Increasingly, the religious practices people engage in and the ways they talk about what is meaningful or sacred take place in the context of media culture—in the realm of the so-called secular. Focusing on this intersection of the sacred and the secular, this volume gathers together the work of media experts, religious historians, sociologists of religion, and authorities on American studies and art history. Topics range from Islam on the Internet to the quasi-religious practices of Elvis fans, from the uses of popular culture by the Salvation Army in its early years to the uses of interactive media technologies at the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Beit Hashoah Museum of Tolerance. The issues that the essays address include the public/private divide, the distinctions between the sacred and profane, and how to distinguish between the practices that may be termed "religious" and those that may not.

Media, Religion and Gender presents a selection of eminent current scholarship that explores the role gender plays when religion, media use and values in contemporary society interact. The book: surveys the development of research on media, religion and culture through the lens of key theoretical and methodological issues and debates within gender studies. includes case studies drawn from a variety of countries and contexts to illustrate the range of issues, theoretical perspectives and empirical material involved in current work outlines new areas and reflects on challenges for the future. Students of media, religion and gender at advanced level will find this a valuable resource, as will scholars and researchers working in this important and growing field.

New media, including digital and social media, play a central role in producing and reproducing socio-cultural and religious practices. Its presence has not only resulted in changes to the ways in which religious beliefs are practiced, but has also altered the way religious meanings are expressed. How has new media technology informed and influenced religious engagement and participation? In what ways has new media technology enabled religious groups to practice and preach their religious beliefs to a broader audience? To what extent has the emergence of social media and social networking sites shaped religious discourses and religious practices? This volume offers a unique, Africa-centred perspective in response to these questions. While presenting new scholarly developments in the fields of media, religion and culture in Africa, this book also provides empirical and theoretical insights into the intersection between new media and religion.

Media Anthropology is an interdisciplinary reader that represents a convergence of issues and interests on anthropological approaches to the study of media. While other books on this topic examine traditional anthropology and push that field toward the media, in this book, editors Eric W. Rothenbuhler and Mihai Coman take a novel approach by analyzing media studies and guiding that field toward anthropological thinking. This anthology charts media anthropology as a field of study and provides examples of current research that identify its major concepts and methods in chapters written by leading scholars from several countries and academic disciplines. Key Features: Offers original articles, and a few selected reprints, from leading worldwide scholars in a variety of academic disciplines to provide the most integrated treatment of this interdisciplinary topic Contains introductions that set the context for articles written from varying points of view Includes a "Theory into Practice" section that shows how anthropological concepts and methods can improve the teaching and practice of media studies Makes the relevant literature accessible in an up-to-date and even-handed organization, offering students a broader understanding than they could obtain from other books, which are primarily anthropological in disciplinary orientation Media Anthropology is an excellent textbook for undergraduate and graduate students studying media anthropology in communication and media studies, journalism, anthropology, sociology, and cultural studies programs.

This collection explores the contested meanings and diverse practices of social research in the context of contemporary theoretical debates in cultural and social theory, addressing fundamental questions facing those working in the social and human sciences today.

"Digital Religion refers to the contemporary practice and understanding of religion in both online and offline contexts, and how these contexts intersect with each other. Scholars in this growing field recognize that religion has been influenced by its engagement with computer-mediated digital spaces, including not only the Internet, but other emerging technologies, such as mobile phones, digital wearables, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. The Oxford Handbook of Digital Religion provides a comprehensive overview of religion as seen and performed through various platforms and cultural spaces created by digital technology. The text covers religious interaction with a wide range of digital media forms (including social media, websites, gaming environments, virtual and augmented realities, and artificial intelligence) and highlights examples of technological engagement and negotiation within the major world religions (i.e., Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism). Additional sections cover the global manifestations of religious community, identity, ethics, and authority, with a final group of chapters addressing emerging technologies and the future of the field. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of the project, the Handbook is led by co-editors representing the humanistic and social scientific fields of religious studies and communication, though both also have experience in how those disciplines intersect"--

Most works on media developments and Christianity approach the subject from the perspective of the implications of new media technologies for traditional Christian practices or how churches can use new media to further their goals. The common framework of analysis is a 'given reality' of traditional institutional Christianity and how it interacts with, affects and is affected by media. Media are treated as a separate cultural reality. This book presents, in an accessible form, the new directions that approach the interaction of media and religion from a cultural perspective, and illustrates these new directions by a number of international and intercultural case studies and explorations. Looking at how global media are constructing cultural forms, structures and processes, the authors show how these have become the life out of which individual and social meaning is created and practised. Examining how individuals create religious meaning by interacting with media of various kinds, crossing boundaries of traditional religious cultures and contemporary media cultures, this book reveals how Christian institutions are also defined in the process of living culturally within their broader media context.

This authoritative volume offers the fullest account to date of Christian fundamentalism, its origins in the nineteenth century, and its development up to the present day. It looks at the movement in global terms and through a number of key subjects and debates in which it is actively engaged.

This major new reader introduces students to the new and growing field of religion and everyday culture.

Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations, Third Edition is the ideal textbook for those coming to the study of religion for the first time, as well as for those who wish to keep up-to-date with the latest perspectives in the field. This third edition contains new and upgraded pedagogic features, including chapter summaries, key terms and definitions, and questions for reflection and discussion. The first part of the book considers the history and modern practices of the main religious traditions of the world, while the second analyzes trends from secularization to the rise of new spiritualities. Comprehensive and fully international in coverage, it is accessibly written by practicing and specialist teachers.