Religion and the Internet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Religions are represented in the Internet in many ways. There are sites, which attempt to cover all religions, such as Religious Tolerance, in addition to sites that are specific to a religious tradition. Many sites are discussion groups, others theological debates and some attempt to provide advice concerning religious doctrine. There are also sites that aim to provide a religious experience facilitating prayer, meditation or virtual pilgrimages.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Christianity

There have been a number of attempts to create online Christian communities. These usually supplement, but occasionally attempt to replace, more normal Christian communities. It is common for even moderate sized Christian churches with only a few hundred members to have web sites to advertise themselves and communicate with their congregations. For example, Scott Thumma, a faculty associate at the Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that in the U.S., between 1998 and 2002 the increase of churches with web sites was from 11% to 45%. Most concentrate on teaching and discussion.[3] Some experiment with virtual meetings in cyberspace, and attempt to incorporate teaching, prayer, worship and even music into the experience.[4][5] The i-church is the first Internet community to be fully recognised as an Anglican church.[6][7] Its look and feel are similar to a discussion room. Church of Fools is an experimental online site in which worshippers move around a virtual church building using avatars.

After being reassigned to the sinecure diocese of Partenia (a major Algerian city, that was consumed by the Sahara in the 5th century) by Pope John Paul II in 1995 as punishment for his liberal views, Roman Catholic Bishop Jacques Gaillot set up a website for the “diocese without borders.”[8]

[edit] Hinduism

There are various web sites that aim to cover all of the Hindu religious traditions, including for example the Hindu Universe, which is maintained by the Hindu Studies Council. The site includes Hindu scripture and commentaries of the Rig Veda, Upanishads, the Bhagvad Gita and the laws of Manu.[9]

In addition, there are a large number of web sites devoted to specific aspects of the Hindu tradition. For example, the major epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, have web sites devoted to their study. There is a site devoted to the Kumbh Mela pilgrimage, giving Internet users the opportunity to join the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who gather in Allahabad to bathe in the Ganges. Sites like Saranam.com allow worshippers to order a puja at the Hindu temple of their choosing and many pages have image of deities, which are thought to convey Darshan in the same manner as temple figures. The followers of Sri Vaishnava and Dvaita Vedanta have web sites, and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, also known as the Hare Krishnas, have their own site, which includes a Hare Krishna Network.[10][11]

[edit] Islam

Islamic sites fulfill a number of distinct roles, such as providing advice concerning religious doctrine, download daily prayers and for taking the shahadah over the Internet. For example, the Islam Page is a comprehensive Islamic web site, which links to a complete version of the Quran.[12] Sites such as the Islam-Online site, according to Gary Bunt of the University of Wales, provide information about Islamic doctrine in addition to advice concerning individual problems including marriage, worship and Internet use.[13] In order to answer online questions, an Imam or a team of religious scholars frequently provide a fatwa. These are stored in databases, which allow online users to search for their specific query. Gary Bunt has commented this has the advantage of facilitating resolution to issues that are considered dangerous or embarrassing to raise within the domestic framework.[14]

[edit] Judaism

Several websites and blogs cover Judaism and Jewish life on the web. Some websites argue a certain religious or political viewpoint, while some take a purely cultural or secular focus. Conservative, Modern Orthodox, post-denominational, Reform, secular, and Haredi Jews are involved in writing J-blogs. Some J-bloggers, although religious in practice, use their blogs to discuss theological views which are skeptical or nonconformist. J-blogs fall into radical, liberal and conservative camps with respect to all Jewish communities across the world. Several blogs, such as CampusJ and Jewschool, cover Jewish life on campus.[15][16][17]

[edit] New Religious Movements

Many new religious movements frequently have web sites including, for example, the Church of Scientology, which allows users to take an online personality test. However to review the full results of this test, you have to make an appointment to meet someone. There has also been a series of legal battles, sometimes referred to as Scientology versus the Internet, concerning the publishing of concepts such as Xenu.[18]

According to Stephen O'Leary of the University of Southern California the Falun Gong's Internet awareness was an important factor in its ability to organize unauthorized demonstrations in the PRC. The group's leader, Li Hongzhi was able to use the Internet to coordinate the movement, although he currently lives in New York.[19]

There are various religious movements that have used the Internet extensively and this has been studied by academics, in the field of sociology of religion. Examples cited by Adam Possamai, of the University of Western Sydney, include the Church of All Worlds, the Church of Satan, and the Jedi religion (Jediism, see also Jedi census phenomenon).[20][21][22]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Religion and the Internet. MIT Communications Forum (2002, April 18). Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  2. ^ Web Sites Provide Foundation for Understanding Religion. University of Virginia (1999, Aug 24). Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
  3. ^ Larsen, Elena (2001, December 23). Internet resources are aids for the deeply devout. Pew Internet. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  4. ^ Wilson, Giles (2004, May 12). In cyberspace, can anyone hear you pray?. BBC News Online Magazine. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  5. ^ Larmondin, Leanne (2000, February 01). Attending a virtual church becoming easier. Anglican Journal. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  6. ^ Church plans parish in cyberspace. BBC News (2004, March 05). Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  7. ^ First web-pastor appointed. BBC News (2004, May 11). Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  8. ^ Spar, Debora (2004, September 24). Why the Internet Doesn't Change Everything. Harvard Business School. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  9. ^ The Hindu Universe. Humbul Humanities Hub, University of Oxford (2000, October 03). Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
  10. ^ Hinduism Online. Asia Source (2001, January 03). Retrieved on August 7, 2006.
  11. ^ Hinduism Internet Resources. Saint Joseph's University. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
  12. ^ Jaeger, John (2002, June). World religions on the Web. American Library Association. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
  13. ^ Bunt, Gary (2006, May 09). Virtually Islamic. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  14. ^ Whitaker, Brian (2003, August 11). Islam at the electronic frontier. The Guardian. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  15. ^ J Weekly Magazine of Northern California, "Local Jewish blog attempts to unite community", Amanda Ogus (Summer 2006)
  16. ^ Contact Magazine, "The Internet: Pathways and Possibilities", Various Authors (Spring 2006) - Adobe PDF Format
  17. ^ JTA article, "From Internet pals to real friends, blogs remaking Jewish community", Sue Fishkoff (May 8, 2006)
  18. ^ Ryan, Nicholas (2000, March 23). The Gospel of the Web. The Guardian. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  19. ^ O'Leary, Stephen (2000, June 15). Falun Gong and the Internet. University of Southern California. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  20. ^ Adam Possamai (2005). Religion and Popular Culture, A Hyper-Real Testament. Peter Lang. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  21. ^ Whibley, Amanda (2005, November 18). God.com: Preaching the Word in a consumer-driven world. University of Western Sydney. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.
  22. ^ Morris, Linda (2005, May 19). They're all God Movies. NPR. Retrieved on August 5, 2006.

[edit] External links

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