of YouTube videos produced by two popular Western English-speaking vloggers, Amenakin and Nye Armstrong using Guo and Lee’s hybrid vernacular discourse framework. Vernacular discourse is defined as speech and culture that includes music, art, and fashion, which resonates within a local community.The framework focuses on three components: content, agency, and subjectivity. I extend this framework by examining audience response to the new images through analyzing comments and response videos. Recognizing that the boundaries between vernacular and mainstream discourse are blurred, my research is guided by the following question: How are Muslim women rearticulating and renegotiating mainstream and vernacular discourses to introduce new and complex images of Muslim womanhood that challenge mainstream Western representations of Muslim women? %B Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet %G eng %U https://heiup.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/index.php/religions/article/view/17364 %0 Book %D 1994 %T Christian Worship and Technological Change %A White, S. %X Arguing that a primary influence on the social context of Christian worship is the pervasive presence of technology and technological processes, White traces the interplay between technological processes and Christian worship, and gives suggestions as to how the church might approach scientific advances in a rapidly changing society. %I Abingdon Press %C Nashville %G English %U http://books.google.com/books/about/Christian_worship_and_technological_chan.html?id=J3thQgAACAAJ %0 Journal Article %J New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia %D 2015 %T “The story God is weaving us into”: narrativizing grief, faith, and infant loss in US evangelical women's blog communities %A Whitehead, Deborah %X This case study explores how US evangelical Christian "mommy blog" communities constitute spaces for the collective memorialization of infant loss. Personal religious blogs feature a rich combination of esthetics, narrative structure, description of religious practices and beliefs, reader interaction, and linked networks. Using a textual approach, I illustrate distinctive features in how pregnancy and infant loss and grief are experienced, shared and memorialized in US women's evangelical blogging communities. I argue that the blog format allows for a (re)narrativization of the devastating experience of infant loss as grieving mothers situate their traumatic personal experiences within the context of an ongoing religious narrative in which blog readers also come to participate. As the blogger tells the story of her own loss to a listening public, it becomes a larger shared story, so that it is not just the child's story but also the author's story, their family's story, and "our story" inclusive of the blog community of readers, "the story God is weaving us into," post by post, day by day. Personal religious blogs and their reading publics, therefore, can provide a medium for the ongoing creation of meaning, faith and community in the context of infant loss. %B New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia %G eng %U https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015NRvHM..21...42W/abstract %0 Journal Article %J Sexualities %D 2013 %T When religious ‘mommy bloggers’ met ‘mommy porn’: evangelical Christian and Mormon women’s responses to fifty shades %A Whitehead, D %K Evangelical Christian %K Fifty Shades %K Mormon %K religious %X While some conservative religious women have rejected Fifty Shades of Grey as contrary to their values and beliefs, others have embraced it. This article analyzes commentaries and reflections on the book series in US evangelical Christian and Mormon women’s blog communities, and shows how many of these women find value in the books because of their personal, cultural, and religious significance. I argue that attention to the reading strategies employed by evangelical and Mormon women in relation to Fifty Shades demonstrates a complex set of responses to ‘secular’ culture as well as ongoing negotiations of gender, sexuality, and authority within these conservative religious traditions. %B Sexualities %V 16 %P 915–931 %G eng %U http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1363460713508904?journalCode=sexa %N 8 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of the American Academy of Religion %D 2015 %T The Evidence of Things Unseen: Authenticity and Fraud in the Christian Mommy Blogosphere %A Whitehead, Deborah %X This article analyzes allegations of fraud and deception in two popular evangelical Christian “mommy blogs” in order to demonstrate how the rhetoric of authenticity in social media plays a central role in the formation of online communities. I argue that a personal religious blogger together with her readers constitutes an ongoing public conversation and community, one that is held together by a kind of belief or trust in the truthful representation of the blogger and her story. When a blog claims to be a story about the power of faith, hope, and miracles, it can be read and understood by its devoted readers as “evidence of things unseen,” that is, as a representation of the evidence of authentic religious faith and practice shared by the community. On the other hand, if credibility is doubted, the blog may become the focus of allegations of deception, leading to the creation of new forms of online community. These cases highlight the importance of attending to claims of credibility and authenticity as constitutive of religious practice and community formation in social media and in the academic study of religion more broadly. %B Journal of the American Academy of Religion %G eng %U https://academic.oup.com/jaar/article/83/1/120/691490 %0 Book %B Indiana Series in Middle East Studies %D 0 %T Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach %A Quintan Wiktorowicz %K activism %K Egypt %K Iran %K Islam %K Islamic %K Muslims %K Shi‘a %K social movement %K Sunni %K Yeman %X This volume represents the first comprehensive attempt to incorporate the study of Islamic activism into social movement theory. It argues that the dynamics, processes, and organization of Islamic activism can be understood as important elements of contention that transcend the specificity of "Islam" as a system of meaning and identity and a basis for collective action. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the contributors show how social movement theory can be utilized to address a wide range of questions about the mobilization of contention in support of Muslim causes. The book covers myriad examples of Islamic activism (Sunni and Shi‘a) in eight countries (Arab and non-Arab), including case studies of violence and contention, networks and alliances, and culture and framing. %B Indiana Series in Middle East Studies %I Indiana University Press %G eng %U http://books.google.com/books/about/Islamic_Activism.html?id=UoONJqsjYjcC %0 Journal Article %J Religious Studies %D 1971 %T Religious authority and divine action %A Wiles, M. F. %B Religious Studies %G eng %U https://www.jstor.org/stable/20004855?seq=1 %0 Web Page %D 2001 %T Vatican rules out online confessions %A Wilian, P. %I PC World Online %G eng %U https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/44601/vatican_rule_online_confessions/ %0 Journal Article %J Research Policy %D 2996 %T The social shaping of technology %A Williams, R. %A Edge, D. %X This paper reviews the growing body of research that explores ‘the social shaping of technology’ (SST) — how the design and implementation of technology are patterned by a range of ‘social’ and ‘economic’ factors as well as narrowly ‘technical’ considerations. It shows how researchers from a range of disciplinary backgrounds were brought together by a critique of traditional conceptions of technology (for example, ‘linear models’ of innovation that privileged technological supply or restricted the scope of social inquiry into technology to assessing its ‘impacts’). Though their analytical frameworks differ to a greater or lesser extent in terminology and approach, some explanatory concepts have emerged, and constitute an effective model of the innovation process. Here, it is suggested, SST offers a deeper understanding and also potentially broadens the technology policy agenda. These claims are assessed through a review of recent research into specific instances of social shaping, particularly in relation to information technology. Finally the article discusses some of the intellectual dilemmas in the field. Though the intellectual cross-fertilisation has been creative, points of tension and divergence between its constituent strands have resulted in some sharp controversies, which reflect upon the theoretical and policy claims of SST. %B Research Policy %G eng %U https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0048733396008852 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Contemporary Ethnography %D 2006 %T Authentic Identities: Straightedge Subculture, Music, and the Internet %A Williams, Patrick J. %K authenticity %K identity %K internet %K scene %K straightedge %K subculture %X In this article, the author examines the relative roles of music and the internet for self-identifying members of the straightedge youth subculture. For nearly 30 years, subcultures have been conceptualized primarily in terms of music and style. Participation has therefore typically been characterized by the consumption of specific types of music and clothing and participation in local, face-to-face music scenes. However, with the recent growth of information and communication technologies like the internet, opportunities have emerged that enable individuals to participate in subcultures in which they otherwise might not participate. The author shows that a new type of subculturalist is emerging—one whose subcultural participation is limited to the internet.Using the concepts of authenticity and scene, the author explores how participants in a straightedge internet forum negotiate their affiliations with the subculture and how some members attempt to halt others’ claims to a straightedge identity. The study suggests that the internet is emerging as a new, but highly contested, subcultural scene. %B Journal of Contemporary Ethnography %V 35 %P 173-200 %8 April 2006 %G eng %U http://jce.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/35/2/173 %0 Journal Article %J Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs %D 2016 %T Humor and Identity on Twitter: #muslimcandyheartrejects as a Digital Space for Identity Construction %A Wills, Emily Regan %A Fecteau, AndrÉ %X Through examining the hashtag #muslimcandyheartrejects, a one-time, short-term, joke hashtag used on Twitter among a group of Muslim tweeters in 2012, we argue that members of Muslim digital diaspora communities use social media to construct and reinforce a Muslim diaspora identity. The architecture of Twitter provides the structure for these engagements, while humor serves meaning-making, cohesion building, and tension-relief functions within the conversation. The conversation itself combines a variety of topics to both describe Muslim identity in diaspora and to critique both Muslim community practices and conditions for Muslims in non-Muslim countries. %B Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs %G eng %U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13602004.2016.1153825 %0 Book %D 2000 %T The Internet Church %A Wilson, Walter %X With rapid technological advances and the increasing impact of the internet, the world is literally at our fingertips. Yet many churches have yet to discover how to tap into this powerful resource. The Internet Church shows church leaders how to start from square one in creating an interactive website that can greatly expand the ministry potential of a church. Walter Wilson, an internet expert and committed Christian, describes how technology can enhance evangelism outreach, and challenges leaders to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities in the new digital age. %I Word Publishing %C Nashville %G English %0 Journal Article %J Consumption Markets & Culture %D 2017 %T How algorithmic cultural recommendations influence the marketing of cultural collections %A Wilson-Barnao, C. %X Museums make their collections available online to keep pace with developments in how people access and share information. While museums have traditionally understood the notion of public access as part of their institutional remit, in this paper I draw on policy documents and qualitative interviews with Australasian cultural professionals, to examine how the discourse of access might account for the museum’s transformation from a community space to a resource that is beneficial to marketers. I use Google Arts & Culture as a case study, to suggest the terms of public access have altered to adapt to the needs of commercial “digital enclosures.” When people engage with the museum in virtual spaces data are collected. Algorithms work as a set of instructions that make it possible to search, sort and organise the data, linking together people and their online practices in order to enact a form of algorithmic cultural recommendation. %B Consumption Markets & Culture %G eng %U https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10253866.2017.1331910?journalCode=gcmc20 %0 Book %D 0 %T The Bishop, the Mullah, and the Smartphone %A Bryan Winters %K bishop %K Christianity %K Digital %K history %K Islam %K mullah %K smartphone %X Not so long ago the world resisted change, often using religious-reasoning. Small wonder--the printing press, a sixteenth century disruptive device, split Christianity. Now the globe welcomes digital disruption, even praising it as a solution for faltering economies. Religions don't have much choice but to follow, because information is a prime asset of faith. Believers treasure and reframe their past, and present. However, both old and current data is now available in huge quantities, visually and instantly. Movies provide more spiritual guidance than holy texts, and terror merchants use the uncontrollable Internet to gain hearts and minds. Nevertheless a turbulent re-mythologization of adherents towards peaceful versions of their belief can be tracked. There are positive things we can all do to help, which is just as well in a world that suggests only political acts count. %I Wipf & Stock %C Eugene, Oregon %P 312 %@ 1498217923 %G eng %U http://www.amazon.com/Bishop-Mullah-Smartphone-Journey-Religions/dp/1498217923 %0 Book %D 2003 %T Virtual Morality: Morals, Ethics and New Media %A Wolf, Mark %X New technologies continue to shape communication and how we think about and relate to the world around us. What is rarely examined is how these new media relate to morals and ethics in society and culture. In a series of twelve essays, written from a variety of viewpoints including philosophy, communication, media and art, and situating its arguments around the three poles of technology, community, and religion, this collection examines the relationship between morals and ethics and new media, ranging from the ways in which new communication technologies are employed to their effects on the messages communicated and those who use them. %I Peter Lang Publishing %C London %G English %U http://www.nextag.com/Virtual-Morality-Morals-Ethics-1229926092/specs-html %0 Thesis %D 2008 %T Church share: Investigating technology use and adoption among culturally different religious groups %A Susan P. Wyche %X Outside the workplace, technologies support a new range of activities such as exploring, wondering, loving, and worshipping. Yet, we know little about how individuals appropriate technology to support these activities. Understanding this becomes more pressing as computing’s presence increases in daily life. For my dissertation, I am investigating use of ICTs to support a subset of these activities, those related to religious aspects of life, or techno-spiritual practices. I focus on techno-spiritual practices within a specific faith and their worship settings — Protestant Christianity and megachurches. I conducted formative studies investigating how megachurches, their pastors, and their laity use ICTs for religious purposes in Atlanta, Ga., U.S., Nairobi, Kenya, and São Paulo, Brazil. Findings from these studies motivated an ICT intervention called ChurchShare, a photo-sharing site that allows laity to take digital photographs and share them with others during church worship services. I hypothesize that this technology will increase laity involvement in worship services and create new socialization styles among megachurch laity. I am exploring this technology through real world deployments. Research conducted in the U.S. primarily informed ChurchShare’s development; however, I draw from knowledge gained during fieldwork conducted abroad when evaluating ChurchShare. Specifically, I will ask individuals from three culturally distinct churches to use the site. One church will be comprised of U.S. born laity and the others will have predominately immigrant Kenyan and Brazilian worshippers. This will allow me to investigate how culturally different groups appropriate technology for religious purposes. In turn, this will lead to a broader understanding ICT adoption among individuals typically targeted by HCI researchers and ones who are not. This research is expected to yield empirical and theoretical finding that will contribute to human-centered computing research. %I Georgia Institute of Technology %C Atlanta, Georgia %8 2008 %G eng %U http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~spwyche/headlinesred/research_index.html