When Religion Meets New Media

CFP for 2012 International Media, Religion & Culture Conference

2011-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

The International Conference on Media, Religion, and Culture, organized every two years by the International Society for Media, Religion, and Culture, invites papers for its July 8-12, 2012 conference to be held in Eskisehir, Turkey (outside of Istanbul), at Anadolu University.

Deadline for paper, panel, workshop, and roundtable proposals: January 31, 2012

In contemporary societies, electronic media such as smart mobile phones, satellite television, radio, and laptop computers have become ubiquitous. Although historians point out that world religions have always been mediated by culture in some way, people have incorporated these electronic media into everyday practices, and industries and state organizations have arisen to profit from those practices, in ways that are unprecedented. Today's media can connect people and ideas with one another, but they also foster misunderstandings and reinforce societal divisions. They may provide the means for the centralization of religious authority, or the means to undermine it. Scholars of religion, as well as scholars of media and of culture, must consider how these various societal institutions of the media interact with one another and with systems of religion, governance, and cultural practices, as our societies demand better means by which to understand emergent concerns in an increasingly interconnected, globalized context.

The contemporary location of Turkey has long been the meeting place between Eastern and Western culture, religion, trade, and communication. This conference provides a crossroads for scholars, doctoral students, media professionals, and religious leaders from a variety of religious and secular traditions to meet and exchange ideas. Interdisciplinary scholarship is welcome, as is comparative work, theoretical development, and in-depth ethnographic studies that shed light on contemporary phenomena at the intersection of media, religion, and culture.

Papers, panels, workshops, and roundtable proposals could address, but should not be limited to:

* Global and Glocal Media and Religion(s)

* Mediation and Mediatization of Religion

* Media and The Boundaries of the Religious and the Secular

* Media, Power, Religion and Democracy

* Religion and Visual Expression

* Crossroads of Old/New Media and Religion

* Religion, Gender and Media

* Dialogue/Conflict: Media and Religion

* Islam and Media/ Islamic Media

* Social Media, Religion and Cultures

More Information about the International Media, Religion, and Culture Conferences can be found here.

Surveying Our Understanding of Digital Religion

2011-10-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

You are cordially invited to an engaging, upcoming panel entitled" Surveying Our Understanding of Digital Religion" at the upcoming American Academy of Religion meeting in San Francisco.

This event will be held on Saturday, 19 Nov 2011 from 9:00 am-11:30 am, in the Telegraph Hill room at the Intercontinental Hotel. The panel is sponsored by the Media, Religion and Culture group.

This panel will together bring scholars to reflect on how digital and mobile technologies are changing the field of religious studies by altering and enhancing our understanding how people practice and interpret religion within contemporary culture. It will also feature the work of a forthcoming collection of essays, Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds (Routledge), which explore key issues and questions that arise from religious engagement online. Specifically, panel participants will address how online ritual practice challenge traditional notions of embodiment and spirituality, how the internet informs and challenges traditional notions of religious community/authority, how users construct religious identities in digital environments and how the digital realm is shaping our understanding of the very nature of religion.

Panelists Include:
Christopher Helland, Dalhousie University, talking about ritual online
Mia Lövheim, University of Uppsala, taking about identity online
Heidi A Campbell, Texas A & M University, talking about community online
Gregory Grieve, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, talking about changing understandings of religion online
Stewart Hoover, University of Colorado-Boulder [Respondent]

Please come and join us! And feel free to pass on this information to anyone else you feel who might be interested.

The Memorialization of Steve Jobs and Digital Religion

2011-10-06T04:32:00.000-07:00

Today I am hosting a Symposium on Digital Religion at TAMU today. Last night I went to bed to the news of Steve Jobs passing and awoke to the blogosphere, twitter-sphere and facebook a buzz with the event and the beginnings of his online memorilization taking shape. Macfans had already declared Oct 14th to be Steve Jobs Day before hearing this news and it is now becoming a day tocommemorate the passing of their leader and prophet. The event's facebook page has already become a virtual shrine and memory book for people from all over the world. Of course online memorial are nothing new, virtual cemetaries have existed since the mid-1990s, and the internet has become an important tool for grieving fans to gather and create a communal experience around such events. As a scholar interested in the intersection between religion and new media I will be interested to see the religious themes and iconography that emerges in the hours and days ahead as the internet becomes a space to honor the Messianic and Revolutionary images of Jobs.

Symposium on Digital Religion at Texas A&M University

2011-09-04T14:55:00.000-07:00

This is to announce an upcoming symposium and workshop being held on 6 Oct 2011 at Texas A&M University on new media, religion and digital culture. The Digital Religion Symposium & Workshop will explore how new media is shaping our understanding of religion in a networked society.

This event will feature presentations by recognized experts in this area:

Pauline Cheong, Associate Professor of Communication at Arizona State University, presenting her work on authority online especially as they related to Buddhist and Christian engagement with new media

Nabil Echchaibi, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at University of Colorado-Boulder, presenting on Islam and the Internet and related issues of religious identity negotiation online

Christopher Helland, Associate Professor of Sociology of Religion at Dalhousie University (Canada), presenting on issues of ritual and authenticity related to Buddhist & Hindu online contexts

The symposium will be held 9am-1pm at 410 Rudder Tower on the campus of Texas A&M and will involve presentations by the 3 speakers followed by a panel discussion on what studying religion online has to teach us about social and religious life in an information society.

The event will also feature a workshop from 2:30-4pm at the Glasscock center library on Researching Digital Culture. This will be an opportunity for faculty and graduate students to learn and ask questions about methodological and ethical issues raised by doing online research in various internet and virtual world environments.

These events are free and open to the public, but reservations are required for the workshop and lunch.
RSVPs and inquiries related to this event can be directed to Heidi Campbell, Associate Professor of Communication-TAMU (heidic@tamu.edu).

Recent Articles in Religion and New Media

2011-08-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

Below are some recently published articles (and a PhD thesis) on a variety of topic related to religion and new media from interevangelists to cyberpilgrimage. Included is one by me on religious negotiations of Israeli rabbis and orthodox communities regarding the internet. Happy reading!

Denis Bekkering, From ‘Televangelist’ to ‘Intervangelist’: The Emergence of the Streaming Video Preacher, Journal of Religion and Popular Culture.

The present study begins by recovering the origins of the terms “televangelism” and “televangelist.” “Televangelism” first appeared in 1958 as the title of a proselytization project of the Southern Baptist Convention that combined dramatic television programs with efforts to engage viewers in person. “Televangelist” was introduced in 1975 to describe an emerging type of American television preacher, the most successful of whom built powerful parachurch organizations. The neologism “intervangelist” is then presented to label contemporary video preachers broadcasting online. A content analysis of video platforms on the site.

Heidi Campbell, Religion and the Internet in the Israeli Orthodox context, Israel Affairs.

This article provides an overview of research on religion and the Internet within the Israeli context, highlighting how Orthodox Jewish groups have appropriated and responded to the Internet. By surveying Orthodox use of the Internet, and giving special attention to the ultra Orthodox negotiations, a number of key challenges that the Internet poses to the Israeli religious sector are highlighted. Exploring these debates and negotiations demonstrates that while the Internet is readily utilized by many Orthodox groups, it is still viewed by some with suspicion. Fears expressed, primarily by ultra Orthodox groups, shows religious leaders often attempt to constrain Internet use to minimize its potential threat to religious social norms and the structure of authority. This article also highlights the need for research that addresses the concerns and strategies of different Orthodox groups in order to offer a broader understanding of Orthodox engagement with the Internet in Israel.

Connie Hill-Smith, Teaching & Learning Guide for: Cyberpilgrimage: The (Virtual) Reality of Online Pilgrimage Experience, Religion Compass.

Despite the profound and growing impact of the internet on contemporary ‘Western’ thought, rationalistic, physically orientated understandings of reality and experience continue to undermine notions that the internet might mediate religious experiences that are as ‘genuine’, meaningful, and transformative as offline ‘equivalents’. The absence of the physical body from cyberspace may be relatively unproblematic for some online religious practices; but ‘cyberpilgrimage’, the practice of undertaking pilgrimage online, is another matter. Interestingly, however, cyberpilgrimage can be viewed as continuing older traditions of semi-ratified virtual pilgrimage stretching back to medieval Europe, and perhaps beyond. The primacy in (terrestrial) pilgrimage experiences of imagination and mind is well-attested and recent years have, moreover, seen huge on-going leaps in technologies ‘linking’ mind and body to computerised systems. The challenge which cyberpilgrimage represents to theory and wider thought is not only great but increasing. This guide suggests an approach to teaching about cyberpilgrimage and the place of ‘the physical’ in cyberspace, especially within religious contexts, with the aim of fostering debate into this vital, compelling, and fast-evolving new field in Religious Studies.

Kevin Healey,The Spirit of Networks: New Media and the Changing Role of Religion in American Public Life [PhD Thesis-University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]

The Spirit of Networks examines the implications of new media for the future of American religious politics. I argue that we are at a critical juncture in both media and religion, similar to the early days of radio broadcasting. The outcome of that earlier juncture involved an increase in media commercialization and the proliferation of conservative evangelical broadcasters—developments which paved the way for the emergence of the Religious Right. Today, technological and generational shifts have the potential to alter the course of American religious politics. Younger people are more wary of political partisanship and religious hypocrisy, and are more likely to use new technologies as tools of political engagement. These shifts have led some journalists and researchers to pronounce the death of the Religious Right and the emergence of a new Religious Left. The research presented here assesses the potential outcome of this critical juncture by examining the impact of new media technologies on public discourse at the intersection of religion and politics. Through qualitative analysis of newspaper articles, cable news transcripts, and blog commentaries, I demonstrate how new media tend to generate debates about the authenticity and sincerity of public figures. Pundits and bloggers frequently claim to glimpse public figures’ “backstage” identity through video clips, instant messages, and e-mails. In this way, the new media environment generates competing “discourses of authenticity.” Occasionally this dynamic favors independent media sources and grassroots activists. For example the Republican sex scandals, which drove some evangelicals away from the GOP, erupted when liberal bloggers exposed the private messages of conservative congressmen. More often, though, established media industries and political organizations manage to exploit the dynamics of new media to their advantage, leading to what Charles Taylor calls shallow or “flat” debates about authenticity. The scandal that erupted in the summer of 2010 surrounding the firing of USDA official Shirley Sherrod exemplifies a trend that began during the 2008 election, as video clips of Rev. Jeremiah Wright circulated between cable news and YouTube. Media coverage of Wright, and subsequently of Sarah Palin

CFP for Australian Journal of Communication Special Issue on Media & Religion

2011-07-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

Call for papers

SPECIAL ISSUE
Australian Journal of Communication
Issue 39(1) 2012

Media and religion: The changing landscape

From a situation just a decade ago where it was considered religion had all but disappeared, religion is back as a significant social, political and economic force. This resurgence is more than just traditional institutions flexing their muscles or rejuvenating their media practices - it reflects a significant reworking of religion within the media marketplace. New religious entrepreneurs are using new media effectively to build global audiences with packages of branded religious and secular content that ignore old religious loyalties and sensibilities and cross previously defined boundaries of sacred and secular. Online networking is making possible de-institutionalised and eclectic experimentations with religious and spiritual themes that are producing new hybridisations of religious ideas and practices. Commercial media organisations are also realising the potential market for spiritual and metaphysical themes, and are producing commercial programs and products in competition with religious bodies to capitalise on this significant market. In the process, old frames of institution-based authority and management are giving way to market-defined religion based on charisma, the attraction and maintenance of audiences, the management of brand, and offering competitive material of consumer value - ideology, images, solutions and products. This special issue will examine this convergent media-religious-cultural landscape and contributions are sought that explore aspects or present research that maps the terrain.

Final date for submission of full papers 31 OCTOBER 2011

Send abstracts, any enquiries and completed submissions to the Special Issue Editor:
Professor Peter Horsfield
School of Media and Communication
RMIT University
GPO Box 2476V
Melbourne Vic 3001 Australia
peter.horsfield@rmit.edu.au

CFP for Conference Workshop--RELIGION IN CYBERSPACE 2011

2011-07-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

RELIGION IN CYBERSPACE 2011

Call for Papers

You are cordially invited to participate in the workshop 'Religion in Cyberspace 2011' which will take place at the 9th international conference Cyberspace 2011 held in Brno, Czech Republic, 25-26 November 2011.

Illustrative topics
- religious normative frameworks in cyberspace, networking diasporas,
- religious collaborative environments, on-line counseling, on-line
- fatwas and cyber muftis, new religious movements, religious discourses
- in cyberspace, methodology of online-religion research, rituals in cyberspace etc.

Note: Authors of accepted papers will be invited to submit their papers for peer review to Masaryk University Journal of Law and Technology (MUJLT).

Important dates
Abstract submission deadline: 31 July 2011
Notice on acceptance deadline: 31 August 2011
Full papers deadline: 31 December 2011

Abstract formal requirements
Range: max. 1.500 characters incl. spaces
Submission: on-line at http://www.cyberspace.muni.cz/

Vit Sisler,Workshop Chair
Charles University in Prague
Faculty of Arts & Philosophy

Call for Chapters for Collection on “Finding Religion in Digital Gaming”

2011-06-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Chapters are being sought for an edited volume, which seeks to map the study of religion in relation to digital games and gaming environments. The book will focus on how video games can be read as religious texts, rituals or experiences, as well as investigations of religious narratives/themes employed in video games and the implications of video games created for religious markets. This book will fill an important gap in the field of game studies by providing an overview of current work in the study of religion and digital gaming, and highlight key questions emerging within this area of inquiry.

Chapters in this collection should explore issues in one of the following areas:

(1) Analysis of dominant narratives, characterizations or symbols appearing in religiously-themed games and their implications for our understanding of religious community, identity and/or authority.

(2) Investigation of the extent to which popular, mainstream games rely on religious strategies, narratives and rituals in game play and implication this has for gamers and the gaming enterprise.

(3) Critical reflection on the ways digital games and virtual world gaming environments facilitate religious-like ritual or encourage forms of implicit religion (by which secular activities, such as gaming, take on a sacred role or meaning for individuals) amongst players and gaming communities.

Chapters should also respond in some way to the book’s central research question: How do video/digital games inform or reform our understanding of religion within digital and gaming culture?

This book is aimed at Indiana University Press’s new Digital Gaming Series and is edited by Heidi Campbell, Associate Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University and Gregory Grieve, Associate Professor of Religion at University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Prospective contributors are invited to submit their initial proposals (500-800 word abstracts) and a biography statement highlighting previous research and writings to the editors by 10 August 2011. Selected authors will be notified by early to mid September 2011. The intent is for invited chapters (of 6000-8000 words) to be submitted to the editors by 15 December 2011. Please send abstracts and any questions to Heidi Campbell (heidic@tamu.edu).

Recent Articles on Religion and Internet Worth Reading

2011-06-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

While conducting my my bi-monthly lit review search on religion and the internet I came across a remarkably diverse and interesting range of articles appearing in the first part of 2011 on topics from African Muslims media usage to Orthodox Women in Israel's negotiation with the Internet. I have added these to my current reading list and thought others might want to check out them out as well:

Jon Abbink (2011) Religion in public spaces: Emerging Muslim–Christian polemics in Ethiopia. Affrican Affairs. 110(439): 253-274.

In Ethiopia, as in other parts of Africa, relations between Christians and Muslims show a new dynamic under the impact of both state policies and global connections. Religious identities are becoming more dominant as people's primary public identity, and more ideological. This development has ramifications for the ‘public sphere’, where identities of a religious nature are currently presented and contested in a self-consciously polemical fashion. This shared space of national political and civic identity may become more ‘fragmented’ and thus lend itself to conflict and ideological battle. This article examines recent developments in the polemics of religion in Ethiopia, and the possible role of the state as custodian (or not) of an overarching civic order beyond religion, as well as the emerging rivalries between communities of faith. A crucial question is what social effects these polemics will have on communal relations and patterns of religious coexistence. Polemics between believers have a long history in Ethiopia, but a new and potentially problematic dynamic has emerged which may challenge mainstream believers, their inter-group social relations, and Ethiopian state policy. Polemics in Ethiopia express hegemonic strategies and claims to power, and are rapidly evolving as an ideological phenomenon expanding in public space. The secular state may need to reassert itself more emphatically so as to contain its own erosion in the face of assertive religious challenges.

Patrick Eisenlohr (2011) Media authenticity and authority in Mauritius: On the mediality of language in religion. Language & Communication. 31(3): 266-273.

In this article I suggest that the rapidly growing interest in the intersection of linguistic anthropology and media needs to be accompanied by a deeper investigation of the mediality of language. Discussing Mauritian Muslims’ uses of sound reproduction in religious events revolving around the recitation of devotional poetry, this paper explores how language as a medium converges and interacts with media technologies of other kinds. I suggest that the oscillation between a foregrounding of the medium and its phenomenological withdrawal characterizes the functioning of both linguistic mediation and other media technologies and provides a comparative dimension to examine their interplay.

Justin Ferrell (2011) The Divine Online: Civic Organizing, Identity Building, and Internet Fluency Among Different Religious Groups. Journal of Media and Religion. 10(2): 73-90.

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.

Connie Hill-Smith (2011). Cyberpilgrimage: The (Virtual) Reality of Online Pilgrimage Experience. Religion Compass. 5(6):236-246.

Cyberpilgrimage is the practice of undertaking pilgrimage on the internet. Such pilgrimages may be performed for a host of reasons, ranging from idle curiosity to the need to ready oneself, psychologically or informationally, for a ‘real’ (terrestrial) pilgrimage. For some web-users, these experiences may amount to little more than interesting diversions, mildly intriguing ripples in a sea of information and possibility, to be paused upon and pondered briefly before surfing onward to other things. Depending on individual motivations and circumstances, however, they can be deeply charged, transformative, enlightening and profoundly fulfilling on both emotional and spiritual levels. As new as the internet is, cyberpilgrimage is newer; and it seems clear we are witnessing the birth of one of a number of largely uncharted ways by which people are beginning to experience themselves spiritually on the internet. Such experiences tend to be perceived as more self-mediated and, thus, more individualised, liberated and radical than terrestrial experiences of a similar sort (though this is not necessarily the case). This article is intended to explain what cyberpilgrimage can entail, to survey the input to-date of contemporary scholars to the study of cyberpilgrimage; and to offer insight into some of the major debates and questions it raises, in particular with regard to the authenticity of computer-based ‘experience’.

Azi Lev-On & Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar (2011). A forum of their own: Views about the Internet among ultra-Orthodox Jewish women who browse designated closed fora. First Monday. 4(4)

The paper studies Internet uses and gratifications by ultra-Orthodox women who are members of closed online fora. The fora constitute a unique environment for ultra-Orthodox women, where they can talk amongst themselves anonymously using modern technology, for purposes that may be illegitimate in their community. It was found that the women perceive the Internet as harmful and dangerous to the ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, but as constructive and empowering personally. The paper also studies what relationships women form online and who they discuss their activities with.

Mia Lovheim (2011) Mediatisation of religion: A critical appraisal. Culture and Religion. 12(2): 153-166.

Media as a context for shaping religion in modern society has generally been overlooked in the mainstream sociology of religion. This article discusses the relevance of the thesis of a mediatisation of religion presented by Stig Hjarvard for studying religious transformation in a modern, Western society. Though the theory contributes to sociology of religion through its focus on how the characteristics of modern mass media relate to the processes of secularisation, the narrow approach to religion and to the interplay between modernisation and religion in the thesis so far limits its validity. This article suggests two starting points for the development of a theory to better grasp the implications of mediatisation of religion in the contemporary world; first, an understanding of religion that better acknowledges the complexities of modern religion and second, an understanding of mediatisation that also acknowledges the agency of religious actors to take part in the shaping of media as well as modern society.
Dana M. Janbek (2011) Terrorism in the Age of the Internet: The Case of Muslim Arab Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Journal of Religious & Theological Information. 10(1):5-15.

This study focuses on Muslim Arab extremism online. It specifically looks at the case of Muslim Arab organizations identified by the U.S. Department of State as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The use of the Internet to communicate extremist rhetoric is not a new phenomenon nor is it one that is particular to Muslims or Arabs. This study simply focuses on this specific subgroup, partially due to the increased scholarly attention to the topic of terrorism and to the public's heightened interest in the Muslim and the Arab world since 9/11.

CFP for special issue of the New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia on Cultures in virtual worlds

2011-06-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

CFP: Cultures in virtual worlds, A special issue of the New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia

Guest-edited by Jeremy Hunsinger and Adrienne Massanari

Virtual worlds (VW) embody cultures, their artefacts, and their praxes; these new and old spaces of imagination and transformation allow humans to interact in spatial dimensions. Within these spaces, culture manifests with the creation, representation, and circulation of meaningful experiences. But virtual worlds are not novel in that regard, nor should we make the mistake to assume that they are novel in themselves. Virtual experiences have been around in some respect for hundreds of years, and virtual worlds based in information technology have existed for at least 40 years. The current generation of virtual worlds, with roots over four decades old in studies of virtual reality, computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), sociology, cultural studies, and related topics, provide for rich and occasionally immersive environments where people become enculturated within the world sometimes as richly as the rest of their everyday lives.

We seek research that encounters and investigates cultures in virtual worlds in its plurality and in its richness. To that end, we invite papers covering the breadth of the topic of cultures in and of virtual worlds. Some possible areas/approaches of inquiry:

1. How culture of virtual worlds affect relationships
2. VW interfaces and culture/s
3. Hidden subcultures/communities in virtual worlds
4. Ages and VW cultures
5. Emic and etic experiences of virtual worlds
6. Producing VW cultures
7. Traditional cultural/critical studies inquiries of VWs
8. Transnational or cosmopolitan cultures in/of VWs

While all forms of scholarship and research are welcome, we prefer theoretically and empirically grounded studies. We seek a Special Issue that exemplifies methodological pluralism and scholarly diversity. The use of visual evidence and representations is also encouraged. We especially seek pieces that investigate virtual worlds that have received little scholarly attention.

Submission guidelines

This special issue is Guest-Edited by Jeremy Hunsinger (Virginia Tech) and Adrienne Massanari (Loyola University Chicago). Queries regarding the Special Issue should be directed to them at jhuns@vt.edu and amassanari@luc.edu. The Guest-Editors welcome contributions from both new researchers and those who are more well-established. Submitted manuscripts will be subject to peer review.

Length of papers will vary as per disciplinary expectations, but we encourage articles of around 7000 words (longer articles may be possible, if warranted). Short discussion papers of around 3000 words on relevant subjects are also welcomed as 'Technical Notes'. Detailed author submission guidelines are available online at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/journal.asp?issn=1361-4568&linktype=44.

Papers must be submitted via the journal’s online submissions system: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tham Please indicate that your submission is for the Special Issue on Culture in Virtual Worlds.

The special issue will be published in summer 2012.

Important dates:
November 11, 2011 Paper submission deadline
February 10, 2012 Author notification
May 5, 2012 Final copy due
Summer 2012 Publication

International Conference on Digital Religion 2012

2011-03-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

The Center for Media, Religion, and Culture at the University of Colorado-Boulder has announced an International Conference on Digital Religion, to be held 12-15 January 2012 in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

‘Digital Religion” today includes a myriad of examples: an evangelical mommy blogging community, a Jewish online dating service, a virtual pilgrimage of the Muslim ritual of Hajj, offering Poojas on an online Hindu Temple service, a YouTube series of an ex-Catholic nun, the invention of Kosher phones, playing "Al-Quraysh", a Muslim video game, an Anglican Church on Second Life, or a religious iPhone app like iTalk to God. What is striking about the proliferation of this digital religious culture is not only the creative adoption of new technologies, but also the challenges and possibilities these technologies offer for religious meaning-making in modern society. Both individuals and religious institutions today vigorously appropriate interactive forms of media generating new religious deliberative spaces, religious publics and counterpublics, and competing sources of authority, and collapsing in the process old boundaries of what constitutes the religious realm.

This international conference will bring together scholars of media and religion and producers of digital religion content from a variety of religious traditions to reflect on the implications of these developments. Papers and panels may address, but should not be limited to questions such as:

Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of digital religion  Relationships between offline and online forms of religious practice The emergence of networked religious communities The cultivation of authority and legitimacy in digital religious spaces Digitization of religion and the implications for scriptural text dissemination and reception  Mediatization of religion in digital spaces  Technological mediation and religious authenticity  Representations of religion in digital platforms  Intersections of religion and the market  Influence on the religious public sphere  questions of mundane, "banal" or "implicit" religion  Digital religious transnationalism  Religious aesthetics and sensations in digital forms  Religions and spiritualities in social networking  Generational and demographic difference and issues

Digital Religion is a conference of the Center for Media, Religion, and Culture. For more information or for the full CFP, contact: Stewart M. Hoover, Director: hoover@colorado.edu, or Nabil Echchaibi, Associate Director: nechchai@gmail.com.

New Publications in Religion and the Internet

2010-10-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

After doing a regular bi-monthly literature review online I have come across a few neew studies and articles on religion and the Internet that look worth checking out.

First in Islam and the Internet, the journal Contemporary Islam has published a piece by Heather Marie Akou has written an article entitled Interpreting Islam through the Internet: making sense of hijab that focuses on how the Internet has emerged as a place where Muslims from diverse backgrounds can meet to debate ideas such as wearing the hijab.

In the study of Buddhism a Recent PhD from University of Queensland-Australia entitled Buddhist Meditation Through the Medium of the Internet investigates extent to which the rituals constitutive of the Buddhist practice of meditation have been achieved by Cybersanghas. Joanne Miller studies online mediation websites to look at the limitation of online religious experiences.

The journal of Asian Social Science has published a study on interface between religiosity and Internet use of Filipino migrants in Japan that creates long-distance ritual practice entitled Religiosity Online: Holy Connections with the Homeland by Filipino Migrants in Japan.

I highly recommend Sanderson & Cheong's study of how fans of deceased celebrities create and disseminate web-based memorials using new social media practices in Expanding Tweeting Prayers and Communicating Grief Over Michael Jackson Online in the journal the Bulletin of Science Technology Society.

And finally, I am looking forward to reading Bobkowski & Kalyanaraman's study on the Effects of Online Christian Self-Disclosure on Impression Formation in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion which looks at the extent to which Christian identity is assumed in social networking profiles by viewers.

Happy Reading!!

Review of When Religion Meets New Media

2010-09-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

Today I came across a review of my new book When Religion Meets New Media that appeared this month in Communication Research Trends, a quarterly journal focused on state of the field and review essays on research related to media, religion and culture. I was pleasantly surprised to find this summary and assessment written by Claire Badaracco of Marquette University online, and honored by her description of my book stating...

Heidi Campbell examines how religions negotiate borders and the social and cultural processes of meaning-making using new media technology. This work has advanced the field as Campbell makes a compelling case for her argument that a robust scholarly approach within the study of media, religion, and culture is needed as it applies to media technology. The author provides the rigorous, comprehensive level of analysis grounding her discussion in the history and traditions of the community as determinative of the currency and wisdom informing new media use, and how orthodox and fundamentalist believers' "core values" (p. 88) contextualize their uses of new media.

To read the full review which provides a detailed description of the book's contents check out this link.

Considering Inter-Religious Dialogue Online

2010-09-22T05:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past decade there has been continued debate as to whether the internet simply encourages communities of consensus or can be used to bridge communication gaps and encourage diverse and heterogenous relations. The Huffington Post engaged these issues recently in an article entitled Cyber Dialogue: The Future of Interreligious Engagement. In it the author stress how social networking sites help to religious communities communicate their messages internally and externally and asks to what extend can/do online forums encourage inter-religious dialogue. He sites successful examples such as Patheos. Othe notable examples could be Children of Abraham or Beliefnet.

Related to this a call has been issues for nominations and self-nominations for Contributing Scholars for a new blog, called State of Formation. The blog is sponsored by Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, in partnership with the Parliament of the World's Religions and seeks to engage religious and philosophical thinker on questions related to life in a religiously pluralistic society. The call goes out to young scholars and/or religious leaders who are currently learning about and reflecting on religious and moral issues who see a unique opportunity for public dialogue and mentoring on issues related to inter-religious discourse. The program also offers travel grants. Apply here.

Can an online community be a church ? IRS says "No"!

2010-08-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit puts an interesting spin on the online community/church question. According to their decision in the case Foundation for Human Understanding verses the US, a religious organization that primarily holds their worship services on the Internet (or radio), did not meet the Internal Revenue Code's definition of a "church." That means they are not eligible for tax-exempt status.

The criteria for what makes a church is not cut and dry. The IRS states that the entity must have a recognized creed and form of worship; a formal code of doctrine and discipline; a membership not associated with any other church or denomination; ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed studies; and holds regular religious services.While an online or cyber-church can arguably have many or most of these characteristics they still hold "electronic ministry" does not fit the criteria (see summary at Law.com).

The official court ruling is meant to crack down of online entities collecting money for bogus purposes and organization, however this also a huge ideological impact on the nature and definition of religion online.

The full ruling it explains this online church failed meet a 14 criteria test set out by the IRS on the form/function of a church. This includes proving it is "a cohesive group of individuals who join together to accomplish the purposes of mutually held beliefs". Therefore, by my reading, to legally be considered a church there would need to be things in place like formal record keeping, defined authority structure online/offline and ability to clearly define membership and host a "gathered" annual membership meeting etc. This force any online church to function within offline boundaries/structures if they want to be considered/protected as a church and remain tax-exempt. So to have validity the online will be forced to establish offline structures of accountability. That seem an important shift to me.

CFP: Special Issue of CyberOrient

2010-08-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

Call for Papers for Special Issue of CyberOrient: Online Journal of the Virtual Middle East

Today we witness an unprecedented proliferation of the internet and satellite television as well as growing interdependency of various media outlets in the Middle East and the Muslim world. This process includes media that morph into each other, messages that migrate across boundaries, and social networks that utilize multiple technologies. The unanticipated assemblages formed by these media contribute simultaneously to preserving traditional cultural norms and religious values while asserting cosmopolitan and global identity; appealing to a local audience while addressing transnational communities; and asserting conformity with existing political order while fueling resistance and public discontent. Therefore, this special issue of CyberOrient aims to transcend the media-centric logic and to analyze the impact of the internet and new media in the light of the interdependency and hybridization within broader social, cultural and linguistic context of the Middle East and the Muslim world.

Aims and Scope
The special issue of CyberOrient aims to bring together the state of the art research dealing with the growing influence of the internet and new media in the Middle East.

Key questions include:
- What opportunities for representation have the internet and new media created in the Middle East, and how has it influenced popular culture, language and norms?
- Does the proliferation of sites by individuals from various cultural backgrounds democratize political and religious behavior in the Middle East?
- What does the internet and the social networks it enables offer to groups who have not traditionally had access to an open public domain for expression, especially women and marginalized sects?
- Does the wide range of views posted on the internet foster tolerance and greater understanding on current issues of political and religious strife?
- What is the impact of the virtual Islamic community on the practices of Muslims worldwide?
- How does access to internet cafes and global connections influence cultural norms in Middle Eastern societies?
- What role do new media such as video games and video clips play in the identity construction of Middle Eastern and Muslim youth?

Submission Details
Please, submit a manuscript no longer than 8000 words to the editors as an e-mail attachment to Daniel.M.Varisco@hofstra.edu and vsisler@gmail.com no later than 1 December 2010. Please format your submission as follows:

- Cover page with your name, affiliation, address, article titlwe
- Second page with article title, abstract (150-200 words) and three or four key words. Do not put your name on this page or on the pages of the following text.
- Article with references at the end, following the AAA format(http://www.aaanet.org/publications/guidelines.cfm).

Please note all papers will be subject to anonymous peer review following submission.

Important dates
1 December 2010: Deadline for manuscript submission
15 January 2010: Announcement of results of peer-review
1 March 2011: Publication of special issue

Inquiries and submission of manuscripts should be addressed to:

Daniel Martin Varisco, Daniel.M.Varisco@hofstra.edu
Vit Sisler, vsisler@gmail.com

About the Journal
CyberOrient is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague. The aim of the journal is to provide research and theoretical considerations on the representation of Islam and the Middle East, the very areas that used to be styled as an “Orient”, in cyberspace, as well as the impact of the internet and new media in Muslim and Middle Eastern contexts.

On Religious Apps in a Mobile world

2010-08-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

CyberOrient is an Online Journal on the "Virtual Middle East" hosted by the website Digital Islam. It's latest issue features a piece by Gary Bunt on Surfing the App Souq: Islamic Applications for Mobile Devices, which is worth checking out. As his abstract states:

This article introduces issues associated with Islamic apps for mobile devices, and surveys some of the products that have emerged into the market. It considers the potential impact of mobile phone interfaces in relation to interpretations of Islam and the use of Islamic resources, given that mobile devices have widened potential audiences for online materials in various forms, especially in areas where other forms of digital access may be more problematic. The article also explores some of the religious and ethical concerns associated with mobile phone use.

There has been a lot of interest in the press on religion and mobile technologies and apps, such as the Vancouver Sun's piece last week on Faith and Smart Phones and Fox's coverage of Religious Apps. Rachel Wagner is doing some interesting work in this area and I for one look forward to her forthcoming book called Godwired that will look in detail at religious engagement/framing of technology in a digital, mobile world.

CFP: Continuum Approaches to Digital Game Studies Book Series

2010-08-08T13:39:00.001-07:00

Double CFP: Continuum Approaches to Digital Game Studies Book Series (Edited Collection on Digital Role-playing Games and Edited Collection on First Person Shooters)

These two collections will be the first two titles in a larger series of edited volumes, Approaches to Digital Game Studies, published by Continuum. Each book in the series will be organized around a thematic or functional genre of game. Although digital game genres and the criteria for defining such genres are contested and dynamic categories, exploring the promises and pitfalls of genre is precisely one of the goals the series hopes to accomplish. Additionally, the series will bring the insights of a variety of scholarly disciplines to bear on the analysis of digital games in order to better understand the nature of this medium, its role in reshaping civic life and its impact on the production, circulation and contestation of global and local cultures.

Potential chapter contributions will be vetted by the series Review Board and invited manuscripts will be reviewed by the series Editors and approved by the Review Board.

Series Review Board:
Mia Conslavo, University of Ohio
James Paul Gee, Arizona State University
Helen Kennedy, University of the West of England*
Frans Mayra, University of Tampere
Toby Miller, University of California, Riverside*
Torill Elvira Mortensen, IT University Copenhagen*
Lisa Nakamura, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Gareth Schott, University of Waikato
Mark JP Wolf, Concordia University Wisconsin
(* indicates commitment still subject to final contract)

Series Editors:
Gerald Voorhees, High Point University
Joshua Call, Grand View University
Katie Whitlock, California State University, Chico

>>> Edited Collection on Digital Role-playing Games: "Dungeons, Dragons and Digital Denizens: Digital Role-playing Games"

One of the most popular and culturally significant game genres, digital role-playing games (RPGs) generate a rich tapestry of technologies, players, communities, cultures and commercial forces. This edited collection, provisionally titled, "Dungeons, Dragons and Digital Denizens: Digital Role-playing Games," is designed for a broad academic audience and will feature essays that either examine specific games or consider the genre as a whole.

We invite scholars and critics to contribute to this edited collection of essays exploring the theory and criticism of digital RPGs. The collection will publish essays on digital RPGs that engage the theory and criticism of console, computer and/or massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). However, contributions not focused on MMORPGs are especially encouraged.

Contributions from all academic disciplines and geographic regions are invited. The collection and series aim to advance theory and criticism by bringing different voices and perspectives into conversation. However, critical inquiry is preferred.

All contributions must be the original work of the author and cannot be published elsewhere, unless author retains copyrights. For co-authored essays, all authors must agree to submission of work.

For consideration, please send an abstract to gamestudies.books@gmail.com by September 15, 2011. Abstracts should be 500 words and must outline a theoretically grounded approach to a specific game or set of games. Completed essays must be 7000 words (including notes and references) and Continuum uses Chicago Manual of Style for references. Reprints will be considered on a case by case basis.

Provisional Timeline:
Abstracts will be accepted until September 15, 2010
Abstracts will be evaluated and requests for manuscripts will be issued by October 15, 2010
Completed manuscript will be required by January 15, 2010
Revisions must be completed by March 1, 2011

>>> Edited Collection on First Person Shooters: "Guns, Grenades and Grunts: First Person Shooter Games"

Known for their graphical extravagance and social recognition, first-person shooters have long held a highly visible position among digital games. This edited collection, provisionally titled, "Guns, Grenades, and Grunts: First-Person Shooter Games" is designed for a broad academic audience and will feature essays that either examine specific games or consider the genre as a whole.

We invite scholars and critics to contribute to this edited collection of essays exploring the theory and criticism of FPS games. The collection will publish essays on FPS games that engage the theory and criticism of console, computer and hand-held FPS games.

Contributions from all academic disciplines and geographic regions are invited. The collection and series aim to advance theory and criticism by bringing different voices and perspectives into conversation. However, critical inquiry is preferred.

All contributions must be the original work of the author and cannot be published elsewhere, unless author retains copyrights. For co-authored essays, all authors must agree to submission of work.

For consideration, please send an abstract to gamestudies.books@gmail.com by November 15, 2011. Abstracts should be 500 words and must outline a theoretically grounded approach to a specific game or set of games. Completed essays must be 7000 words (including notes and references) and Continuum uses Chicago Manual of Style for references. Reprints will be considered on a case by case basis.

Provisional Timeline:
Abstracts will be accepted until November 15, 2010
Abstracts will be evaluated and requests for manuscripts will be issued by January 1, 2011
Completed manuscript will be required by April 1, 2011
Revisions must be completed by July 15, 2011

Queries and questions may also be sent to gamestudies.books@gmail.com.

Gerald Voorhees, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Games and Interactive Media
Nido R. Qubein School of Communication
Drawer 33
High Point University
High Point, NC 27262-3598
Tel: 336.841.9174
Office: Qubein 356
www.communication.highpoint.edu/

Is Apple Really A Religion? And dealing with the aftermath of being miquoted by Fox News

2010-07-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

In the past 24 hours I have received a steady stream of email from angry Mac Fans and virulent online critics regarding the research conducted by myself and a colleague on religious language and imagery associated with the iPhone. (see How the iPhone Became Divine: New Media, Religion and the Intertextual Circulation of Meaning) Most of these seem to be linked to an article on Fox News that was originally titled "Christian, Jew ... iPhone? Apple Is the New Religion, Academics Say" but was later changed to "For Apple Followers, It's a Matter of Faith, Academics Say".

An interesting part of the back story is that I was never actually interviewed by Fox for the article, which seems to have caused so much of a stir. I did receive an email from a freelance journalist who writes for Fox and who asked me the following (leading) question via email.

"This is obviously intended as more than an analogy, but is the religion aspect a way of explaining the Apple phenom or a way of explaining/warning about how it has actually become a religion?"

Since I was traveling that day and had 15 minutes to check out of my hotel I simply emailed him a copy of the article and the following brief response.

"The religious like behavior and language surrounding Apple devotion/fandom could be interpreted as an example of 'implicit religion', where secular activities/rituals & artifacts take on sacred like attributes due to how they are used and viewed by some fans. Implicit religion demonstrates technology use can take on a religious role or quality in postmodern culture when it substitutes for belief and behaviours once attached to religion and religious practice."

I also emailed him my cell number to call me for further clarifications, which he did not. From this brief interaction via email he deduced that I was making the claim that “Apple is a religion” which in my opinion I was not and is a gross generalization taken way out of context. It also resulted in bothersome email backlash, and several scathing online critiques of our research. So I though I would set record straight to what the article claims.

The article is essentially about how tech bloggers and journalists used the term "Jesus phone" in relation to the iPhone in different venues in 2007 to communicate different, and often conflicting, meanings about the iPhone before and after its launch. My co-author and I argue that there is a close and interestingconnection within popular culture discourse between technology and religion. Invoking religious language and images provides flexible tools for meaning making, i.e the calling the iPhone the Jesus phone was used by some bloggers to praise its infallibility or and by others to critique it as an example of flawed fanatic fervor.

In one section of the article we do state fan culture can exhibit attributes of what “implicit religion”, where secular practices can perform a religious function for some people or exhibit characteristics of the sacred (i.e. notions of transcendence, adherence to recognized core beliefs and rituals, etc.). In the case of apple this tendency amongst some of its fans has helped build brand loyalty over time in certain respects and weather controversies like tech/pricing issues in 2007 when the iPhone was launched and attenagate.

I do hope future journalist covering this story will actually read the article (and actually interview me) before critiquing this study rather than rely on 3rd party reports. While not a pleasant experience it is going to be a great example for my Media Ethics & Cultures of Journalism lectures this fall on how media message get circulated online and the consequences of bad journalistic practices in the blogosphere. It is also a lesson to me in that journalist have a hard time comprehending and translating complex, nuanced ideas, even when one tries hard to make them clear and clarify their context. And even when you don't speak, you may still be misquoted.

iPhone 4 and brand culture as religion

2010-07-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today the Atlantic has an article entitled The Varieties of Religious Experience: How Apple Stays Divine which looks at how Apple may weather the recent "attenagate" deficiency in the iPhone4. I am quoted in the article highlighting the idea that Apple functions as a religious-like brand cult and so generates religious like behaviors and sentiments from Mac Fans that build trust in and devotion to the product even in the face of criticism.

The article also cites a recently published co-authored piece my myself and a colleague wrote for New Media & Society entitled How the iPhone Became Divine: New Media, Religion and the Intertextual Circulation of Meaning, were we consider why and how religious language, imagery gets linked to technology (specifically the iPhone) to demonstrate that there is a long tradition of equating technology with religion/magic/spirituality and how religion can become a unique & flexible framing and interpretive discourse related to techno- products and cultures in American popular culture. It is interesting how our article coming out(though written in 2007) at the same time there has been a lot of discourse in the popular media about Apple being a form of tech-religion.

Back from Hiatus: CFP Updates

2010-06-10T15:09:00.000-07:00

After a nearly 2 month hiatus brought on by the end of term madness and illness I am back to blogging. I have been microblogging at the New Media, Religion and Digital Culture group at Facebook and encourage you join and keep posted with news updates there as well.

A number of interesting conference have emerged in the past 6 weeks some of you might be interested in dealing with religious/cultural groups and their engagement with different forms of new media.

The Pontifical University in Rome is offering a one-week seminar called The Church Up Close: Covering Catholicism in an Age of Benedict XVI held 6-12 September 2010 especially geared at traditional and new media journalists.

CRASSH at the University of Cambridge has issued a CFP for a conference to be held 14-16 Oct 2010 on New Media & Alternative Politics: Communication Technologies and Political Change in the Middle East and Africa.

A CFP has been released by Brigham Young University for an upcoming conference on Mormon Media Studies to be held 11-12 Nov 2010 with a stream looking at new media and the Mormon church.

CFPs is also announced for the Religion in Cyberspace workshop which will take place at the 8th international conference Cyberspace 2010 held in Brno, Czech Republic on 26-28 November 2010.

An finally Registration information is also now available online for the upcoming International Conference on Media, Religion & Culture in Toronto to be held 9-13 August 2010.

It's an interesting time to be studying religion and new media.

Postdoc in Religion and Media

2010-04-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

There is an opening for an interesting post-doc position within digital humanities in 2010 hosted by the University of Umeå in Sweden under the theme is “Religion and media”. The Postdoc also has the opportunity to be associated with Jørgen Straarup and Stefan Gelfgren’sproject “Pinocchio goes to church: the Religious Life of Avatars”.

The Position runs for one year at approximately SEK 200 000 (tax free) and requires residency in Umeå, Sweden. HUMlab is an internationally recognized center for the humanities and information technology. Much of the work takes place in a 5,300 square feet studio space at the center of the university and in different kinds of digital and hybrid environments. HUMlab is based on a double affiliation model where much of the work is done in close collaboration with the humanities (or other) departments. HUMlab offers an open, friendly, creative and intellectually rich milieu for doing work in the humanities and information technology. Full details can be found at: http://blog.humlab.umu.se/?page_id=1806

Theology and The Legend of Zelda: CFP

2010-04-08T21:18:00.000-07:00

I was contacted by Jonny Walls about and interesting project on theology and gaming. He is looking for contributors for a book tentatively title: The Legend of Zelda and Theology. I promised I would help him out by posting is Call for abstract here, so if you are interested check out the details below...

I (Jonny Walls) am editing the book, The Legend of Zelda and Theology, which is to be published by Sideshow Media Group, a Los Angeles based multi-media company.

The articles will be roughly 3500-4500 words in length. Within them we will focus on the way that the symbolism, storytelling, characters and imagery within the Zelda universe can be used to reflect the Christian story. We are NOT trying to prove that the Zelda games are in fact preaching a Christian message; we will be using Zelda’s rich mythology as a lens through which we may examine Christian theology, and give others another approach to the faith.

Some possible topics for articles include but are not limited to:

-The great flood of the Wind Waker and the great flood of the Old Testament; The theology of a loving yet wrathful God.

-The twilight realm from Twilight Princess and the shadow world from A Link to the Past, and the theology of Purgatory.

-Awaiting the Hero of Time (specifically the people in The Wind Waker) and awaiting the Messiah.

-The nature of the Video Game and the theology of Predestination.

-Theology of Life, death, the afterlife and the soul as seen in Majora’s Mask.

-Ganondorf and the Theology of the Devil.

-The Triforce and the Trinity

These are just a few very surface level suggestions. To, for example, point out the way the Triforce and the Trinity share some shallow similarities would not alone suffice. What we want to do is use these types of topics as starting off points that our readers may use to get oriented and feel at home within the Zelda universe, and then go into a much deeper look at the Christian virtues that are present in all great fantasy, Zelda included. Please feel free to come up with your own ideas and submit them. If you are interested please e-mail me back at walls.jonny@gmail.com

SSRC & the New Landscape of the Religious Blogosphere

2010-03-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Recently the Social Science Research Council released a report on the new landscape of the religion blogosphere that mapped an analyzed the top 100 religion blogs to look at their influence on religious discourse and the academic study of religion. Especially interesting is section 3 which discusses the shape of religion blogosphere which seek to categorize the range of blogs and their approach to religion.

Last week the SSRC asked me and several other academics to respond to the report and the question: How are new media—from blogs and social networking sites to mobile technologies and other forms of digital connection—shaping and reshaping the practice of religion? After some thought, here was my response:

More than reshaping the practice of religion, I would argue that the uptake of new media by religious practioners and the resulting forms of religion online points to larger cultural shifts at work in the practice and perception of religion in society. New media tools support networked forms of community, encourage experimentation with religious identity construction and self-presentation and promote the drawing from multiple and divergent religious sources and encounters simultaneously. This encourages an open, fluid and individualized form of religious engagement ,which compliments what many scholars have noted as a move towards “lived religion” where media resources serve as tools to help redefine religious practice contemporary life (see Pew’s Religion Among Millennial’s report). Yet this religion online is clearly intimately connected to offline religious engagement, serving as a supplement and compliment to the ways many people engage religion offline. In a recent study I found that there are a variety of motivations for religious blogging: from a desire for a more integrated online-offline religious experience, a chance to engage in new levels religious discourse, wanting to make their private spirituality public or hoping to create new spiritual networks with like minds. Blogger’s motivation were also frequently linked to their religious or theological tradition, their beliefs about religious authority, and the offline roles or positions they held within a given faith community. Thus religious blogging seems to be embedded and connected to individual’s offline practices and convictions. (see Religious Authority and the Blogosphere) So I would argue paying careful attention to religious practice and belief online is important, because it provides a forum in which to study in a nuanced way the nature and practice of religion in the global information society.

To read other scholars reflections on the report and the question posed check out this link.

Theology after Google

2010-03-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

I am attending a very interesting conference called Theology after Google. It is not at all what I expected but I have found it to be a fascinating journey. The conference has brought together an interesting collection of "progressive techno geeks" from emerging church theolobloggers to networked social activitists and a good helping of theologians. It is one of the most wired events I have been to (so it is a shame my laptop wireless is acting up and not working at the conference site so I can't tweet and blog about it live. They have an active tweet hub going so you follow and back track on the conversation or check out the sessions today via a live stream.

The focus seems to be, as Tony Jones stated on the opening night, an attempt to kick start a conversation on exploring a "progressive populace theology in a new media world". I have found it to be an interesting ride and have been especially provoked by the skype cast lecture from Jeff Jarvis, author of What would google do? and the changes the world of web 2.0 presents to religious communities. While I am still waiting for the theological conversation to get past the level of asking questions to trying answering some of the challenges of authenticity, disembodied mediation and shifting authority with true theological based strategies (there is still today) I have learned lots from hanging out with people like Steve Knight, Barry Taylor, Craig Deitweiler and Jana Riess.

The new landscape of the religion blogosphere

2010-03-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

The Social Science Research Council recently released an interesting report entitled The new landscape of the religion blogosphere. According to its synopsis:

This report surveys nearly 100 of the most influential blogs that contribute to an online discussion about religion in the public sphere and the academy. It places this religion blogosphere in the context of the blogosphere as a whole, maps out its contours, and presents the voices of some of the bloggers themselves. For those new to the world of blogs, there is an overview of what blogging is and represents (section 1). The already-initiated can proceed directly to the in-depth analyses of academic blogging (section 2), where religion blogs stand now, and where they may go in the future (sections 3 and 4).

Some of the key survey's respondents and noted bloggers have also been given space to respond online to the report's findings and comment specifically on how blogs and new media changing both academic and public discussions of religion. I encourage you to check this out!

We want Religion Online!

2010-03-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

One statistic that caught my attention in the most recent Pew Internet and American life survey, is that 41% of respondents said they wished online news covered more stories on religion and spirituality. This ranked just behind the 44% who said they would like to see more on scientific news and discoveries online. So while this is just one of a number of finding in a report the primarily focuses on how the internet is effecting the news industry I find it striking that interest in religion seems to be growing or at least maintaining momentum, rather than declining as some have suggested.

Other interesting findings of the study are that in the USA the internet now ranks above newspapers and radio as American's primary news source and that the people's relationship to news is becoming portable, personalized and participatory.

For summary of the full study report see: http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1508/internet-cell-phone-users-news-social-experience

CFP for Special issue of Online – Heidelberg Internet Journal

2010-02-24T05:24:00.000-08:00

Call for Papers : “Religions on the Internet - Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses”
Special issue of Online – Heidelberg Internet Journal, due for publication in October 2010

We herewith invite scholars from Religious, Cultural, Social, Media Studies and other related disciplines to hand in proposals for possible articles which deal with questions of the aesthtics and sensual dimensions of religions and rituals on the Internet.

When we look on the various representations of religious groups and individuals on personal homepages, in weblogs, in virtual worlds or the like and when we follow their communications on religious topics online, the visual and auditive aspects of the medium seem to play a major role. Using pictures, videos, icons, as well as music and other sounds, the internet users can design a multisensual virtual environment which might implicate its own notion of ‘aesthetics’. This might be the case in e.g. a virtual Church environment which is embedded in an area with plashy waterfalls and bird sound instead of organ music or for religious groups in social networks who link to home-made Youtube videos, online games and other homepages. But we also must not forget the connection to these sensual dimensions that refer to and rely on the (offline) bodies of religious practitioners. Religions and rituals on the Internet might most probably provoke emotional or other physical reactions. Furthermore, in transfer processes between the offline and online realm there might be a redefinition of what seems to be an ‘appropriate’ design for religious settings.

As the aesthetic and sensual dimensions of religions and rituals on the internet are so far a mostly neglected area of research, we call upon theoretical and methodical reflection as well as on empiric studies referring to these topics. We are looking forward to receive the title and a short abstract (max. 250 words) of the planned article until 31st of March 2010.

Further important dates and deadlines are:
April 15th: Notification on the acceptance of your proposal by the editors
August 31st: Submission deadline for full article
September 15th: Deadline for comments, requests of revisions by the editors (if
necessary)
September 31st: Submission deadline for revised articles
November, 1st: Publication of the Online Journal

Please send your abstract to the following Email-addresses:
Simone.Heidbrink@zegk.uni-heidelberg.de
Nadja.Miczek@zegk.uni-heidelberg.de

CFP on book on Church and New Media

2010-02-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

Call for Papers for Edited Book on CHURCH AND NEW MEDIA: PERSPECTIVES, PRACTICES AND FUTURES
Editors: Pauline Hope Cheong, Peter Fischer-Nielsen, Stefan Gelfgren and Charles Ess

Background and Rationale
This book brings together, for the first time in five years, a collection of key articles in the area of religion and the Internet, particularly as new media relates to church, mission and interfaith dialogue. In light of the increasing mediation of everyday life in many parts of the world, this book approaches online religion with a fresh perspective, to account for contemporary developments in media and spirituality, with implications for faith and other civic organizations.

Arguably, as institutionalized religions and movements rush to leverage the Web to improve their reach, religious communication on the Internet takes an increasingly significant role alongside more traditional venues for such discourse. It may be, however, that religious use associated with new media problematizes established faith rituals, and religious community building in both its conception and operationalization. Changes in the Church can also
be conceived as intertwined with a range of other forms of social and political developments, such that new media acts as an agent and practice to challenge and transform the influence and authority of the Church. Furthermore, as ³new² media is a moving target, there may be past concepts that are more able to explain the nature of church life (such as evangelical
mission and systematic theology) or new concepts that are being developed that are better able to address the diversity and complexity of contemporary social and religious life (such as the ideas of social networking, viral marketing and church branding).

This edited collection aims to address and inform such issues and debates by offering new empirical, theoretical, and theological insights into how religious life continues to transform and be transformed by these new communication technologies. Current contributors, together with the editors, include Knut Lundby, Heidi Campbell, Mark Johns and Jørgen Straarup.
We hereby invite proposals for additional chapters (particularly in the historical and theological sections as explained below) that will complement and expand upon these contributions.

Section 1: Theoretical Approaches
This section maps the range of theoretical perspectives on religion and new media. A number of different theories have proven useful for researchers and scholars ¬ but new media also challenge our theoretical frameworks and categories. How far do current theories ³work² in helping us research and understand the complex interactions between religious life and new media ¬and how far are new theoretical understandings needed? And: what might these new theoretical understandings ³look like² ¬ i.e., are new theoretical frameworks and categories available that have yet to be fully explored by scholars and researchers that can be argued to be potentially fruitful?

Section II: Historical Perspectives
This section discusses the presence and significance of historical
perspectives in church and new media research. Transformations in communication media are deeply interwoven with the history and theology of Christianity. In light of this history, how do churches respond to the continued expansion of contemporary communication media? For example, given the close correlations between distinctive forms and modalities of communication ¬ including the broad categories of orality, literacy, print, and the secondary orality/literacy of electronic media ¬ and conceptions of self, community, and institutional authority, what does this history suggest regarding the possible implications and challenges of contemporary shifts
towards new media?

Section III: Empirical Investigations
This section reports on the empirical research studies that investigate emerging media and social media practices related to the Church. Disciplines represented include but are not restricted to: sociology of religion, ethnography and online ethnography, linguistics, and the social sciences and humanities more broadly as represented within the field of computer-mediated communication. Contributions may focus on, but not restricted to, contemporary uses (successful and not so successful) of new media in the life of religious communities (local, national, international). Guiding questions for such research and studies include: Do the possibilities and affordances of new media lead to genuinely new and demonstrable impacts on the life of congregations? What factors appear to accompany whether or not a given community or institution embraces or resists specific media? What factors are at work in both successes and failures for faith believers and organizations to adopt and adapt to new media? How does religiously related new media use interact or affect the offline practices of established religious organizations?

Section IV: Theological Reflections
The last section of the book provides theological reflections on the Internet, to forward the development of a theology of the Internet which is a budding field of research. Although practical perspectives and guidelines for Internet use have been published, a more thorough theological analysis of new media is missing. The need for theological clarification is apparent
since web-enabled applications challenge churches with a number of difficult questions.

Submission Details
Please submit a 500-700 word abstract (including important and initial references) to the editors as an email attachment to no later than April 15, 2010. Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by May 31, 2010, and will then be invited to submit a full paper to the editors. Final manuscripts should be no more than 6,500 words, including notes and references, prepared in APA style.

Important Dates:
April 15, 2010 Deadline for abstract submission
May 31, 2010 Announcement of results and full paper invitations
August 31, 2010 Submission of full papers

Inquiries should be addressed to:
Pauline Hope Cheong
Associate Professor of Communication
Hugh Downs School of Human Communication
P.O. Box 871205, Stauffer Hall 462 Tempe, AZ 85287-1205
Arizona State University
Pauline.cheong@asu.edu

Mellon Postdocs in Technology and Memory Studies

2010-02-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Program for Research in the Humanities announces a call for Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities 2010-2012.Though not specifically in media and religion they are open to projects that engage with History of Science/Technology and Memory Studies which relate to these areas. For details click here.

New Publications on Religion Online

2010-02-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

I wanted to introduce readers to 3 recent publication on religion online.

Daniel Arasa, Lorenzo Cantoni & Lucio A. Ruiz (Eds.), (2010). Religious Internet Communication. Facts, Trends and Experiences in the Catholic Church, Rome: EDUSC 2010.
Religious Internet Communication. Facts, Trends and Experiences in the Catholic Church offers readers and researchers a comprehensive overview of Catholic usages of Internet communication by providing a solid review of the creativity and motivations of Church innovators who have utilized different facets of network technologies to extend the Church’s work and solidify its internal communications. The book features fifteen cases encompassing various application areas, from Vatican online communication, to that of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, up to the websites of Opus Dei and Communion and Liberation offering a better understand the richness and complexity of online Church communication.

Heidi Campbell, (2010). Religious Authority and the Blogosphere. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 15(2),pp. 251-276.
It is often argued that the internet poses a threat to traditional forms of authority. Within studies of religion online claims have also been made that the internet is affecting religious authority online, but little substantive work has backed up these claims. This paper argues for an approach to authority within online studies which looks separately at authority: roles, structures, beliefs/ideologies and texts. This approach is applied to a thematic analysis of 100 religious blogs and demonstrates that religious bloggers use their blogs to frame authority in ways that may more often affirm than challenge traditional sources of authority.

Craig Detweiler (Ed.), (2010). Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games With God. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press.
Detweiler brings together a group of experts to explore the spiritual and theological implications of video gaming and together they explore issues such the formation and implications of gaming communities, how gaming impacts childeren's moral fomration and how religion gets framed and contested in different gaming genres.

Haredi and the Internet

2010-02-18T21:10:00.000-08:00

Things continue to heat up within the Israeli Haredi community with renewed debates over the internet emerging. After several months of pressure from rabbis and the rabbinical council on communication over the work of several haredi web sites, resulting in several website closing and web masters resigning, this week rabbis have deemed haredi internet kosher as long as they follow certain directive of more closely filtering/monitoring content. Issues over suitable content seem to be more about the nature of how the community and its leaders are being framed online, rather than previous rhetoric that the internet allow questionable moral content into the community.

Today reports surfaced taht Haredi women are also being given instruction on how to keep the internet safe for their families, with such discussion being noted in a Jerusalem Post article entitled Is Facebook Kosher? Advice for torah-observant women included using laptops over desktop computers in the home which can more easily be closed and stored away from families so not to pose a temptation to husbands or expose children to online content. It seems discussion of halakhic use of the internet is now being an issues ofbehavior monitoring with the onus being place on women who work at home, so that their online activities do not to become a source of temptation or religious distraction for their families.

Fellowship opportunity in NYC on The Mediation of Meaning

2010-02-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

CrossCurrents, an international, interdisciplinary, interreligious journal of opinion and the Association for Religion and Intellectual Life invites applications to is annual research colloquium.

It allows scholars to spend the month of July in New York working on a research or writing project of your choice with access to libraries and research facilities at Columbia University, Union, Auburn, and Jewish Theological Seminaries. They are now receiving fellowship applications. Queries are welcome at any time; the application deadline is March 1, 2010.

This summer we are encouraging, among others, projects that touch upon a broad theme:
The Mediation of Meaning.

Acknowledging the force of Marshall McLuhan's famous dictum -- the medium is the message -- we invite projects that update, challenge, or problematize his thesis. Interdiciplinary work that draws upon the sciences, religion and the arts is most welcome. We also encourage applications from people outside the academy ... artist, writers, journalists, those working within the communications industry, those who have expertise in computer mediated communications technology, gaming or virtual reality. Projects do not need to be focused on the contemporary period; applicants can suggest research that explores how cultures have been shaped by communications technologies of the past.

To that end we invite applications for a fellowship that will allow you to spend a month in a collaborative learning community, diverse in race, age, gender, religion and intellectual discipline working on a project of your design.

For more information about the colloquium and how to apply click here.

Or email: Charles Henderson, Executive Editor, CrossCurrents cph@crosscurrents.org

in the social media spirit

2010-02-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

Today the Chicago Tribune reflects on religion online "in the social media spirit" and how religious institutions are trying to extend the mission and message through blogs and websites. Using new media to encourage affiliation and build membership is not new, yet it is still interesting to reflect on how using the internet is being framed as a key social resource for groups vying for people time and mental attention in an information society.

CFP deadline coming up for iCS special issue on Religion and the Internet

2010-02-03T08:38:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder there is only 1 week left till the CFP deadline (1 Feb 2010) for the Special Issue of Information, Communication & Society on Religion and the Internet. We are accepting paper abstracts/article proposals for a special issue dealing with the how religion online intersects with the practice of religion offline. As the call for papers states:

In the initial waves of religion and internet research focus was often placed on how the internet would drastically change religious practice and ideology, due to growth of religious communities online and integration of religious rituals and practices into digital environments. Much attention was given to the novel uses and trends such as those seen in New Religious Movements online where once fringe or secretive religious groups were given a public platform making them more visible. Focus was also placed on how mainstream religions, such as Christianity and Islam, were appropriating to new media technologies or critiquing internet use and with a particular focus on the United states and Western Europe. As the internet has become increasingly embedded in the everyday lives of many researchers attention is now being drawn to the connection between online and offline religious practice, structures and belief. Furthermore, the rise of new software and models of internet communication, often referred to as Web 2.0, has created a heightened interest in issues of user lead content creation and web based social interaction. At the heart of these developments is an important issue, considering to what degree spiritual practices online are transformative or to what extent they reflect larger changes in religious culture and institutions offline. This special issue of Information, Communication and Society seeks to explore this area by considering what we think we know about the relationship between online and offline religion and what issues are still are in need of more detailed investigation.

More details related to the CFP can be found here.

Where CD-ROMS and Torah Study come Together

2010-02-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

While Ultra-Orthodox Groups in Israel debate over valid uses of the internet, other sectors of the Jewish community are readily appropriating new tech for religious purposes. Using computers to study Torah has become a popular and common example of this embrace include the Judaic Responsa Project and the DBS Torah CD. A recent essay in Haartz provides some detail on the thinking behind CD-ROM study aids, and talk of Jewoooogle for Torah study.

Social in the Glue of the Network: Report on social networking

2010-01-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

Today the Economist posted a very interesting report on the state of social networking online. Global swap shops -Why Social Networking has grown so Fast does not deal with religion online, it does provide an interesting review of the current trends in social networking and the emerging "network effect" of how media audience respond to new technologies. It also makes some interesting observations about facebook being in the business of memory production and documentation. It is worth a read.

Summer School on Digital Religion. Research in Virtual 3D Environments

2010-01-29T04:24:00.000-08:00

University of Bremen is hosting an interesting Summer School on “Digital Religion. Research in Virtual 3D Environments". The school will be held in Bremen (Germany) from July 30 to August 9th. The course is mainly addressed to graduate and postgraduate students, but undergraduates with experience in the field are also
very welcome to apply!

As a cooperation of the University of Bremen and the Jacobs-University (Bremen) the Summer course will broach the issue of the relevance of new environments like "Second Life" or "World of Warcraft" for nowadays culture and social life with special focus on rituals and religions.

Instructed by more than 10 international teachers, the participants of the Summer School will engage into the interdisciplinary study of practical methods and theoretical approaches for the scientific handling of ritual and media. The media will not only be subject to methodological, theoretical and practical research and discussion but will also serve as platform for academic exchange and teaching. After this Summer School participants will be able to design and perform research projects on religion in and within Virtual Worlds.

Ultra-orthodox rabbbis call for a boycott of community Web sites

2010-01-27T20:50:00.000-08:00

Israeli Ultra-orthodox rabbis this week called for a boycott of community focused Web sites. This is part of an ongoing debate since 1999 when the Belz community called for a ban of the internet for religious Jews. Concern about whether or not the internet is a permissible technology for this typically closed community have been raised on a regular basis over the past decade. A fresh wave of heated debates emerged in December 2009 resulting in the resignation of several key ultra-Orthodox web masters from well known sites such as Bharedi Haredim. Current concerns seem to be about these websites making private community discussion more public and the increased ability for community member to share their opinions in ways that are perceived as being slanderous or gossiping especially to religious leaders. For more details see: Rabbis Say Web Sites Not Kosher.

Go forth and blog

2010-01-24T05:11:00.000-08:00

Since the 1990s the Catholic church have been ready adopters of the Internet and new technologies to get their message out. This week the pope openly advocated that priests embrace blogging "to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources". His message upheld the longstanding Catholic social communication tradition which sees media as "gifts from God" to be use to benefit the ministries of the Church. For more details check out the story at Pope: Go Forth and Blog.

Providing Spiritual Relief through Solar-Powered Audio Bibles

2010-01-19T14:00:00.000-08:00

An organization called Faith Comes By Hearing is sending a unique type of technological aid to disaster victims in Haiti in the form of solar-powered Audio Bibles known as Proclaimers that can transmit the scripture in Haitian Creole to crowds of up to 300 listeners at one time. The group also offer an MP3 Bible is a collection of compressed audio files that can be uploaded to your personal computer and Biblesticks which are digital audio players that come pre-loaded with an entire Audio New Testament. The organization's aim is to use digital audio technology to disseminate bibles into the developing world. This is a unique missionary response to the current situation in Haiti.

Vatican critiques enchanting technology of Avatar

2010-01-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

The blockbuster hit Avatar came under criticism of the Vatican over the weekend, which was slated for release in Italy this week. The consensus over the controversy seems to be that the the Church feels that the “stupefying, enchanting technology” does not make up for it's problematic messages related to nature worship, as the NYT's highlighted in its article. AP reports suggested a concerns that the audience might be seduced by the latest computer graphics and fail to decipher what it seems as a problematic spiritual message. Many reports noted the fact the Vatican described Avatar as "bland" while other bloggers and critics have highlighted racist and anti-military undertones. For those who have watched the film I would say I would agree. The movie was a 3 hour epics that was visually tantalization, and beautiful at points, especially in 3D, that left me with a digital induced headache and an empty feeling due to the thin plot. What do other thinks? Do the graphics make up for the controversy?

Day Conference on Virtualisation and Society in Edinburgh

2010-01-15T07:02:00.000-08:00

If you find yourself in Edinburgh, Scotland next week you might be interested in a free day conference sponsored by the Church of Scotland.

The conference is on Virtualisation and Society and the aim is to reflect on how society and the Church are being impacted upon due to the rise of digital networked technologies. They have assembled an interesting panel of scholars and researchers to talk on a variety of issues related to virtuality and technology and I have been asked to speak on religion and the internet, albeit virtually via skype.

The event will be held Thursday Jan 21st and is open to the public (but you have to RSVP). For more details check this link at the CofS website.

Confession and Absolution Online

2010-01-14T09:44:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine blogged today about finding absolution on the internet where he writes about services such as ThePublicApology.com , Perfectapology.com that offer people space for public confession of their wrongs and an absolution via the internet public. There are dozens of these sites out there (confessions.net, experienceproject.com, etc) and ThePublicApology.com even runs a weekly contest where readers can vote for the best apology of the week.

This is just another example of how the internet is becoming a mediator in our private and personal lives which has interesting religious implications. There has been debate for over a decade on whether or not confession in the Catholic tradition can or should be heard online via email, chat or even text messaging. Although the Catholic church does not endorse such practices, they still exist which raises the question in a culture that allows us to do most of our daily tasks online as well as facilitate religious rituals such as prayer and worship why not confession?

Church of England Blesses Technology in Search for Relevance

2010-01-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Today the Times Online covered a news story on the blessing of the laptops and Church 2.0, check out Blessed be the mobile phone users and those called the children of iPod.

Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God

2010-01-11T21:26:00.000-08:00

Publishers's Weekly has just come out with a positive review of Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God a book soon to be released on religion and video games edited by Craig Detweiler. I was especially please to see that my chapter on Islamogaming earned a special mention. See what they have to say here:

Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God Edited by Craig Detweiler. Westminster John Knox, $19.95 paper (241p) ISBN 978-0-664-23277-1

Rather than write off as childish one of the most influential popular culture phenomena ever, Detweiler (Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century) assembles a savvy group of experts to explore the spiritual and theological implications of video gaming. Those not familiar with the contemporary scene will be amazed to discover how far video games have evolved since the days of Pac Man and Space Invaders. Video games, as a number of these scholars point out, have integrated a narrative aspect that is fascinating and complex—the characters have literally become three-dimensional. Some of the other important issues raised include the power of gaming to build virtual communities, the ways games can help children develop virtues, and the myriad ways religion is portrayed. Especially compelling is an examination of how Muslims are characterized in games. These essayists are fans who lovingly approach and reproach video games, and they earnestly hope that all who pick up a joystick will reflect on the spiritual possibilities. (Feb.)

Google and Islam: censorship or technological glitch?

2010-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Online reports this week accused Google of religious favoritism, or problems with their search coding resulting with Islam being treated differently than other religion in search requests. Stories such as "Islam Is': Google Glitch, or Religious Favoritism?" and Fox's What's Islam? Don't Ask Google highlighted the fact that typing in the phrase "Islam is" to the search engine caused the auto-response frame to disappear. These reports and assertions raised many questions and accusations of censorship, such as Wired's piece on
Epicenter The Business of Tech Is Google Censoring Islam Suggestions? Google's response attempted to clarify it's search policy and describe it simply as a software problem. However the fact this made national news suggests that technological problems have significant social impacts in a digital age.

New Article: Searching for salvation Online

2010-01-04T09:11:00.000-08:00

Bernard J. Jansen, Andrea Tapia,and Amanda Spink have an interesting forthcoming article entitled: Searching for salvation: An analysis of US religious searching on the World Wide Web.

This seems to be a very interesting and important study as it show and continued growth in religious online practice and points to the fact that religion online affirms traditional religious affiliations rather than spiritual seeking

Their full abstract is as follows:

The goals of this research were to answer three questions. How predominant is religious searching online? How do people interact with Web search engines when searching for religious information? How effective are these interactions in locating relevant information? Specifically, referring to a US demographic, we analyzed five data sets from Web search engine, collected between 1997 and 2005, of over a million queries each in order to investigate religious searching on the Web. Results point to four key findings. First, there is no evidence of a decrease in religious Web-searching behaviors. Religious interest is a persistent topic of Web searching. Second, those seeking religious information on the Web are becoming slightly more interactive in their searching. Third, there is no evidence for a move away from mainstream religions toward non-mainstream religions since the majority of the search terms are associated with established religions. Fourth, our work does not support the hypothesis that traditional religious affiliation is associated with lower adoption of or sophistication with technology. These factors point to the Web as a potentially usefully communication medium for a variety of religious organizations.

For a view of the in-press proof check here.

Gorgias Book Grant Program

2010-01-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

Though not necessarily strictly geared towards religion and new media, Gorgias Press has an interesting grant program open to grad students doing work in religion which I though was worth posting.

Gorgias Press offers annually the Gorgias Book Grant, a program offers outstanding graduate students grants in the form of Gorgias Press publications. Grants consist of books in the value of $500.00 per grant. Each year, two grants are distributed.

2009-2010 Grant Field: Any field within the scope of Gorgias Publications
Application Deadline: January 31, 2010

Candidate must be enrolled in a graduate program (Master's or Ph.D.) in an accredited university or an institution of learning in the field of the grant.
Candidate must have the equivalent of a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Send by mail the following items to: Gorgias Press LLC, Book Grants Program, 180 Centennial Ave., Suite 3 Piscataway, NJ 08854. (All documents, apart from official transcripts, must be in English. Part 1 and 2 of the application can be emailed to Christine Kiraz, Christine@gorgiaspress.com)

A letter indicating your interests in your field and plans for the future.
A two-page description of your thesis, or a one-page description of your course work in the case of course-based programs. Official transcripts of the previous 2 years of university education. If the institutions you come from do not give out transcripts please contacts us to make alternative arrangements to satisfy this requirement. Two letters of recommendations from professors familiar with your work (one must be your current supervisor in the field of the grant).

For more information click here.

Conference: Divining the Message, Mediating the Divine

2010-01-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

Divining the Message, Mediating the Divine is a conference hosted by the Columbia University Religion Graduate Students Association, 1-3 April 2010 at Columbia University in New York City.

Whether sacred symbols or sanctioned authorities, intermediaries have been both conduits for and barriers to access to the divine. Mediating objects, forms, rituals, and people have long been central to religious practice and belief. They are conditions of both possibility and impossibility, at one and the same time providing glimpses of the heavens and anchoring us to the earth.

New media technologies have transformed not only how people commune with one another, but also how they communicate with the divine. With the printing press and telephone wires, and with television and the internet, we can now consider whether our message to the divine is best delivered by letter, email, voicemail, or text message. While many still attend brick and mortar churches, build a sukkah in their backyard, or chant at a Shinto shrine, the current moment of technological acceleration has changed the ways in which many people practice religion. Some study Buddhism in the virtual gaming world of Second Life, others visit a satellite campus of Saddleback Church to see Rick Warren's Sunday sermon streamed in from the other side of Orange County, and still others sit on the beach while reading the New International Version of the Bible on their Amazon Kindles. As intermediaries proliferate, and as our relationship to old mediations changes, so do the ways in which we practice religion, imagine the divine, and imagine ourselves.

The 2010 Columbia University Religion Graduate Students' Conference seeks to bring together papers from a wide range of disciplinary, theoretical, historical, and geographical perspectives that examine varying conceptions of mediation, including:

1. The media of mediation (print, TV, internet, cinema, icons, translation, etc.)
2. The institutions of mediation (Church, state, theology, tradition, economy, culture)
3. The people who mediate (the Pope, gurus, pastors, priests, seance mediums, other spiritual leaders, and the spirit possessed)
4. Temporal mediations (prophecy, mourning, melancholy, and trauma, as mediating the past, present, and future)

Click here for more info.

PhD scholarship in Popular Culture and Spiritual Development/Lifelong Learning

2009-12-21T14:19:00.000-08:00

Clive Marsh at the University of Leicester has posted an opening for a PDA\MPhil in Popular Culture and Spiritual Development/Lifelong Learning. He is especially interested in students wishing to work in music reception with interest in Music fan sites. This looks like a great opportunity. The application deadline is 15 Feb 2010 with a projected start date of April 2010.

Virtual Center on New Media, Religion & Digital Culture

2009-12-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a small grant from my university's Digital Humanities program I am in the process of starting a Virtual Center for the Study of New Media, Religion and Culture. The aim is to create an online, interactive resource center for scholars and students working in this interdisciplinary area. In an effort to best meet the needs of researchers I have developed an online survey to gather thoughts on the design and development of this center. I would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to fill this out at: Click here to take survey.

Also in case you did not know I have started a facebook group as a precursor to this center, so if you are interested you can also check this out on facebook groups under "New Media, Religion and Digital Culture"

Cellphones and Religion Humour

2009-12-14T12:51:00.000-08:00

Doctoral Research Fellowship: New Media in Asia and/or the Middle East

2009-11-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

A doctoral research fellowship is being advertised at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages (IKOS), University of Oslo for an individual interested in studying new media in Asia and/or the Middle East, and an interested in religion is one of the possible areas of specialization they are looking for. Applications are due 15 Dec 2009. Here is the scoop:

The successful candidate is expected to study the use of new media and communication technologies (including the Internet, satellite TV, and mobile phones) in Asia and/or the Middle East and their impact in the social, political, religious and/or cultural domains. The fellowship is open to projects from a wide range of disciplinary and methodological approaches to the study of new media. Comparative and/or multidisciplinary projects will be considered positively. Projects grounded in fieldwork in the region will be considered favourably. It is expected that the candidate analyzes primarily data in one or several of the region's languages. Candidates must therefore demonstrate advanced active skills in at least one relevant Asian and/or Middle Eastern language.

For more info contact the Research director at IKOS: Rune Svarverud, tel: + 47 22 85 69 82, e-mail: rune.svarverud@ikos.uio.no. Research administration IKOS: Cecilie Lilleheil, tel: + 47 22 84 40 47, e-mail: c.w.lilleheil@ikos.uio.no.

SSRC Graduate Dissertation Workshop on Virtual Worlds

2009-11-17T22:28:00.000-08:00

The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) is designed to help early-stage graduate students in the humanities and social sciences formulate more effective doctoral dissertation proposals. One of this year's program is on the theme of Research in Virtual Worlds. So if you are in your 2nd or 3rd year of your PhD in the USA and interested in doing a project which deals with the concept of the virtual check out this interesting program.

One more chance to Hear Heidi in Kiwi-land

2009-11-15T22:48:00.000-08:00

If you are in New Zealand you have one more chance to hear and meet me in the flesh at a public lecture entitled" Networked Religion: Towards a Theology of New Media" at the end of November.

The lecture to be given by yours truly (Heidi Campbell) as the Wednesday 25 November 7pm at Vaughan Park Anglican Retreat Centre. This will be a culmination of my musings and research as one of Vaughan Park's Distinguished Academic Visitors for 2009. While at Vaughan Park I have been working working on a book project about how new media technologies raise important theological and ethical issues and how different forms ofreligious authority are being re-shaped and influenced by Internet use, especially within the Anglican tradition. Here is the talk's description:

In the past two decades significant changes have occurred affecting relationships with technology. Subtle shifts have occurred in the way religion is practiced and perceived in the Western World. This presentation looks at:

• how these changes are reflected in the practice of religion online
• what they have to tell us about the future of religious culture
• what a theology of new media might look like in order to address these issues.

An indication of attendance is appreciated: phone 09 473 2600, email reception@vaughanpark.org.nz

Attention all Kiwis...Open Lecture at University of Otago

2009-11-04T13:08:00.000-08:00

For anyone who finds themselves in the South Island of New Zealand in mid November, you are cordially invited to an open lecture at University of Otago based on my forthcoming book.

Dr. Heidi Campbell, Texas A&M University, will deliver an Open Lecture for the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Otago. The talk is entitled 'When Religion Meets New Media: Considering the Religious-Social Shaping of Technology' and is based on work from her forthcoming book When Religion Meets New Media (Routledge, March 2010) on how religious communities negotiate their use of new. Please come along on Monday 16th November at 5.10pm. The lecture will be held in St David Seminar Room 2. Anyone who finds themselves in the South Island of NZ is most welcome to come along!

PhD Fellowship new media in the Middle East and/or Asia

2009-11-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the announcement for the PhD-position in new media (Asia/ME) at University of Oslo. For those interested you can find more information at the following link: http://www.admin.uio.no/opa/ledige-stillinger/2009/vitenskapelige/doctoralresearchfellowshipIKOS-2009-16827.html
The deadline for applications is December 15, 2009.

Internet believers: Pastors open online churches

2009-11-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

This is definitely not new news...the growth of online churches, but it is in the AP headlines today. Check the story Internet believers: Pastors open online churches which profiles established and recent online versions of church such as Life-tv, Flamingo Road Church, and Central Christian Church.

CFP: Special Issue on Religion and the Internet: The Online-Offline Connection

2009-11-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

Call for Papers for Special Issue of Information, Communication & Society on Religion and the Internet: The Online-Offline Connection

Guest Editors: Heidi Campbell & Mia Løvheim

Call Description:
In the initial waves of religion and internet research focus was often placed on how the internet would drastically change religious practice and ideology, due to growth of religious communities online and integration of religious rituals and practices into digital environments. Much attention was given to the novel uses and trends such as those seen in New Religious Movements online where once fringe or secretive religious groups were given a public platform making them more visible. Focus was also placed on how mainstream religions, such as Christianity and Islam, were appropriating to new media technologies or critiquing internet use and with a particular focus on the United states and Western Europe. As the internet has become increasingly embedded in the everyday lives of many researchers attention is now being drawn to the connection between online and offline religious practice, structures and belief. Furthermore, the rise of new software and models of internet communication, often referred to as Web 2.0, has created a heightened interest in issues of user lead content creation and web based social interaction. At the heart of these developments is an important issue, considering to what degree spiritual practices online are transformative or to what extent they reflect larger changes in religious culture and institutions offline. This special issue of Information, Communication and Society seeks to explore this area by considering what we think we know about the relationship between online and offline religion and what issues are still are in need of more detailed investigation.

Aims and Scope:
In particular this special issues aims to explore the relationship between online and offline forms of religious practice and community. Key questions include:

- What is truly unique about the performance of religion online?
- How is the practice and conception of religion online connected to offline practices, communities and institutions?
- In what ways does religion online reflect trends seen offline in religious culture and practice?
- How do these transformations connect with issues of globalization and glocalization?

Possible topics may include (but are not limited to):
- The interactions between online communities and offline religious institutions
- How participants in online religious activities frame their involvement in offline religious groups - Responses of offline religious authorities to religious manifestations and practices online from their community or tradition
- Religious organizations and/or denominations use of the internet, or debates regarding official policy towards and new media use
- Attempts of diasporic communities to connect with their faith tradition and sacred sites via the Internet
- Theoretical work that links research on contemporary religious practice to online religion, i.e. the relationship between internet use and everyday religion, the role of emotions in religious internet use
- How religious actors deal with questions of time, space and information management in online and offline society
- How Virtual worlds and computer games seek to present or re-present "sacred space"

Submission Details:
Please submit a 300-500 word abstract to the guest editors as an e-mail attachment to religiononline@yahoo.com no later than 10 February 2010. The four best abstracts will also be submitted as a panel for consideration at the International Media, Religion and Culture Conference to be held in Toronto, Canada (9-13 August 2010). Please include full contact information and a biographical note (up to 75 words) on each of the authors and indicate whether you wish to be considered for the MRC panel submission.

Authors of accepted abstracts will be notified by 6 March 2010 and will then be invited to submit a full paper to the guest editors. Final manuscripts should be no more than 8,000 words, including notes and references, conform to APA style, and submitted by 20 August 2010. Please note all papers will be subject to anonymous peer review following submission.

Important dates:
10 February 2010: Deadline for abstract submission
6 March 2010: Announcement of results and full paper invitations
9-13 August: MRC Conference
20 August 2010: Submission of full papers
October 2011: Publication of special issue

For Inquiries, abstracts, or submission of full papers should be addressed to:

Heidi Campbell
Assistant Professor of Communication
Department of Communication
Texas A&M University
Bolton 102, 4234 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
Email: religiononine@yahoo.com or heidic@tamu.edu

CFP: Israeli Conference for the Study of Contemporary Spiritualities

2009-10-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

The 1st Israeli Conference for the Study of Contemporary Spiritualities was held at the University of Haifa in March, 2009. Topics included spiritual development, contemporary Kabbala, East and West, spirituality in business, spiritual teachers, spirituality in psychotherapy, Shamanism, spirituality in the media, and more. The conference included about 70 presenters from varied fields of study, aroused wide interest, drew 350 participants, and won vast media coverage.

The abundance of varied phenomena which reflect contemporary spiritualities worldwide and especially in Israel, is highly impressive. These phenomena draw increasing academic attention by a large number of researchers from various disciplines including, Religious studies, Philosophy, Judaism, Anthropology, Psychology, Social work, Sociology, and Political sciences.
A comparative and interdisciplinary consideration of the different facets of contemporary spiritualities can contribute to the understanding of these phenomena. This is the rationale for the 2nd Israeli Conference for the Study of Contemporary Spiritualities. We invite researchers and graduate students from different disciplines to submit proposals for papers or panels. The conference will include lectures both in Hebrew and in English.

Proposals for lectures should include: Name, academic status (Graduate Student, Assistant professor, etc.), academic institution (or a different affiliation), E-mail address, abstract (350-500 words) and a list of 10 references.

Proposals for Panels should include: Name, academic affiliation, 3-4 abstracts of lectures according to the format above, panel's rationale (50-100 words) and a proposed chair

Deadline for Submissions November 20, 2009 . Responses will be sent via E-mail until January 10, 2010. Send submissions via Email to: spirituality@construct.haifa.ac.il for Pninit Russo-Netzer, Conference Coordinator. Address inquiries to this email too.

Cyberspirituality and the Spirit of Things

2009-10-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

According to Rachel Kohn from Australian ABC radio, "Spiritual surfing on the internet is bigger than Ben Hur and it's changing the way religion is created, delivered and experienced". Kohn on her weekly radio show The Spirit of Things explores Cyberspirituality with yours truly and
Julie Hamilton founder and editor-in-chief of Omigoddess!. In our interview we explored debates over the authenticity of religious community online and case studies from my forthcoming book about the similarities and difference in Jewish, Muslim and Christian uses of the internet. Let me know what you think about my observations.

WWJMB or What would Jesus Micro-Blog?

2009-10-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

In recent discussions of religion in a Web 2.0 era (a term which btw gets my knickers in a twist, but that's another blog post...) speculations has been raised about the impact of Facebook and Twitters as modes of spreading religious content. In Finding religious community online in a Web 2.0 era journalist Joshunda Sanders for the Austin Statesman suggests that the current generation of Social media are becoming important tools for publicize church events to broader audiences and helping solidify prayer support. While interesting individual examples can be found I do wonder what the long range impact of these technologies, esp. on religious cultures. Microblogging has become a much talked about phenomenon and framed as a potential new news medium. However a recent study from professors at Rutgers have found that tweeting is really "all about me". Their analysis of Twitter found 80% of users we "me-formers", and rather than sharing information were all about providing personal status update. This is further fodder that the Internet is contributing to rise in networked individualism. I wonder if this trend is also mirrored among religious microbloggers. Interestingly Sanders also recently blogged about a study from professors at Gordon College that found Facebook might be bad for young Christians in that the compulsive me focus of Facebook might be a distraction to religious discipline. Interesting thoughts.

If there are others out there researching these issues let me know.

Christian Century: Navigating New Media

2009-10-14T20:07:00.000-07:00

I just got a head's up via Stewart Hoover FB status that The Christian Century published an article last month on: Navigating the new media. The article focuses on reflecting on the impact of new media on the production and circulation of news with some notable opinions shared by Mark Silk, Martin Marty and Stephen Prothero whose book American Jesus I recently read and found very provocative. I encourage you to check it out.

An evening with Heidi Campbell in OZ

2009-10-06T23:01:00.000-07:00

I am taking a little trip across the pond, as it were, to Australia for the weekend to visit friends and colleagues. In honor of my first visit to OZ my mate Paul Teusner has organized a get together in Melbourne and I hear there is still space at the table so to speak if you are interested (but he needs to know by Friday). Below is what he wrote in the official invites he sent out:

Dr Campbell is an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University and one of the world's leading scholars in religion and online media. Her research has taken her from inner urban life in Glasgow through mainstream churches in Auckland to where religion, history and politics collide in Israel. Heidi's teaching and research centres on the social shaping of technology,rhetoric of new media, and themes related to the intersection of media, religion and culture, with a special interest in the internet and mobil ephones. She has written a book Exploring Religious Community Online: We are one in the network looking at how members of online religious communities connect their online and offline social-religious networks.

Her current research is an investigation of Jewish, Muslim & Christian communities 'historic perceptions and contemporary use of media technologies, forthcoming as a text When Religion Meets New Media.For those who have any interest in how online technology is shaping how people are seeing and interacting with the world, or want to know how creative uses of new technologies are making new opportunities for people to connect, grow and learn, this is a chance to have questions explored.

Heidi is also keen to hear stories of Australians who have tried out religion on the Internet, whether the experience is good or bad or somewhere in between. Come along and share with her what the 21st century Australian spirit sounds and smells like.

Date: Monday 12 October 2009. 7pm.

Venue: Pireaus Blues Restaurant, 310 Brunswick St Fitzroy (Melbourne).Sit-down dinner, a la carte (Main prices from $15 to $30).

RSVP: Friday 9 October to paul@teusner.org

Religion and New Media Google Group

2009-10-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

I was just invited to join a Religion and New Media Google Group a few days ago. I encourage you to check it out this endeavor to create an international group for the study of religion and new media. There was a plug today on it for my blog and even a link to info on my forthcoming book, for which this blog was named, that I myself did not know about yet.

Parsis use new technology to keep religion alive

2009-09-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me a link to this article how India's Parsis are turning to new media in order to keep their ancient Zoroastrian religion alive. This compliments some of the reading I have been doing the past 2 weeks about how ethnic enclaves employ media to solidify and maintain their religious identities in a diffused network society.

If you are interested in this topic I recommend also checking out:

P.H. Cheong & J.P.H. Poon (2009) Weaving Webs of Faith: Examining Internet Use and Religious Communication Among Chinese Protestant Transmigrants, Journal of International & Intercultural Communication, 2(3), pp. 189-207.

Twitteleh: Twitter for your Jewish Mother

2009-09-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

If Twitter is wearing on you why not try Twitteleh: Twitter for your Jewish Mother....enjoy this parody video!

Religion in Video Games

2009-09-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

A research colleague sent me a request sources for a literature review on religion in Video Games. While I have started to do a little research in this area myself I am at a loss to recommend specific resources. There just doesn't seem to be much published on the topic yet?!

So far I have come up with an older article on the Theology of PacMan and an article on Religious education and the challenge of computer games. Also there is book forthcoming entitled Halos & Avatars: Playing (Video) Games with God to be published by Westminster John Knox, 2010) which to my knowledge will be the first collection of articles on religion and video games (though I am open to correction if someone else knows of another on the subject). The book looks at variety of issues related to theological and psychological issues of gaming for religious culture. I have also contributed a chapter offering a narrative analysis of different genre's of islamogaming.

So if others out there know of articles, chapters or books on Religion and Video Games I would love to hear about it!

There is NO virtual ecclesia (?)

2009-09-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

Stephen Garner just gave me a heads up on a provocative article entitled: There is NO virtual ecclesia. In it Bob Hyatt, an emerging church pastor from Oregon argues that failed claims that televangelism would create an electronic church that could reach the masses applies to much of the hype surrounding online church experiment.

While he argues some interesting and valid points about the limits of mediated church experiences and that online communities can not fully replace embodied care and interaction he seems to assume that offline churches always provide the social accountability and garner the spiritual investment of its members. He claims the virtual ecclesia is lacking because it is missing: the sacrament, discipline and accountability, service and equipping. However from my 13 years of research I would say that while it is not a given, that these aspects can be and are being integrated into many religious communities online. It is what people bring to the table and their level of creativity and investment online or offline that makes a gathering true ecclesia or not. The article is definitely worth a read and would like to hear others thoughts.

Also check out Shane Hipps interview at the National Pastor's Convention in San Diego (Feb 2009) discussing his views of "virtual community" and opinions on Second Life Church.

Cowan's Reflections on Sacred Space and Sacred Visiion

2009-09-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

Douglas Cowan at University of Waterloo and author of Cyberhendge:Modern Pagans of the Internet and co-editor of Religion Online has been interviewed by Theofantastique on his forthcoming book on myths in popular science fiction. While not primarily focused on new media he offers some interesting insights on cultural constructions of space and the sacred in a media-ted world. Check out the \interview here and his thoughts on transcendence.

Digital Faith

2009-09-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning at Auckland University for a half day conference on Digital Faith. It was a good mix of discussion and interaction on practical and theoretical issues related to doing religion online (and an added plus were the fabulous scones during the tea break!) Another highlight was getting to meet the first presenter, Mark Brown of the NZ Bible Society, f2f after interacting with him for over 2 years online.

Mark spoke on the topic of Monitor Mediated Ministry: Being the Church in the Digital Space which explored his own experience in using Second Life and Facebook to do church. He argued that often offline church focuses on an invitational of trying to get people into the pews while in the online context there is a shift to an incarnational strategy that focuses on bringing faith into to where people are at...in this case the internet.

Tim Bulkley spoke on Digital Audio and Reading the Bible Online and explored how digital and communication technology changes our engagement with text and information. He argued that digital culture changes our relationship with the Bible when it is presented in hypertext or especially new visual or oral mediums. He described his work with the PodBible project and his work developing Vernacular resources for church leaders so that new media technologies empower new methods of translation and engagement.

Yours truly spoke about the offline implications of online religious community as the rise of online community reflects changes in larger society's conception and practice of community. I also addressed how the internet challenges traditional institutions conceptions and practices of church as it offers alternative means of spiritual engagement and connection

Stephen Garner concluded the day talking about Who do you day I am? Digital authenticity, ethics and community. He spoke about the long tradition in Christianity of tension between spiritual and physical spaces and conceptions, and how the internet can highlight these supposed Gnostic tendency as it frees users from the constraints of the body. The result is a blurred space where question of what it means to be authentic online are debated. He raised some important ethical points summed up by a quoted from Ron Cole Turner: "Technology for all its good is constantly on the edge of sin, exploitation and greed, it is after human technology beset by our weakness".

So overall it was a great way to spend a morning in Auckland!

Reflections on Worship 2.0

2009-09-01T06:15:00.001-07:00

It is amazing what one will find when one Google's oneself. Today I found a link to an article from Worship Leader Magazine entitled: Worship 2.0 Leaders that features a number of pastors, online entrepreneurs and academics talking about web based approaches to Christian worship. Amongst them is an interview from yours truly.

[Note: the transcript of my interview is a bit rough with some mistakes, but for the most-part communicate my intent.]

Calling all Kiwi's: Day Conference on Digital Faith

2009-08-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

If there are any kiwis out there you might want to check out the upcoming Digital Faith conference at University of Auckland this coming Saturday. I will be there in a jet lagged state of mind having just arrived the day before for a semester in kiwiland.

The event will cover the questions:

-How do the Christian faith and the Internet impact upon each other?

- What place might the Bible have in our digital world?

Come and join us as our panel of expert speakers engage with these topics and others relating to issues of faith in the digital world.

Speakers:

Mark Brown CEO, Bible Society New Zealand & founder Anglican Cathedral in Second Life.

Stephen Garner Lecturer in Theology and Popular Culture, School of Theology, University of Auckland.

Heidi Campbell Assistant Professor, Dept. of Communication, Texas A&M University & author of Exploring Religious Community Online.

Tim Bulkeley Lecturer in Old Testament, Carey Baptist College & developer of the Amos Hypertext Commentary & podBible projects.

Saturday 5 September 2009 9am-12pm OGGB4 Lecture Theatre, Level 0, Owen G Glenn Building, Grafton Road, The University of Auckland Please register your attendance by Wednesday 2 September, with theologyadmin@auckland.ac.nz Cost $5 (morning tea provided)

FYI--I will be spending the semester as Distinguished Academic Visitor in NZ at the Vaughn Park Retreat Center. For more details click here.

Soul-Searching on Facebook

2009-08-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

William Wan of the Washington Post has written an interesting article called Soul-Searching on Facebook which reviews how people feel about publishing their religious views and identities on the popular social networking site. It reveals some interesting insights into how young people feel about the presentation and negotiation of their religious selves online. Check it out.

Archbishop issues websites warning

2009-08-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

UK Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols of the Catholic Church issued an official warning about the dangers of Facebook and Myspace especially regarding the impact of "transient relationships" on teens moral development. Check out the AP story I found at the Guardian online: Archbishop issues websites warning. Do you agree that SNS encourages a dehumanising of society?

Tweet Prayers to the Western Wall

2009-07-26T15:53:00.000-07:00

According to the Arutz Sheva web site (an interesting site in itself if you want to gain greater insights into the Migzar/Religious Zionist online presence) posted an interesting article today called The Western Wall Enters the Twitter Age. An enterprising young Jew from Tel Aviv has taken it upon himself to post the tweeted prayers in the western wall. This extends already present services that allow you to email or sms prayers to the wall. For more info check out Alon's twitter page at: http://twitter.com/theKotel

Special Issue on Religion and Technology

2009-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Vit Sisler--whom I that the pleasure to meet recently in Chicago while he is on Fulbright at NWU-- and Robert M. Geraci have edited a special issue of the MasarykUniversity Journal of Law and Technology on religion and technology. The articles deal with a range of topics on the production of Islamic knowledge for European Muslim minorities on the Internet, such as Sisler's examination of marriage and divorce fatwas online,to an article providing a view of Jewish Orthodox views of the web . Copies of the articles are hosted on the web site Digital Islam which is also a vital resource for those studying Islam online.

Changes brought about by New Media and the Walkman: Context, Indvidualization and Mobility

2009-07-02T13:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was contacted by a journalist about making some comments on the 30th anniversary of the release of the first SONY walkman. As I pondered what impact this specific technology has had on our media landscape from my readings and observations I ended up talking with him about three key factors or changes: Context, Individualization and Mobility.

First the walkman freed music listening from being engage with in a certain place or space, you could listen to music on the bus, while going for a jog as easily as sitting in front of a larger stereo system. This mean how we consume media has changed.

Second the walkman encouraged a new level of individualization, I can listen to my music when I want not matter what others around me are doing. This has marked a greater sense of empowerment in individuals being able to control the media messages they want to receive.

Third music consumption no longer became a static practice, it was now mobile. That means where media was consumed was freed to a new level. This also started a blurring of the public and private as media device allowed for personal engagement in public space. However, those individual, mobile practices have repercussions for the public. Early walkman were not necessarily personal as you could often hear the sounds being played seep through the head phones. Similar to how people get forced into transgressing the space of a private phone conversation when someone next to them is talking loudly into their cell phones.

So in my way of thinking the walkman in many ways set the stage for our new digital media landscape and media consumer current practices. It also raises some concerns of how our media devices are culturing human behavior.

For the official version of the story check out the interview online.

Wikipedia bans Church of Scientology

2009-06-03T06:25:00.000-07:00

Here is an interesting example of offline religious authorities attempting control religious perception online and its fallout. It seems the Church of Scientology subtly infiltrated the editorial system of Wikipedia in order to influence and control information shared on the site about the church. The result of this has been that Wikipedia had now banned contributions from all IP addresses owned or operated by the Church of Scientology and its associates. For more details check out The Register's article: Wikipedia bans Church of Scientology.

How Social Media is Like Ice Cream

2009-05-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Being a huge ice cream fan I just had to follow up a link sent out on the Association of Internet Researchers elist this morning about How Social Media is Like Ice Cream . What I found is a great video that explains in simple terms how social networks and media work (and a craving for mint chocolate brownie ice cream). Check it out:

iMuslims is coming

2009-05-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

Amazon.com just sent me a notice that Gary Bunt's new book--iMuslims: Rewiring the House of Islam (Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks)-- will soon be out. Bunt is well known for his work on documenting the latest uses of the internet and digital technology in the Muslim world Virtually Islamic and Islam in the Digital Age. His new book iMuslims seeks to look at how not only the internet has shaped Islamic practices and society but perceptions of Islam in a globalized information society. His work describes how new SNS sites are being used within Islam and how his over ten years of research highlight certain trends with Muslim use of the Internet.

According to a review in Publishers's weekly Bunt suggests, "..that Muslims have an “open-source” educational legacy. This open-source nature of Islamic theology inclines Muslims, possible more than other faith adherents, towards an online “rewiring” of their faith." I haven't read the book yet myself but it promises to be an important contribution for those studying Islam online. Bunt's blog Virtually Islamic provides a great source for info on the book and other info about Islam online, and he also he has an online bibliography for his book which is well worth checking out.

State of Belief on Religion Online

2009-05-10T23:26:00.000-07:00

I was interview this past week for the radio show "State of Belief" hosted by Rev C. Welton Gaddy which seeks to cover positive topics on religion. In a 15 min segment we discuss how faith communities are making use of the latest in new media - from Twitter masses to Jewish Blackberry ("Jewberry) prayer books. Check it out here.

Religion in Virtual Worlds Study Group

2009-05-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

I learned about an interesting study group on religion online that meets in Second Life. Here are the details for researchers who might be interested in joining.

Time: May 22, 2009 from 8am to 9:30am

Location: Second Life

Organized By: Beth Davies-Stofka Event

Description:Religion in Virtual Worlds Study Group

The Religion in Virtual Worlds Study Group meets on the 3rd Friday of the month at 8:00 AM Second Life time.The May meeting will take place on May 22nd (in order to avoid overlap with end-of-semester duties). The agenda is Buddhist Death in Second Life

Dr. Beth Davies-Stofka presents the educational goals and strategies behind the Second Life Bardo Game. Designed by members of the Center for EduPunx, the Second Life Bardo Game creates the "in between" state of the dead person as described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead, challenging the player to find her way to enlightenment.There are a few design issues that we need help resolving, and we'll present those to the group.

Discussion: would you like to use this game in your classroom? What questions or considerations concern you? How can we help?Religion in Virtual Worlds Study Group meetings normally last an hour and a half, but feel free to come late and leave early!

All are welcome. All meetings are held on the Front Range Island. Front Range Island is private, so please RSVP in advance with your avatar name to beth.davies@frontrange.edu.

Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you on May 22nd!

Next meeting: June 19. Agenda will be set at the May meeting.

Patheo and Religion Online

2009-05-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

Patheos.org is a relatively new web site that seeks to be an interactive site devoted to the exploration and discussion of religious belief and experience. They have assembled an impressive list of experts and advisors for the site which offers on only info on different religious traditions but place for interaction, debate and special topics discussion. This week the topic in the Public Square forum is Religion on the Web. They offer an impressive range of article from why Catholic spiritual mentors need to take Facebook seriously to a reflection on what What Muhammad would advise Muslims to do about the internet. I was interview for one of three lead article in the section, one specifically titled Religion 2.0 that looks at the future of religion in an internet world. With so many interesting pieces the site and this week's public square discussion is especially worth checking out.

Kid's morals in Virtual Worlds: online morals match offline

2009-05-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

I recent came across an interesting research article which talks about kid's morals in virtual worlds. In the article, Gender, race and morality in the virtual world and its relationship to morality in the real world, researchers from Michigan state university argue that children’s offline moral behavior and attitudes is largely carried over in their behavior and beliefs online. The team's systematic interviews with over 500 young people found that morality online was related to morality offline, confirming the finding of many researchers that the online and offline social (and religious/moral) context are intimately interconnected. For more info check out the full article:

Jackson LA et al (2009). Gender, race and morality in the virtual world and its relationship to morality in the real world. Sex Roles DOI 10.1007/s11199-009-9589-5

CFP: Church and Mission in a Multireligious Third Millennium

2009-04-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

I just got an e-announcement for who looks like a very interesting conference coming up in 2010. The Church and Mission in a Multireligious Third Millennium conference seeks to bring together especially scholars from the Nordic context to discuss issues a variety of related to issues of ecclesiology, ecumenism and missiology. The participant includes some of my friends and research colleagues including LeRon Schults, Knut Lundby and Goran Larrson.

One of the core themes is the "Church in Cyberspace." In this section they welcomes papers examining the relationship between church, mission and the new media, especially the Internet. How do the new media affect the ways in which the church operates? What impact do secularization, globalization and multireligiosity have on the church in cyberspace? Does the Internet offer new alternatives to traditional approaches to mission? Can church and congregational communities be built in cyberspace? If you are interested in more information contact, Peter Fischer-Nielsen at pfn@teo.au.dk

A Science and Religion Primer Online

2009-04-28T14:17:00.000-07:00

It is a bit of shameless self-promotion but I wanted to announce the website for my most recent book went live today. A Science and Religion Primer is an introductory guide to dialogues in science and religion and functions as a hybrid between a dictionary, encyclopedia and annotate bib. While this is only tangently relevant to the study of religion and new media it does have some interesting entries on topics such as technology and posthumanism (written by yours truly). If you are interested in the current debates on science and religion or are trying to get your head around such topics as the Duhem Quien Thesis or Mind-Body problems in science check it out!

Monasticism Online

2009-04-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

I just learned of a new form of digital monasticism. Prayerbuddy.org describes itself as "ubiquitously digital spiritual community in which daily contact and familiarity are the rule" It seeks to create the sociological resemblance of monastic community in a networked form. Prayerbuddy helps member become part of a small online community (of about 8 members) that seek to they follow a simple rule of life in which they engage in classical practices (including daily prayer, lectio divina, spiritual journaling & spiritual direction) supported by technology. This digital monastic life also encourages new forms of interconnection such as "Perpetual, Wireless, Semantically Rich Presence To One Another" and "Semi Monthly Spiritual Conference Centered Around A Meal". So those who have always desired to fulfill their monastic inner calling of live as a contemplative, but can't live without your wireless no worries, prayerbuddy can help you marry the two!

4 days till Internet Evangelism day

2009-04-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

This coming Sunday some evangelical churches will highlight the potential of the Internet , by holding an 'Internet Evangelism Day'. The organizers see that the Web is a God-given tool for outreach, and provides help for Christians to use it effectively. They encourage
churches to build a presentation into their services or other activities on or near that day. Their website also serves as a year-round online resource guide with many ideas for web outreach and strategy . Internet Evangelism Day also offers an online self-assessment questionnaire, enabling churches to enhance their websites to reach out into the community. "Your church website is a 'shop window' for your community," says IE Day coordinator Tony Whittaker. The questionnaire creates a free evaluation report to highlight areas of a site that can be developed.

The Networked Congregation Report

2009-04-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Alban Institute has just released an interesting report entitled, Networked Congregations: Embracing the Spirit of Experimentation which seeks to analyze the challenges and possibilities being confronted by religious congregations in the digital age. The report is linked to an event I participated in a year ago at the Alban institute, but it is more than just a synopsis of the events topics. Rather Andrea Useem has woven together a number of interesting interview and in-depth personal narratives from people like Jeff Kivett and David Ambrose at Lifechurch.tv, pastor-blogger Rick Lord, Lisa Colton of Darim Online, Greg Atkinson of Church 2.0 and others. If you are interested in exploring the question" What does the digital age mean for religious congregations?" I encourage you to check this out!

Chag Sameach & the Facebook Haggadah

2009-04-08T22:23:00.001-07:00

Passover Blessings to you. It's the time of year when Jews ready their passover tables and pull out their haggadahs. The haggadah is the story of the Jewish exodus read by families during passover as a mark of communal rememberance and there are are multiple online versions of the haggadah such as the do-it-yourself open source haggadah. But this year a new and very playful one was brought to my attention called the the Facebook Haggadah which has to be one of the most creative versions I have seen recently. According to my friend Barry Wellman you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy this, but he says it helps.

A Study of Christian participation in online communities.

2009-04-08T08:36:00.000-07:00

I recently got an email from a student at the The University of Illinois at Chicago who is trying to survey Christians' opinion and participation in online communities. I volunteered to help him out by posting his call for survey respondents here. So...if the shoe fits, I encourage you to take time to respond to the call below...
------------------------------------------

Hello everyone.
I am heading up a research project at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The project measures Christian opinions and participation in online communities.We need your help.

We need respondents to the following survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s/112059/ec-involvement-in-online-communities-1

The survey is hosted on a professional online survey service. The survey is anonymous, so your privacy is protected.Participating in the survey is completely voluntary. The benefits of completing the survey are data for present and future research, as well as personal satisfaction. You may also request a copy of the research report once the survey has been completed. Your participation would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.--

Kyong James Cho
Department of Communication
University of Illinois at Chicago

CFP: Chapters on the Internet and Apocalyptic Belief

2009-04-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

I saw this CFP and thought that this might be of interest to some readers...

Network Apocalypse: Visions of the End in an Age of Internet Media

This edited collection of work by international scholars would document how Internet communication is creating, adapting, and recreating beliefs about an imminent mass transformation resulting in the end of human history. How are ancient prophetic beliefs faring in our everyday lives as they have become technologized by network communication? How do religious communities sharing these beliefs use the Internet? Are everyday religious believers empowered or disempowered by Internet technologies? Are gender, ethic, and racial divisions being broken down or reinforced? How are text-based prophetic traditions adapting to the more dynamic and fluid understanding of the Word in our digital age?

The answers to these questions are important for scholars from a wide range of disciplines working on questions about how the Internet is changing some of our most powerful and recurring religious beliefs.Each chapter of this book will focus on a specific sample of discourse that features apocalyptic beliefs. Comparative and theoretical chapters are also welcomed. Methods may be quantitative, qualitative, or a combination of both.

Chapter topics might include by are not limited to:Christian, Islamic, Jewish, or other traditional apocalyptic expression online;specific apocalyptic groups using the Internet;online prophecy and/or prayer practices;apocalyptic games, gamers, or gaming;apocalyptic expression in virtual worlds;apocalyptic communication via mobile communication technologies;new apocalyptic religious movements using the Internet;apocalyptic ideas or discourses that rely on theories of technology including concepts of “Gaia-mind,” “singularity,” and etc.

Please submit the following documents via email to Rob Howard (rgh@rghoward.com) by May 1, 2009:
1) a preliminary title for the proposed chapter
2) a 100-250 word abstract of the proposed chapter
3) a current CV

The successful abstracts will form part of a book proposal submitted in response to a request from Sheffield Phoenix Press for a series titled “The Apocalypse in Popular Culture.” Full texts will be requested at a later date. Sheffield Phoenix Press is an academic press specializing in topics of religion that is seeking to expand its catalog on apocalyptic belief in contemporary society.

Robert Glenn Howard http://rghoward.com/
University of Wisconsin -- Madison
Associate Professor, Department of Communication Arts
Associate Chair, Folklore Program

Getting Centered Online

2009-04-03T14:11:00.001-07:00

We are now coming to the end of week 5 of Lent and I have found it a week where centering prayer has helped keep me sane during a hectic time. Center or Contemplative prayer is a form of christian meditation. While many sites provide detailed explanations of the practice I have only found one so far that offers a guided virtual experience. At Contemplative Prayer for Everyone run by the Trappist of St Benedict's monastery offer audio teachings, a short online course on lectio divina and a contemplative prayer chapel, which takes you through a 2o minute guided reflection intended to help you center down and still one's self in prayer. So if you are looking for a Monastic guide online to assist you in your prayer time check out this site.

It is finished...

2009-03-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

After five long years of researching, reading and writing about Judaism, Islam and Christian engagment with new media the draft of "When Religion Meets New Media" is finished. It is now in the hands of the series editors of Routledge's media, religion and culture series for review and evaluation. I probably won't hear anything definitive for a few months so for the moment I am rejoicing that it is off my desk at long last and am hoping the editors will be as excited about it as I am. I will keep you posted as the book hopefully moves forward.

HOW VIRTUAL IS REALITY?

2009-03-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

The folks from University of Bremen, the University of Oldenburg and the Jacobs-University (Bremen) have put together an interesting summer school on "How Virtual is reality?" The school is aimed at Master students and PhD candidates interested in doing work and religion and the internet. The course will broach the issue of the relevance of new environments like "Second Life" or "World of Warcraft" for culture and social life with special focus on rituals and religions.

They state that Summer School participants will be able to design and perform research projects on religion in and within Virtual Worlds. I think this sounds like a great program for future religion and internet researchers and only wish something like this had been around when I was a PhD student.

Sacred Spaces online for Lent

2009-03-26T18:41:00.001-07:00

For over a decade Sacred Space has offered opportunities to "spend ten minutes, praying here and now, as you sit at your computer, with the help of on-screen guidance and scripture chosen specially every day". During the Lenten season the site run by the Irish Jesuits offers a number of features from participating in an online way of the cross, be led through reflective daily prayers, sign up for an guided lenten sacred space retreat, or even send a Lenten Ecard. Unlike some of daily prayers offered on web sites it combines bible reading with prayer and appears on the screen in small chunks at a time so that you have to hit a forward arrow to progress through it. The slow transisitions give a meditative rythmn to the prayer which is quieting. The site also offers other options and links including an opportunity to pray with the pope.

A Kosher google

2009-03-20T21:23:00.000-07:00

It was only a matter of time... Koogle is new religious big portal in Israel that contains an index of business is kosher comprehensive and facilities to the orthodox jews. It features news to religious information on religious products especially for rabbis and the general religious public. Also is you are looking for a kosher torah search engine check out 4Torah.com recently launched as well.

CFP: Islam and the Media

2009-03-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post this interesting Call for Papers for an upcoming conference on the Islam and the Media to be held January 7-10, 2010. It will be hosted by The Center for Media, Religion and Culture in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Here's the info...

The events of September 11, 2001 have unleashed an unprecedented period of global re-thinking of issues in media and religion. Islam has emerged as a major focus of inquiry and debate, but the interaction between contemporary Islam and the media has rarely been addressed.

This conference will thus engage a set of questions on the place of Islam within global, regional, national and local media.If we believe the torrent of popular headlines on Islam today, it seems that only Muslim extremists are talking about their religion, pursuing a project that claims to defend it from “secularized” Western culture. From Bin Laden’s call to jihad to the angry reaction of Muslims to the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, Muslims are portrayed in the media as irrational followers of a religion adamantly out of step with modernity. In the face of this, and perhaps in order to balance their coverage of Islam, Western journalists, pundits, and others have been asking “where are the moderate Muslims?” But few true moderates have emerged. Instead, some Western media have turned to another extreme: Muslim secularists or “Muslim non-believers”--voices which deserve media attention, but which arguably stand at the opposite fringe, rather than nearer the center of how Islam is lived and understood today.Muslims, both in the Muslim world and in the diaspora, have found themselves compelled to speak for the ‘real’ Islam and explain its relevance in modernity both to themselves and to non-Muslims. This process is at the same time generating divergent discourses that arguably are already coming to challenge the religious authority of clerical Islam. Today, Muslim men and women, young and old, secularists and Islamists, Westerners and Easterners, gay and straight, rappers and comedians, journalists and scholars, bloggers and televangelists, are changing the conventional pathways of religious discourse and disintegrating the old centers of knowledge production within Islam. In fact, Muslims around the world are taking advantage of new media platforms like the Internet and other forms of conventional media like satellite television, music and film to articulate an arguably ‘pure’ or ‘modern’ Islam. These media have become prime discursive spaces in which Islamic knowledge is contested, reinterpreted, and popularly re-mediated.

Given the unprecedented amplification of this inner struggle within Islam, it is imperative to ask questions such as: who speaks for Islam today using what original platforms? Does the pluralization of Muslim voices lead necessarily to innovations in the core of Islamic teachings or is it merely a shift in method to reaffirm a message of orthodoxy? Are these new voices accessible to large numbers of Muslims? And how are contemporary media deployed to facilitate this shift in Islamic knowledge production? Thus, a range of questions dealing with the mediation of Islam and other religions are also coming to the fore.

This international conference will bring together scholars on Islam and contemporary media, media professionals, activists and NGOs to reflect on the implications of these developments.

Papers and panels may address, but should not be limited to, the following topics:

• The representation of Islam in global media
• Images of Islam in Western entertainment media
• Muslim voices in Western media
• Media and the “clash of civilizations”
• Contemporary Islamic media and the transformation of religious knowledge
• The impact of new Muslim media on patterns of religious learning and practice
• The proliferation of Islamic websites and Islamic discourse on the Internet
• The weakening of traditional Islamic institutions
• Articulations of Islam in popular culture
• The intersections of Islam and consumer culture
• The impact of mediated transnational Islam on the Ummah and nation
• The role of Muslim diasporas in the new Islam
• The role of women in shaping the teachings of new Islam
• Muslim minorities’ use of media globally, regionally, and locally
• The impact of new media on social and cultural patterns in Muslim societies
• Representations of contemporary Islam in Muslim and Western media
• New Muslim media, public sphere and democracy
• Islam, globalization, and religious identity
• Contemporary Islamic thought and new mediations of Islamic heritage
•Methodologies: how to study Islam in the media age
•Methodologies: social-scientific, humanistic, and “theological” analyses
• Media and the making of Islamic religious “celebrity”

Confirmed Keynote Speakers

Charles Hirschkind: University of California, Berkeley- author of The Ethical Soundscape: Cassette Sermons and Islamic Counterpublics.

Zarqa Nawaz: filmmaker and writer of the critically-acclaimed TV series A Little Mosque in the Prairie.

Deadline: Please send a 300-word abstract by May 15, 2009 to Nabil Echchaibi at nabil.echchaibi@colorado.eduA detailed conference Website will be available shortly.

For further information and comments please contact Nabil Echchaibi at nabil.echchaibi@colorado.edu or Stewart Hoover at hoover@colorado.edu