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 - 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 - Virtual Ritual, Real Faith : the Revirtualization of Religious Ritual in Cyberspace JF - Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet Y1 - 2006 A1 - Cheryl Anne Casey KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - cyberspace KW - Episcopalian church KW - internet KW - media environments KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication KW - religious experience KW - RELIGIOUS RITUAL AB - Cheryl Anne Casey deals with Practicing Faith in Cyberspace: Conceptions and Functions of Religious Rituals on the Internet. She examines the emerging phenomenon of online religious rituals and their functions for participants in order to illuminate the relationship between changing technologies of communication and our changing conceptions of religion. Her case study considers an online Episcopalian church service within the framework of ritual theory. Keys to the analysis are the particular design chosen for the service (given the multifarious forms which rituals can take in cyberspace) and the relationship between choice of design and the tenets of the particular faith group. The objective of this study is to shed light on the relationship between conceptions of religion, religious experience, and changing media environments by examining online rituals and the meanings and functions these rituals hold for those who access them VL - 02.1 UR - http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ojs/index.php/religions/article/view/377/353 IS - Special Issue on Rituals on the Internet 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 - Seeking the Sacred Online: Internet and the Individualization of Religious Life in Quebec JF - Anthropologica Y1 - 2012 A1 - M Deirdre KW - Access to resources KW - Canada KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - digital cultures KW - internet KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society VL - 54 UR - http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=26049890 IS - 1 ER - TY - THES T1 - Give Me That Online Religion: Religious Authority and Resistance Through Blogging T2 - Sociology Y1 - 2013 A1 - Erin V. Echols KW - Authority KW - bloggers KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - Digital Religion KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - online identity KW - religious media research KW - Resistance AB - This study of forty-nine Christian blogs explores how groups of bloggers in two case studies resist and/or perpetuate hegemonic gender ideologies online and where these bloggers draw authority from for these views. The findings reveal that bloggers are most likely to cite texts as sources of authority and are more likely to affirm authority (78.1%) than to challenge it (25.7%). The bloggers in my sample, who were majority male, use an array of strategies in their efforts to resist hegemonic gender norms. These included, but are not limited to, debating God’s gender, emphasizing women’s roles in the Bible, privileging equality in theological interpretations, redefining masculinity and employing satire and images to delegitimize hegemonic power JF - Sociology PB - Georgia State University VL - Master of Arts UR - http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_theses/39/ 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 - Mediated Martyrs of the Arab Spring: New Media, Civil Religion, and Narrative in Tunisia and Egypt JF - Journal of Communication Y1 - 2013 A1 - Jeffry R. Halverson A1 - Scott W. Ruston A1 - Angela Trethewey KW - Arab Spring KW - Civil Religion KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - Mediated Martyrs KW - Narrative KW - network KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - New Technology and Society KW - online communication AB - This article analyzes the emergence of nationalist martyr narratives and their dissemination via new media as forces for social mobilization and political change. Situating them in the religio-historical contexts of North Africa, we trace martyr narratives in Tunisia and Egypt back to pre-Islamic periods and compare them to the contemporary stories of Mohamed Bouazizi and Khaled Saeed. This reveals the impact of new media on the region, evident in “virtual reliquaries,” and the role that martyr narratives play as catalysts in social mobilization. The trajectory of the martyr narrative from the traditional religious context to the state-driven concept of civil religion allows for the political dimension of narratives resident within the religious context to surface in the contemporary discursive moment. VL - 63 UR - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcom.12017/abstract?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false 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 - CHAP T1 - Considering Religious Community Through Online Churches T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2013 A1 - Tim Hutchings KW - Christian Churches KW - Contemporary Religious Community KW - New Media and Society KW - new media engagement KW - online Christianity KW - online church KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religious engagement KW - Sociology of religion KW - “religion online” JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge UR - http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415676113/ U1 - Heidi A. Campbell ER - TY - CHAP T1 - A Voice of Their Own. Young Muslim Women, Blogs and Religion T2 - Mediatization and Religion: Nordic Perspectives Y1 - 2012 A1 - Lövheim, M KW - blogs KW - Internet Mediatization of Religion KW - Islam KW - Media studies KW - mediatization of religion KW - Muslim Women and media KW - New Media and Society KW - new media research KW - Nordic perspective KW - religion and culture JF - Mediatization and Religion: Nordic Perspectives PB - Nordicom, Göteborgs universitet, Göteborg UR - http://www.nordicom.gu.se/?portal=mr&main=info_publ2.php&ex=357 U1 - Stig Hjarvard, Mia Lövheim 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 - Hindu Worship Online and Offline T2 - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds Y1 - 2013 A1 - Heinz Scheifinger KW - cyberspace KW - Hindu KW - New Media and Society KW - New Technology and Society KW - Religion and the Internet KW - religious engagement KW - Sociology of religion JF - Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds PB - Routledge U1 - Heidi A. Campbell 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 -