@mastersthesis {1199,
	title = {Manifestation of Religious Authority on the Internet: Presentation of Twelver Shiite Authority in the Persian Blogosphere},
	volume = {Master of Arts},
	year = {2012},
	month = {23-May-2012},
	school = {University of Waterloo},
	type = {Master Thesis},
	abstract = {Cyberspace has diversified and pluralized people{\textquoteright}s daily experiences of religion in unprecedented ways. By studying several websites and weblogs that have a religious orientation, different layers of religious authority including {\textquotedblleft}religious hierarchy, structures, ideology, and sources{\textquotedblright} (Campbell, 2009) can be identified. Also, using Weber{\textquoteright}s definition of the three types of authority, {\textquotedblleft}rational-legal, traditional, and charismatic{\textquotedblright} (1968), the specific type of authority that is being presented on blogosphere can be recognized. The Internet presents a level of liberty for the discussion of sensitive topics in any kind of religious cyberspace, specifically the Islamic one. In this way, the Internet is expanding the number and range of Muslim voices, which may pose problems for traditional forms of religious authority or may suggest new forms of authority in the Islamic world. The interaction between the Internet and religion is often perceived as contradictory, especially when it is religion at its most conservative practice. While the international and national applications of the Internet have increased vastly, local religious communities, especially fundamentalists, perceived this new technology as a threat to their local cultures and practices. If we look at the Internet as a central phenomenon of contemporary modernity that interacts with practiced fundamentalist religious traditions, we can ask how broad the interactions are between religious fundamentalism and the Internet and whether these relations can be reconciled. More specifically, this thesis presents a study of the junction of the Internet and religious fundamentalism reviewing the presentation of Shiite religious authority on the Persian blogosphere. As a case study, Persian weblogs are studied for content analysis for this thesis. Weblogs{\textquoteright} texts are analyzed to find evidences for Shiite beliefs and shared identity, usages and interpretations of the main Shiite religious texts, references to the role of recognized Shiite leaders, and descriptions of Shiite structural patterns of practices and organizations. This research will demonstrate how the Internet has been culturally constructed, modified, and adapted to the Iranian community{\textquoteright}s needs and how the Shiite fundamentalist community of Iran has been affected by it. Based on one of the most structured research in this area, the study by Baezilai-Nahon and Barzilai (2005), in this article I identify four principal dimensions of religious fundamentalism as they interact with the Internet: hierarchy, patriarchy, discipline, and seclusion.},
	keywords = {Authority, Biosphere, Digital Religion, Iran, media and religion, new media engagement, New media praticipation, Persian, Religious Internet Communities, Shiite Muslim, sociability unbound},
	url = { http://hdl.handle.net/10012/6774},
	author = {Valibeigi, Narges}
}
@article {312,
	title = {Web 2.0: technology for the postmodern sensibility and its implications for the church},
	journal = {Journal Of Theology For Southern Africa },
	year = {2008},
	month = {11/2008},
	pages = {86-107},
	chapter = {86},
	abstract = {Web 2.0 is a new technology approach that in essence builds on the Internet{\textquoteright}s existing culture of collaboration and individual freedom. This article argues that Web 2.0 is both creator and creation of the postmodern Zeitgeist, with technology and social development existing in a mutually reinforcing spiral. To minister effectively to the postmodern world, the Church needs to understand how to use these new technologies and, more importantly, respond to the new world they simultaneously reflect and create.
The article outlines the main characteristics of postmodernism, the context of Web 2.0, before examining in some detail the nature of Web 2.0. This discussion is followed by an outline of the main technologies that enable Web 2.0. It then moves onto a consideration of what all this means for the Church. Tactical uses of some of the technologies are suggested before the article moves on to examine the main implications of the combination of Web 2.0 and postmodernism. It concludes with a summary of the opportunities and challenges this combination presents for the Church.},
	author = {Van den Heever, James}
}
@inbook {1254,
	title = {When {\textquoteright}Friend{\textquoteright} Becomes a Verb: Religion on the Social Web},
	booktitle = {God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture},
	year = {2010},
	publisher = {Routledge},
	organization = {Routledge},
	chapter = {11},
	address = {God in the Details: American Religion in Popular Culture},
	keywords = {Digital Religion, integration, Interaction, interpretation, social media, social networks},
	url = {http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415485364/},
	author = {Daniel Veidlinger}
}
@book {244,
	title = {Christians in a.com World: Getting Connected without Being Consumed},
	year = {2000},
	publisher = {Crossway Books},
	organization = {Crossway Books},
	address = {Wheaton, IL},
	abstract = {In the Internet we are facing the biggest information revolution since the printing press. This technology presents new challenges to our culture as a whole, making it essential that we as Christians be "plugged in." And while millions are online, you, like many, may be simultaneously uneasy about where this new medium is leading us. Noted culture critic Gene Veith and Chris Stamper, a leading voice in modern technology, want to help you understand the significance cyberculture has for us as Christians. The authors tackle the current controversies, including censorship, the possible demise of print, and how it all ties into postmodernism. As they challenge the myths, probe the weaknesses, and reveal the possibilities of this new and continually developing medium, you will become an informed and discerning traveler on the information highway. One who understands the cultural and worldview implications of the Internet and who knows how to be wired to it but not entangled by it.},
	url = {http://books.google.com/ebooks/reader?printsec=frontcover\&output=reader\&retailer_id=android_market_live\&id=F1acUthK4GUC\&pg=GBS.PA10},
	author = {Veith, Gene Edward and Stamper, Christopher}
}
@article {1200,
	title = {Women responding to the anti-Islam film Fitna: voices and acts of citizenship on YouTube},
	journal = {Feminist Review},
	volume = {97},
	year = {2011},
	pages = {110-129},
	abstract = {How feminists view the alternative videos uploaded to YouTube in response to the anti-Islam film {\textquoteright}Fitna{\textquoteright} is discussed. The gender portrayal and narratives in {\textquoteright}Fitna{\textquoteright} are contrasted with those in the alternative video. The videos were considered as acts of citizenship through which women constitutes themselves as global citizen by engaging in deliberation or by taking a voice.},
	keywords = {anti-Islam, citizenship, Digital Religion, Feminists, Fitna, gender studies, Islam, Religious Internet Communities, Research Political participation, YouTube},
	url = {http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/159420348?q\&versionId=173776629},
	author = {Vis, F and van Zoonen, L and Mihelj, S}
}
@inbook {2101,
	title = {Religioni e Internet: Evangelizzazione o Reincantamento del Mondo?},
	booktitle = {Rapporto sull{\textquoteright}Analfabetismo Religioso in Italia},
	year = {2014},
	pages = {355{\textendash}367},
	publisher = {Il Mulino},
	organization = {Il Mulino},
	address = {Bologna},
	abstract = {Il rapporto sull{\textquoteright}analfabetismo religioso in Italia intende porre domande, tracciare percorsi e contestualizzare il tema dell{\textquoteright}assenza del religioso nei processi educativi su scala internazionale. Il volume offre una riflessione organica su ci{\`o} che viene ignorato dal sistema scolastico e sui perch{\'e} storico-teologici, oltrech{\'e} storico-politici, di queste omissioni e lacune. A un{\textquoteright}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 pi{\`u} intuitiva, trasferendo su immagini e simboli la complessit{\`a} delle informazioni e dei dati raccolti.},
	keywords = {evangelism, internet, religion},
	issn = {9788815251299},
	url = {https://books.google.com/books?id=V1bYngEACAAJ\&dq=Rapporto+sull\%E2\%80\%99Analfabetismo+Religioso+in+Italia\&hl=en\&sa=X\&ved=0ahUKEwjNs_2y1uDbAhVmxlQKHeAXDaQQ6AEIJzAA},
	author = {Vitullo, A}
}
