The Internet as a New Place for Sects (original) (raw)
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The Religious Fundamentalism and the Role of the Internet.pdf
2014
The religion existed since the emergence of the humankind. On the other hand, the interest for the religious fundamentalism started growing in the last decades. The internet, as one of the most massive media, is also relatively new. However, the relationship and the interaction between innovative information technology (especially the Internet) and religion (especially religious fundamentalism) nowadays is often perceived as contradictory and paradoxical. Particular interest to religious fundamentalist movements is recorded at the end of 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. Most of the terrorist actions in this period are made by members and followers of religious fundamentalist movements and groups. Their presence, actions and beliefs substantially changed international relations, as well as internal constitutions in some countries (Arab Spring). The main feature of almost all religious fundamentalist movements and groups is their relationship to modernity. Therefore, it would be important to understand their relationship and their use of modern media, primarily the internet. The great monotheistic religions are all missionary religions and their goal is to gain as many supporters. What is seemingly illogical is that all religious fundamentalists advocate for literal interpretation of sacred texts and books, they are all against modernity, but all of them take advantage of the benefits of modernity. They use almost all media to spread their message and win more followers, and certainly in the first place as a medium use the internet to spread their propaganda. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine closely the religious fundamentalism and its interaction with the internet as one of the main benefits of modernity. Keywords: religious fundamentalism, internet, psychological operations, religion, interaction
Religion on the Internet: Research prospects and promises
2000
Computers have changed; times have changed; [we] have changed. But [one] could also write: Times have changed; [we] have changed; computers have changed. In fact, there are six possible sequences. We construct our technologies, and our technologies construct us and our times. Our times make us, we make our machines, our machines make our times. We become the objects we look upon but they become what we make of them (Turkic, 1995, p. 46).
Religious Conflicts in Cyberage
The rise of the Internet has a profound impact on the way conflicts are carried out and the faithful practice their religions. This article explores new dimensions of religious conflicts by theoretically reflecting on new developments in cyberage and by substantiating this with an empirical case study—the Moluccan conflict (Eastern Indonesia). Due to the exponential growth of Internet access worldwide, religions and their followers are increasingly expanding into the online world as a new “marketplace” for religious symbols and identities that fosters religious transnationalism. At the same time conflict actors worldwide have been making increasing use of the Internet to expand their networks, plan actions and fight their enemies. While scholars have so far primarily focused on more globalized online terrorism, this paper analyses a conflict that has mainly been fought out between Christians and Muslims in a remote part of this world, but then expanded into cyberspace. Local conflict actors have used the Internet as a global stage for their cause, to connect to and seek support from their transnational religious communities, but also to manipulate the outside world’s perception of the Moluccan conflict. Researching the online projects and identity politics of these actors and their offline contexts, it becomes clear that the Internet has helped to essentialize (religious) identities and to influence the conflict at the local level through the networking and mobilization of people worldwide.
Cultured Technology: The Internet and Religious Fundamentalism
In this article we identify four principal dimensions of religious fundamentalism as they interact with the Internet: hierarchy, patriarchy, discipline, and seclusion. We also develop the concept of cultured technology, and analyze the ways communities reshape a technology and make it a part of their culture, while at the same time changing their customary ways of life and unwritten laws to adapt to it. Later, we give examples for our theoretical framework through an empirical examination of ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Israel. Our empirical study is based on a data set of 686,192 users and 60,346 virtual communities. The results show the complexity of interactions between religious fundamentalism and the Internet, and invite further discussions of cultured technology as a means to understand how the Internet has been culturally constructed, modified, and adapted to the needs of fundamentalist communities and how they in turn have been affected by it.
Communication Research Trends, 2006
This chapter contains sections titled: Mapping Three Waves of Research“First-Wave” Research on Religion and the Internet“Second-Wave” Studies of Religion Online“Third-Wave” ResearchFuture of Research on Religion OnlineReferencesMapping Three Waves of Research“First-Wave” Research on Religion and the Internet“Second-Wave” Studies of Religion Online“Third-Wave” ResearchFuture of Research on Religion OnlineReferences
Religion and the Internet: A microcosm for studying Internet trends and implications
This article argues that paying close attention to key findings within the study of religion and the Internet, a subfield of Internet Studies, can enhance our understanding and discussion of the larger social and cultural shifts at work within networked society. Through a critical overview of research on religion online, five central research areas emerge related to social practices, online-offline connections, community, identity, and authority online. It is also argued that observations about these themes not only point to specific trends within religious practice online, but also mirror concerns and findings within other areas of Internet Studies. Thus, studying religion on the Internet provides an important microcosm for investigating Internet Studies' contribution in a wide range of contexts in our contemporary social world.
Since the 1980s, there has been a steady rise in the performance and practice of religion within online environments. Starting with the formation of religious subgroups on Usenet and email-based religious communities, a diversity of forms of religious engagement began to emerge and catch the attention of the media and academic world. Some examples include the creation of virtual temples or churches and sites of online spiritual pilgrimage (for a detailed review see Campbell, 2006). By the mid-1990s, scholars began to take serious notice and explore the development of these unique social-spiritual practices related to the Internet, and to speculate on the potential impact of importing offline religious beliefs and practices online. In the past decade, we have seen even more innovative and novel examples of religion spring up online from " godcasting " (religious podcasting) to religious versions of popular mainstream websites, such as Godtube.com to online worship spaces in Second Life for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. This chapter provides a critical review of the study of religion online, emphasizing how research on religion and the Internet has become an interdisciplinary area of study. It synthesizes previous research on religion and the Internet, and highlights one particular area at the focus of my own work: online religious communities. By focusing on how the study of religious community online has developed since the 1990s, this chapter demonstrates a progressive refinement of research themes, methods, and questions related to religion online. Furthermore, the chapter suggests how future studies of religion online may need to develop. The development of this research area can be seen in terms of maturing research questions and methods that can be framed in terms of three phases or " waves " of research. This provides a framework for understanding how religious community has been studied online in the past decade, advancing along with the further discoveries and developments in the field of Internet research. In each wave of research, the common themes and implications of these findings related to the study of religious community online are highlighted. Finally, this chapter addresses areas that have been neglected in research, and suggests