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Making Space for Religion in Internet Studies

Heidi CampbellDepartment of Communication, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

This article seeks to address how religion fits into the largerdomain of Internet studies and why studies of religion withincomputer-mediated communication (CMC) need to be given moreattention. An argument is made for the need to take religion onlinemore seriously, not just because it is an interesting phenomenon ora popular use of the Internet, but also because religion continuesto be an important part of contemporary life for many people. Asummary of the growth and development of religion online is pre-sented along with an overview of how religion has been approachedand studied on the Internet. This review shows what CMC studiesof religion might offer in approaching research questions related toauthority, identity construction, and community online. It calls forrecognition of the contribution, and possibilities that underrepre-sented areas within interdisciplinary research, like religion, mightoffer Internet studies as a whole.

Keywords CMC, Internet studies, religion online

“Internet studies” has emerged as an umbrella termto encompass a diverse gathering of academics and re-searchers flocking to investigate the effect of the Interneton a variety of spheres of everyday life. It is an inter-disciplinary consortium where media scholars, computerscientists, and sociologists find themselves side by sidewith linguists, political scientists, and even philosophers.Though they come to the Internet with different agendasand methodologies, they often ask similar questions abouthow the Internet is changing relationships, communicationpractices, and traditional ideas. What unites this diversegroup is their shared interest in investigating the way the

Received 16 February 2004; accepted 27 October 2004.The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge the input of Charles

Ess, Christopher Helland, and the reviewers who provided valuablefeedback on this article.

Address correspondence to Heidi Campbell, PhD, Assistant Pro-fessor in Communication, Department of Communication, TexasA&M University, TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-4234. E-mail:hcampbe1@yahoo.co.uk

global network of computers touches almost every aspectof society . . . from how we pay our bills and communicatewith our friends, to how governments operate and evenwars are fought.

The Internet has become recognized as a phenomenon,tool, and space shaping many areas of culture. For re-searchers it has also become an exciting laboratory forexamining in new ways traditional questions about humaninteractions, behaviors, and social structures. Studies intocultural, political, and economic dimensions of the Internethave become common. Yet other areas where the Internethas played a significant transformative role still receiveonly limited attention. One of these areas is religion. Eventhough thousands of religious web sites exist and increas-ingly religious groups use the Internet in unique ways thatalter traditional religious practices and cultural discourses,religion online has been an underdeveloped area of inquiry.The effect of computer networking within organizationshas received attention in studies since the late 1970s, fromdisciplines such as psychology, communications, human–computer interaction (HCI), and emergent areas of studysuch as computer-mediated communication (CMC). Yetsubstantive work on the influence of computers and the In-ternet on religious institutions did not surface until the late1990s (Schroeder et al., 1998; Hadden & Cowan, 2000),even though computer use in religious practice has beendocumented since the 1980s (see Lochhead, 1997; Ciolek,2004).

The underrepresentation of religion in studies of onlinecommunication seems to reflect the neglect of studies ofreligion in the academe in general. This is because religionis often not taken to be an important force in society, whichis seen as becoming increasingly secularized. Yet religion,as a social and cultural phenomenon, is not diminishingin contemporary society as some had prophesied. Rather,with the rise of religious fundamentalism at the end of the20th century in many parts of the world, it is becoming anincreasingly important influence in many sectors of globalpublic life. Internet studies presents an opportunity for ex-amining the effects and influence of phenomena, such asreligion, in ways that address deep issues effecting society

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but have often been overlooked within contemporary mul-tidisciplinary discourses.

This article seeks to highlight religion as one of theunderstudied areas of Internet research. It also calls forgreater attention to what CMC studies of religion mayhave to offer this larger arena of Internet studies. First, theargument is made for the need to take religion online se-riously, not just because it is an interesting phenomenonor popular use of the Internet, but because religion contin-ues to be an important part of contemporary life for manypeople. This is followed by a summary of the growth anddevelopment of religion online, showing the proliferationand influence of religious activity on life online. Next, anoverview is given of how religion has been approached andstudied online, considering specifically what CMC studiesof religion might offer in approaching research questionsrelated to authority, identity construction, and communityonline. Finally, an argument is made for the need for CMCresearch on online religion from an interdisciplinary per-spective and for greater recognition of the contributionand possibilities this research offers Internet studies as awhole.

ROLE OF RELIGION IN A DIGITAL AGE

Although religion plays an important part in many people’slives and increasing recognition is being given to popularuse of the Internet for religious purposes, it has often beenoverlooked in studies of technology. Religion is often seenas an insignificant cultural category, having no bearing ontechnological use or development. However, a historicalanalysis of technology and many inventions points to avery different story, such as the printing press’s link to theProtestant Reformation and Islam’s influence on the devel-opment of astronomy and cartography. In many historicalcases, religion has not only fueled technological innova-tion, but also shaped proliferation and use. This disregardis often linked to the “secularization of society” thesis, ac-cording to which religion has lost its central role in societyand therefore its importance. Religion is described as be-ing in decline and therefore increasingly irrelevant in thepublic sphere, especially in Western societies.

Yet in the postmodern era, instead of religion fading fur-ther into the background, there has been a revival in popularand personal spirituality. This is combined with recogni-tion that religion is embedded in society, even when it isseemingly invisible (McGuire, 1992). While religion oc-cupies a different place in general society than it has inprevious eras, there is a growing recognition that it playsan important, unspoken role in the lives of many communi-ties. While public membership in religious organizationsis declining just as it is in other social and civic groups, re-ligious beliefs are not. Indeed, Davie (1994) in her work onreligious membership and institutions in “secular” Britain

found people “believe without belonging.” In other words,while people actively choose not to affiliate with religiousinstitutions, they still hold to certain religious beliefs andpractices. If society is still influenced by its religious her-itage and history, one may assume this influence may spillover into Internet culture as well. Similarly, Nobel (1997)in his critical reflection on “the religion of technology”argued that technological enterprise has historically beena religious endeavor infused with spiritual beliefs.

Those who advocate studying the Internet as a socialtechnology recognize that online social networks are notsimply “virtual” but are also embedded in the “real” or of-fline world (Wellman & Haythornwaite, 2002). Many ac-cept that online and offline relationships cannot be neatlyseparated from each other. Therefore it is likely that the riseof religion online is linked to offline religious structuresand practices and undoubtedly will influence them. Re-cent CMC literature (such as Katz & Rice, 2002; Larsen,2000) shows a strong connection between online and of-fline worlds, including in the arena of religion. Religiononline mirrors the trend of people merging their onlineactivities with their offline lives as noted in Pew’s FaithOnline study (Hoover et al., 2004).

GROWTH OF RELIGION ONLINE

For over two decades the Internet has been used as a spacewhere spiritual rituals are conducted and traditional reli-gious beliefs discussed. Religious use of the Internet canbe traced back to the early 1980s. Rheingold documentssome of the first religious-oriented activity taking place atthis time on bulletin board systems (BBSs) under a “createyour own religion” in the discussion area of Communi-Tree. This, he states, soon evolved into numerous BBS fo-rums on religion by those “connected with real-life congre-gations” and others that seemed to “come in sixteen shadesof unorthodox” (1993b, pp. 134–135). During this sameperiod, online religious discussion surfaced on Usenet. Itwas a time when religious computer enthusiasts beganto explore “ways to use this new means of communica-tion to express their religious interests” (Lochhead, 1997,p. 46). The “net.religion” discussion list was the “first net-worked forum for discussions on the religious, ethical, andmoral implications of human actions” (Ciolek, 2004). Itsteadily grew until the mid-1980s when it split into the hi-erarchies of “alt.philosophy,” “alt.religion,” “soc.culture,”“soc.religion,” and “talk.religion” during a reconfigura-tion of Usenet. Throughout the 1980s many other reli-gious computer enthusiasts formed online groups, dedi-cated to their specific religion, such as the first Christiane-mail newsletter “United Methodist Information” and the“net.religion.jewish” Usenet group.

A landmark event for religious use of the Internet oc-curred in 1986 when an online memorial service was

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MAKING SPACE FOR RELIGION IN INTERNET STUDIES 311

conducted for the ill-fated Challenger space shuttle crew.Organized on a network discussion board called Unison, itinvolved a liturgy of Christian prayers, scripture, and med-itation, followed by a “coffee hour” during which individ-uals posted their reactions to the tragedy. This online ser-vice, Lochhead claimed, “demonstrated the power of thecomputer medium to unite a community in a time of crisisbeyond the limits of geography or denomination” (1997, p.52). While religion has always been about communication,the Internet was recognized as potentially offering uniqueand vibrant innovation for traditional religious expression.

Into the 1990s many religious groups and mail-ing lists emerged online, such as Ecunet, an ecu-menical Christian e-mail listserv 〈www.ecunet.org〉 (seeFarrington, 1993), H-Judaic 〈www.h-net.org/∼judaic/〉,and BuddhaNet 〈www.buddhanet.net〉. Another notablefirst was the establishment of a virtual Christian congre-gation in 1992 by American Presbyterians, a nondenom-inational online church called “The First Church of Cy-berspace” 〈www.godweb.org〉. By the time of the publica-tion of Time magazine’s special issue on religion online in1996, dozens of religious web sites and resources could befound online: from the first monastic web site, “Monasteryof Christ in the Desert” 〈www.christdesert.org〉 andthe first Islamic e-periodical, “Renaissance: A MonthlyIslamic Journal” 〈www.renaissance.com.pk〉, to the firstZoroastrian cybertemple 〈www.zarathushtra.com〉, and es-tablishment of the “Virtual Memorial Garden” tributeto people and pets 〈catless.ncl.ac.uk/vmg/〉. The article”Finding God on the Web” in Time magazine proved sig-nificant, demonstrating the mass media’s recognition ofthe Internet being used and cultivated as a spiritual space.As it stated:

For many signing on to the Internet is a transformativeact. In their eyes the web is more than just a global tapestryof personal computers. It is a vast cathedral of the mind, aplace where ideas about God and religion can resonate, wherefaith can be shaped and defined by a collective spirit. (Chama,1996, p. 57)

Many expressions of religion online have contin-ued to emerge, including cyberchurches, cybertemples,online rituals (such as e-prayer and virtual pilgrim-ages), and online religious communities. The Internet hasprovided religious practitioners with new ways to ex-plore religious beliefs and experiences through a grow-ing number of web sites, chat rooms, and e-mail dis-cussion groups dedicated to a variety of faith-relatedissues. Some online religious seekers chose to culti-vate traditional religions in a new context. Connectionhub web sites such as Crosswalk 〈www.crosswalk.com/〉and Gospelcom 〈www.gospelcom.net/〉 provide Christianswith access to online Bible study tools and various inter-active devotional or fellowship groups. Virtual Jerusalem

〈www.virtualjerusalem.com/〉 enables Jews to explore cul-tural and religious information on Judaism or even “e-maila Prayer” to be placed in the cracks of the Western Wall inJerusalem. Others experiment with new forms of religion,altering and adapting ancient beliefs to this digital environ-ment. Ancient religions, such as Wicca (Nightmare, 2001),and new religions unique to the Internet, such as techno-paganism (Davis, 1998)—neo-paganism adapted and cel-ebrated in a technological context—have found homes on-line. Experiments in religious Internetworking can also befound, such as Beliefnet 〈www.Beliefnet.org/〉, a “multi-faith e-community” that offers thoughts for the day fromthe Dalai Lama, inspirational screensavers, and access tosacred text from different faith traditions.

STUDYING RELIGION AND THE INTERNET

In the mid to late 1990s, religion online began to catch theattention of researchers from various traditions (Zaleski,1997; Dawson & Hennebry, 1999; Campbell, 2003). CMCresearchers investigating religion online described the In-ternet as a new realm for experiencing the spiritual di-mensions of life (O’Leary, 1996; Cobb, 1998). Pioneeringstudies like O’Leary and Brasher’s “The Unknown God ofthe Internet” (1996) provided an overview of how religionwas being manifested and influenced in online environ-ments through the public advocacy of faith and public actsof ritual communication. Research on the Internet as a spir-itual space has taken many different directions—studieson the general phenomenon of cyber-religion (Brasher,2001), comments on religious ethics and virtual reality(Houston, 1998), research on how technology reconnectspeople with spiritual beliefs (Cobb, 1998; Wertheim,1999), explorations of the adaptations of traditional re-ligious practices online (Bunt, 2000; Zaleski, 1997), andidentification of new religious expressions (Davis, 1998).Critiques of online religion range from strong critiques(Brooke, 1997), to enthusiastic advocacy (Dixon, 1997),to reflective and balanced critiques (Schultze, 2002).

At the beginning of the 21st century, CMC researchon religion is beginning to be considered as a seriousfield of inquiry. Studies focusing on issues such as re-ligious identity, community, and ritual use of the Internetare raising the profile of this area. Some early explorationsspecifically focused on categorizing or defining the phe-nomenon of religion and the Internet. Bauwens (1996)identified three common “spiritual attitudes” toward com-puter networks by describing technology as “The GodProject,” “Electric Gaia,” or “Sacramental Cyberspace.”Helland (2000) presented a popular distinction that hasbeen employed by many researchers in this area: religion-online (importing traditional forms of religion online) andonline-religion (adapting religion to create new forms ofnetworked spiritual interactions). Other research sought

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to describe how online religious practice interfaces withreligious culture. Substantive analytical research beganwith Schroeder, Heather, and Lee (1998), who produced akey journal article analyzing online religious experiences.Their work on prayer in a multi-user virtual-reality en-vironment described the link between online and offlinereligious practice, stating, “A prayer meeting in the vir-tual world . . . certainly reproduces some of the essentialfeatures of the latter (a conventional church)—albeit in anovel way” (1998).

Hadden and Cowan’s Religion on the Internet-ResearchProspects and Promise (2000) offered the first noteworthyacademic text surveying and addressing different theoreti-cal approaches to studying religion online including workon new religious movements, traditional religious organi-zations, and cults. Also the Barna Research Group and thePew Internet and American Life Project produced signif-icant reports on trends related to online religious users.Barna’s Cyberchurch Report (2001) asserted that 8% ofadults and 12% of teenagers in 2001 used the Internet forreligious or spiritual experiences with common activities,including listening to archived religious teachings, read-ing online “devotionals,” and buying religious products.Similarly, a Pew survey (Larsen, 2000) indicated that 21%of Internet users have already looked for religious or spir-itual information online. Pew’s “Cyberfaith” report alsoobserved the most popular activities of “religion surfers”online were solitary ones that supplemented offline reli-gious involvement (Larsen, 2001).

Yet increasingly studies of religion online are askingquestions that concern not just the phenomenon of re-ligion online, but how practices and interactions onlinewithin a specific community context may point to largercultural shifts that describe or define our information-based society. CMC studies of religion are tackling issuessuch as authority online, the process of identity construc-tion, and community networking. The Hartford Institutefor Religion Research looked at how the Internet createsnew power structures and roles in a study of U.S. con-gregational web sites. They found that increased relianceon the Internet is changing congregational power struc-tures, empowering previously marginalized “techies” withnew leadership roles such as being “church webmaster”(Thurman, 2000). Webmasters or online moderators havebegun to function as new agents of authority. Exploring theimplications of such roles and authority structures is im-portant not only for religious institutions; it is also an areaof concern for social and political organizations. Forth-coming studies of these actors in religious online commu-nities could provide interesting and needed insights.

Identity construction online continues to generate muchinterest and scrutiny from scholars. However, work still re-mains to be done on how this can best be investigated andanalyzed. Linderman and Lovheim’s work (2003) on reli-

gious identity online in youth discussion lists in Swedenhas sought to provide such theoretical grounding for futureresearch on identity online. Using aspects of social inter-actionism combined with social semiology, they employa model Linderman developed in the mid-1990s to studythe construction of meaning in relation to media reception.Lovheim takes this model and further develops it for usein analyzing the process of identity formation online. Ap-plication of this framework brought about the conclusionthat “the degree of social trust experienced in computer-based social networks seems to be significant for the con-struction of identity and meaning in CMC.” Lovheim alsoemploy’s Nancy Ammerman’s idea of “autobiographicalnarratives” (2004) to further uncover the stories that in-dividuals weave and are used to describe their particularlives. These approaches offer new tools to explore howpeople create a personal identity online.

Community online also remains a popular topic. CMCstudies of religious community not only help highlightcharacteristics or indicators of online community, but alsocan provide data that describe the intersection and inter-action of online and offline networks (Campbell, 2004b,2005). Studies of specific religious communities fromChristian (Young, 2004) to pagan (Fernback, 2002; Griffin,2004) are providing alternative approaches for the inves-tigation of the symbolic importance people attribute totechnology. Factors such as users and designers’ beliefsand values motivating particular choices concerning tech-nologies are often overlooked in other studies on the socialuse of technologies. In a study of the use of the Internet formissionary activities, I consider how religious motivationuniquely shapes the technology employed by a religiousinstitution. Evaluating how a group may negotiate Internetuse in terms of specific values (social or religious) offersan interesting approach for considering user–designer re-lationships and how values can be projected through thedesign and application process (Campbell, 2004a). Thisprocess may prove profitable for other studies seeking touncover what factors influence a community’s or group’stechnological choices and their hidden or unintentionalagendas.

Other recent and ongoing studies of the Internet andreligion address how tradition and meaning are negotiatedonline, considering in what ways online engagement alterstraditional social practices. Notable is the work of theSymbolism, Meaning and the New Media @ Home projectat the University of Colorado’s Center for Mass Media,which explores the intersection between household Inter-net use, social networks, and religious practice (see www.colorado.edu / journalism / mcm / mrc / symbolism / index.htm). Pew’s recent study Faith Online (Hoover et al.,2004) observed that along with increased Internet usefor religious purposes (64% of the American Internetuser population) might come the reshaping of ideas of

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MAKING SPACE FOR RELIGION IN INTERNET STUDIES 313

what it means to be religious or spiritual in society. TheInternet plays a role in the shaping of religious identityand construction of meaning online in ways that mayinfluence offline religiosity. Discussions of ethics inonline religious contexts seek to address larger issuesof social trust, authenticity, and moral obligation (Wolf,2003). There are also signs that religiously focusedresearch may contribute to Internet studies in areas suchas understanding ritual practice and how this shapesuser configuration of technology, as demonstrated by thework being done on religion and ritual transfer onlineat Heidelberg University’s Ritual Dynamics ResearchCenter (see www.ritualdynamik.uni-hd.de).

Several recent books continue to raise the profile ofCMC studies of religion by offering innovative method-ologies and critical reflection on how studying religiononline offers insights into changes in culture as a whole.Religion Online (Dawson & Cowan, 2004) provides a com-prehensive collection of detailed studies of traditional andnew religious movements on the Internet that offer theoret-ical work and case studies on community, identity forma-tion, e-mail discourses, and technology negotiation online.Netting Citizens (Mckay, 2004) examines the effect of theInternet on public citizenship and social life, reflecting onhow e-democracy and ICT use is challenging traditionalreligious culture today. Critical Thinking and the Biblein the Age of New Media (Ess, 2004) presents scholar-ship on how the written word is being transformed by thedigital technologies and how the traditional approachesto the study of religious texts, like the Bible, must be re-vamped. Explorations such as these have the potential tofurther discussions occurring in Internet studies and inother disciplines on how to study online structures, dis-course, citizenship, and texts. These books, while ofteninvestigating particular religious communities and prac-tices, provide valuable analysis and insight into the largerdomain of Internet studies.

A SPACE FOR RELIGION IN INTERNET STUDIES

Studies of religion online are important to the larger fieldof Internet studies as they offer a unique perspective on theInternet by asking standard questions in interesting ways.They also provide valuable insight into an area of culturethat is often misunderstood. Because religion remains afactor, influencing public as well as private life, it is im-portant to include it in analyses focusing on social andcultural forces shaping Internet consumption and design.At the beginning of the 21st century there is recognition inmany sectors—the mass media, education and politics—that understanding religion is vital for the global commu-nity. This is especially so with the rise of religious fun-damentalism worldwide within traditional religions, suchas Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Religious fundamen-talism, at one level, is a reaction to globalization and the

perceived silencing of traditional voices. Technology usecan thus become a form of empowerment. Understand-ing how religious communities conceive of and engagewith ICTs becomes important for negotiating global me-dia discourses, especially between Eastern and Westernsociety. Barzilai and Barzilai-Nahon (2005) in their studyof religious fundamentalism and the Internet argue thatthe Internet is a “cultured technology” or “a set of vari-ous cultured technologies with a variety of cultural con-texts.” As a cultured technology, the Internet shapes andis shaped by the culture in which it is being utilized. Thisnotion recognizes that the Internet is a technology thatframes these cultural spaces through complex social andvalue-construction processes. Understanding the religiousculture of users becomes important for those who seek todescribe and explain the habit and values of users. It sug-gests that an awareness of religious beliefs and practices isan important component for understanding many Internetcultures. Considering how religion is being translated andlived out therefore is vital to CMC studies that seek to offera full representation of life in the global online network.

This article has called for greater recognition of the con-tribution CMC studies of religion can make to the largerfield of Internet studies. While these studies often focuson particular groups and specific practices, they also askoverarching questions that have touched on the larger con-cerns of other social and political studies of the Internet.They approach the Internet with similar concerns, “albeitin novel ways” (Schroeder et al., 1998), in comparison toother traditions and taxonomies. As a new and still formingarea, Internet studies needs to learn from the lessons andexperience of researchers from many different traditionswho are investigating life online and its influence on theoffline context. As Rheingold stated:

Each different discipline fails to see something that an-other discipline sees very well. We need to think as a teamhere, across boundaries of academic discipline, industrial af-filiation and nation to understand, and thus perhaps regaincontrol of, the way human communities are being trans-formed by communication technologies. We can’t do thissolely as dispassionate observers, although there is certainlya huge need for detached assessment of the social science.But community is a matter of the heart and the gut as well asthe head. Some of the most important learning will alwayshave to be done by jumping into one corner or another ofcyberspace, living there, and getting up to your elbows in theproblems that virtual communities face. (1993a, p. 80)

Internet studies present a unique opportunity to exploreand give voice to areas of study that have been overlookedby other academic discourses. A complete picture of lifeonline must include a consideration of how issues of re-ligion, faith, and religious culture influence both specificonline communities and the global network of humanityfound online. CMC researchers of religion have unique

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approaches to offer with regard to questions about socialcapital, power relations, and negotiation of meaning on-line, which will prove valuable to those from other disci-plines gathering under the umbrella of Internet studies.

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