Online Religion and Religion Online
by Chloe Y
Religion online (i.e. similar to
Anastasia Karaflogka’s Religion on Cyberspace) allows access to resources
people previously would not have had access to, such as ancient manuscripts and
important scriptural sources, as well as non-canonical texts (in the
Judeo-Christian faith). This is a great opportunity for religious people to
extend their religious understanding, experience and belief beyond what they are
taught at church or at home, by tradition and institution.
However, As Heidi Campbell
suggests, a religious community’s lived experience and scriptural views on
media inform their presence in the online world. As an Example, Campbell points
to ultra-orthodox Jewish views on not recreating the Torah unless in
traditional formats, such as handwritten scrolls. This is a contrast to
Christian Protestantism’s enthusiastic adoption of the printing press as a god
given innovation, and the use of printed material to advertise and proliferate
their religious beliefs. This may point to the fact that Christianity is by far
the most “surfed” religion, according to the graph below.
By accessing these additional
sources of religious inspiration, people are able to interpret them in their
own way, whether this is a positive or negative experience. In essence, religion
online is allowing people to assess religion in a more rounded and expanded way,
and draw their own conclusions from this.
Could religion online also be
seen as a marketing tool for traditional forms of religion? Much like people
like to go online and read reviews of restaurants, products or hotels before
they go there or purchase them themselves – could the same be said for a church
or religious tradition? By going online and seeing a plethora of information
available on whichever religion they may be interested in, people could see
this as an indication of transparency and honesty and make that religious
tradition or church more appealing to them. Similarly through the use of social
media, people could be more inclined to attend churches or religious practices
their friends like, or that have a presence on social media. This is something
Hutchings alludes to in his article, suggesting that much of the success of
online evangelical movements is owed to their convergent use of secular and
religious media. Evangelical sites appeal on their homepages to personal
struggle and common issues of a secular nature, drawing visitors in, and only
later advertise their religious ambitions and affiliations.
On the negative side, does online
religion (and to some extent religion online) detract from the authority,
reliability and reputation of ‘real’ religious institutions. The looseness of
intellectual property, the openness of cyberspace and the potential for anyone
to put anything on the internet could all potentially discredit the “truth” of
religion found on the internet. The e-conversion evangelical movement, however,
relies heavily on the personal testimony of ordinary members of its
organisation in attracting new members. As Hutchings suggests, spiritual
autobiographies of individuals legitimise their conversion and assert their
devotion to Christ, in turn affirming the organisations evangelical
credentials.
Online religion ad religion
online are increasingly a part of the social fibres of the digital 21st
century world. The use of both offline and online media will remain a key
source for attracting new members to religious groups in the future, and the
substance and legitimacy of online religion and religion online should continue
to be analysed and questioned.
Picture Sources:http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2001/CyberFaith-How-Americans-Pursue-Religion-Online/~/media/B544703B87EC4CE4B5AA41BA9C78E8F9.jpg?w=406&h=332&as=1
Sources:
Campbell H. 2010. When Religion Meets New Media. London & New York: Routledge. Ebook. Ch. 1: Religious Communities and the Internet.
Hutchings T. 2012. I Am Second: Evangelicals and Digital Storytelling. Australian Journal of Communication, 39(1): 71-86. Via RL and Informit http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/documentSummary;dn=775177112022985;res=IELHSS
No comments:
Post a Comment