Give Me That Online Religion

by Brenda E. Brasher

"No one can deny the stunning impact of Internet technology upon culture - driving the growth of commerce and spurring communications to a frantic speed. Inevitably, consumers demanding faster, cheaper, more have begun to seek encounters with the otherworldly, thus launching religion into cyberspace. Tracking this movement in her compelling book, Give Me That Online Religion, Brenda Brasher explores the meaning of electronic faith and the future of traditional religion.". "As the Internet overcomes barriers of time and space, religion enjoys an ever-increasing accessibility on a global scale. Operating online allows long-established religious communities to reach the unaffiliated as never before. More startling is the ease by which anyone with Internet access can create new circles of faith. Bringing religion online also has the effect of closing the gap between pop culture and the sacred. Electronic shrines and kitschy personal Web "altars" express adoration for living celebrities, ju