Religion Online

An eye-opening and timely volume about finding faith on the Internet. The four parts deal with being religious in cyberspace, mainstream religions in cyberspace, new religions in cyberspace and religious quests and contests in cyberspace. Things are moving so fast that it is difficult to keep up with developments in this field, but social scientists are on the case, as is evident from these essays. Currently, 3 million Americans a day go online in search of religious or spiritual material. They mainly look for information about their own faith, but also that of others. They might also e-mail a prayer request, download religious music or seek spiritual guidance. There is an amazing range of material out there, and both traditional and new religions or spiritualities. It is also possible to make a virtual pilgrimage or join the Goddess net. Among the central issues covered are youth, religion and Internet, the recruitment of people to new religious movements and the relationship between propaganda and the countercult. Highly informative of those who would like to know more about this new medium.