Digital Religion, Social Media and Culture: Perspectives, Practices and Futures

by Pauline Hope Cheong (Editor), Charles Ess (Editor), Stefan Gelfgren (Editor)

This anthology collects some of the most current research and reflection on the complex interactions between religion and computer-mediated communications (CMC). The contributions cohere around the central question: how will core religious understanding of identity, community and authority shape and be (re)shaped by the communicative possibilities of Web. 2.0? The authors address these questions in three distinct ways: through contemporary empirical research on how diverse traditions across the globe seek to take up the technologies and affordances of contemporary CDC; through investigations that place these contemporary developments in larger historical and theological contexts; and through careful reflection on the theoretical dimensions of research on religion and CMC.--From cover, p. [4].

Genres: Religion

326 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 2012

Reviews

[Sara]

This book was not quite what I was looking for, though the essay, "The Immanent Internet Redux," by Bernie Hogan and Barry Wellman, supplied the following quote:

"The ethereal internet light that previously dazzled has now dimmed to a soft glow permeating everyday concerns. We have moved from a world of internet wizards to a world of ordinary people routinely using the internet. The internet has become an important part of people's lives, but not a special part. It has become the utility of the masses rather than the plaything of computer scientists. It has become the infrastructure for a variety of computer-supported communications media, and not just the specialized conveyor of e-mail, Facebook, or any specific digital medium" (57).

In addition, more rigorous proof-reading and editing would have contributed to a cleaner, clearer read of this collection.