Article reflects on "Networked Religion"

In an article recently published in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, I introduce a new lens with which to understand how religion is performed in online and new media contexts. I suggest that by looking carefully the traits of online religious practice point to larger cultural shifts in how religion is lived out both online and offline. For more details of the argument see:

Heidi Campbell, (2012). Understanding the relationship between religious practice online and offline in a networked society. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 80(1), 64-93.

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.
http://jaar.oxfordjournals.org/content/80/1/64.short