"In this volume, contributors consider the ways that Jewish communities and users of new media negotiate their uses of digital technologies in light of issues related to religious identity, community and authority. Digital Judaism presents a broad analysis of how and why various Jewish groups negoti
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ate with digital culture in particular ways, situating such observations within a wider discourse of how Jewish groups throughout history have utilized communication technologies to maintain their Jewish identities across time and space. Chapters in this volume address issues related to the negotiation of authority between online users and offline religious leaders and institutions not only within ultra-Orthodox communities but also within the broader Jewish religious culture, taking into account how Jewish engagement with media in Israel and the Diaspora raises a number of important issues related to Jewish community and identity." (Publisher description)
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"The Yezidis' re-appropriation of their religion in recent years reveals their beliefs more clearly than ever: especially through media. The community uses Facebook as a tool to show its identity in a way that was unimaginable throughout its prior history. Today, cyberspace provides them an environm
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ent in which they can build their previously-ignored identity. The online material religion and the Virtual Temple have made a bold attempt at creating a cyber-facility with the aim of guiding people to virtual places and online individuals to a ritual encounter. However, it is unclear whether these projects demonstrate a transformation of religious practices, as has been suggested (Brasher 2004, O'Leary 2005). It is also unclear whether this is simply a case of "old wine in new bottles." In other words, there is an attempt to recreate online, as much as possible, the experience of being in the "real world Temple" found in a genuine geographical space." (Discussion and conclusion)
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"This thesis is a theoretically framed and historically informed sociological analysis of how digital technology usage shapes religious identity in Pakistan. The development literature is dominated by assumptions of technologically driven progress towards secularisation and studies of technology pro
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jects, yet there are few empirical studies of everyday ICT day use, and religion remains significant in Pakistan. To explain this, I draw on theoretical literature, the Pakistan religious identity literature and twelve months of fieldwork (2014-2015) to present an analysis of how Facebook shapes the enactment of religious identity by young people in three cities in the Punjab, Pakistan [...] My empirical findings show that the new technologies of social media, mobile phones and mobile internet interact with public discourse and everyday practice to shape religious identity. First, I show this by describing how Facebook’s construction as a blasphemous technology strengthens existing discourses of religious nationalism. Second, I show how Facebook’s technological discourses of singular authenticity shape the enactment of religious identity with implications for religious minorities. My final analysis theorises how the use of Facebook shapes religious identity through the emergence of what I call ‘digital secularisation’." (Abstract)
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"New Media and Religious Transformations in Africa casts a critical look at Africa's rapidly evolving religious media scene. Following political liberalization, media deregulation, and the proliferation of new media technologies, many African religious leaders and activists have appropriated such me
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dia to strengthen and expand their communities and gain public recognition. Media have also been used to marginalize and restrict the activities of other groups, which has sometimes led to tension, conflict, and even violence. Showing how media are rarely neutral vehicles of expression, the contributors to this multidisciplinary volume analyze the mutual imbrications of media and religion during times of rapid technological and social change in various places throughout Africa." (Publisher description)
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"With this report we explore how different religious minorities in Iran use the internet to engage with their communities in Iran and around the world. To build a representative picture, we drew on diverse sources, piecing together historical accounts, content analysis, legal frameworks, and the voi
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ces of people within the communities themselves. This approach helped us to understand the communities from several perspectives - of religious minorities inside Iran, of community leaders, and of diaspora content producers." (Page 6)
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"Digital Religion offers a critical and systematic survey of the study of religion and new media. It covers religious engagement with a wide range of new media forms and highlights examples of new media engagement in all five of the major world religions. From cell phones and video games to blogs an
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d Second Life, the book provides a detailed review of major topics; includes a series of case studies to illustrate and elucidate the thematic explorations; considers the theoretical, ethical and theological issues raised." (Publisher description)
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"Zoroastrians are an ancient ethnic-religious community that goes back to the prophet Zarathustra. Today they number some 120,000 people, based in India/Pakistan and Iran; diaspora communities are settled in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia. On the Indian sub-continent, where Zoroastrian
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s are known as ‘Parsis’, communities are ageing quickly, due in particular to a low fertility rate and massive outmigration. Projections show there will be virtually no more Zoroastrians in Pakistan in a few decades, and figures in India may drop to 20,000 individuals by 2050. For such a scattered community, the Internet represents a unique platform to discuss community matters and bring together far-flung groups. Zoroastrians use the Web and other digital media to organize themselves and remain connected to their homeland. This e-diaspora not only highlights some traditional characteristics of Zoroastrian communities, it intertwines with the apparition of a new leadership. It also accelerates the emergence of a universal conception of what it is to be Zoroastrian, transforming the Zoroastrian socio-cultural and religious identity and reshaping past and present divisions." (Abstract)
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"The rapid expansion of the Internet, marked by a storm of blogs and social networking platforms, is perceived as an enabling instrument for Muslims to be engaged globally. In this regard, the blogosphere can be a vehicle for worldwide interactions and the formation of global Muslim community, the u
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mmah. While this idea is enchanting, this article shows that such an idea needs judicious scrutiny. Using three prominent cases from Indonesia, this article tries to explore the ways in which Muslim bloggers in Indonesia use this new flexible form to be engaged in conversations that are related to Islam and to answer the following questions: How do the features of the blogosphere influence discussions on Islam related issues? Does the promise of a “global village” change the dynamics of Muslim communities in Indonesia? Does the blogosphere perpetuate a sense of ummah consciousness or does it reinforce nationalism? Does the blogosphere offer promising possibilities for new types of Muslim communities to emerge in the form of globalized community?" (Abstract)
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"The internet has profoundly shaped how Muslims perceive Islam, and how Islamic societies and networks are evolving and shifting within the twenty-first century. While these electronic interfaces appear new and innovative in terms of how the media is applied, much of their content has a basis in cla
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ssical Islamic concepts, with an historical resonance that can be traced back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad. "I-Muslims" explores how these transformations and influences play out in diverse cyber Islamic environments, and how they are responding to shifts in technology and society. This book discusses how, in some contexts, the application of the internet has had an overarching transformational effect on how Muslims practice Islam, how forms of Islam are represented to the wider world, and how Muslim societies perceive themselves and their peers. On one level, this may be in terms of practical performance of Islamic duties and rituals, or on the interpretation and understanding of the Qur'an. On another level, cyber Islamic environments have exposed Muslims to radical and new influences outside of traditional spheres of knowledge and authority, causing long-standing paradigmatic shifts at a grassroots level within societies. "I-Muslims" looks at how these changes are taking place, including through social networking sites and the blogosphere. This book also explores how the internet has dramatically influenced jihad-oriented campaigns by networks such as al-Qaeda, and has made a significant difference to how forms of Islamic activism and radicalization have been engendered. This book concludes by determining the way forward for the articulation of diverse understandings of Islam online, and how Muslim networks will be further shaped through their relationships with the internet." (Publisher description)
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