There is increasing awareness of the development of newer "smart" and more interactive media, at precipitate speed, in many parts of the world. The concept of change-as opposed to continuity-is central to the increasing interest in digital media. However, this focus has not yet been matched by substantive theoretical discussions, or by extensive empirical examinations of computer-mediated communication and intercultural communication. Against such a backdrop, this volume offers theoretical insights, fresh evidence and rich applications as it assesses the nature of digital culture(s) in order to address assumptions about the present state of mediated global society(ies) and their future trajectory. Chapters explore what happens in praxis when digital media are implemented across cultures and are contested and negotiated within complex local and political conditions. The book showcases interpretative and critical research from voices with diverse backgrounds, from locations around the world. As such, this volume presents a rich and colorful tapestry that provides opportunities for comparative analyses and deepened international understandings of digital media connections, particularly in the areas of identity, community and politics.

This anthology - the first of its kind in eight years - collects some of the best and most current research and reflection on the complex interactions between religion and computer-mediated communication (CMC). The contributions cohere around the central question: how will core religious understandings of identity, community and authority shape and be (re)shaped by the communicative possibilities of Web 2.0? The authors gathered here address these questions in three distinct ways: through contemporary empirical research on how diverse traditions across the globe seek to take up the technologies and affordances of contemporary CMC; through investigations that place these contemporary developments in larger historical and theological contexts; and through careful reflection on the theoretical dimensions of research on religion and CMC. In their introductory and concluding essays, the editors uncover and articulate the larger intersections and patterns suggested by individual chapters, including trajectories for future research.

There is increasing awareness of the development of newer "smart" and more interactive media, at precipitate speed, in many parts of the world. The concept of change-as opposed to continuity-is central to the increasing interest in digital media. However, this focus has not yet been matched by substantive theoretical discussions, or by extensive empirical examinations of computer-mediated communication and intercultural communication. Against such a backdrop, this volume offers theoretical insights, fresh evidence and rich applications as it assesses the nature of digital culture(s) in order to address assumptions about the present state of mediated global society(ies) and their future trajectory. Chapters explore what happens in praxis when digital media are implemented across cultures and are contested and negotiated within complex local and political conditions. The book showcases interpretative and critical research from voices with diverse backgrounds, from locations around the world. As such, this volume presents a rich and colorful tapestry that provides opportunities for comparative analyses and deepened international understandings of digital media connections, particularly in the areas of identity, community and politics.

This anthology - the first of its kind in eight years - collects some of the best and most current research and reflection on the complex interactions between religion and computer-mediated communication (CMC). The contributions cohere around the central question: how will core religious understandings of identity, community and authority shape and be (re)shaped by the communicative possibilities of Web 2.0? The authors gathered here address these questions in three distinct ways: through contemporary empirical research on how diverse traditions across the globe seek to take up the technologies and affordances of contemporary CMC; through investigations that place these contemporary developments in larger historical and theological contexts; and through careful reflection on the theoretical dimensions of research on religion and CMC. In their introductory and concluding essays, the editors uncover and articulate the larger intersections and patterns suggested by individual chapters, including trajectories for future research.