The Religion and Culture Forum is an internet resource that provides short insights into certain elements of religion that affect modern life, usually through the lens of cultural anthropology. One article entitled Religion and Digital Media, gives insight into an interesting paper about the use of religion on the “blogosphere”, a term used to refer to all online bloggers but in this case more specifically to religion-related commentary (Crews, 2015). The original study investigated the 100 most important and influential blogs that fall into this category and highlight that these blogs have many different purposes and central interests (The Immanent Frame, 2010). One of the most interesting parts of this study is that it divides these blogs into the type of information that they present: some focus on political opinions, others focus on culture and ideas related to religion, and others are more academic or news-related (The Immanent Frame, 2010).
The article suggests that the most influential blogs in this category are those that focus on religions common to the English-speaking world: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. There are also small representations from atheist and Buddhist blogs. Crews (2015) suggests that this can be used to stimulate debate about what religious academics and scholars should share on the net, and how much this plays into community-building. It also raises the point that many people are interested into how religious blogs allow readers to develop their own religious ideas or to discuss culture, news, or politics with like-minded people. This approach is interesting as it highlights that religion can be used as a grouping tool for online communities as much as any other element of social communication. It also allows us to consider what the relevance of sharing religious information and discourse online is: what is the point of religious blogging and who is it reaching?
- Crews, Emily D. “Religion and Digital Media | Religion & Culture Forum.” religion&culture forum. N.p., 1 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
- “The New Landscape of the Religion Blogosphere « The Immanent Frame.” The Immanent Frame. N.p., 2010 Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
