Authenticity in Online Religion: An Actor-Network Approach

摘要

In this article, the subject of online religion and how it can be researched is discussed. The dynamics of religious experience, authority, communication and more is subject of much discussion both in academia and religious discourses primarily because of the seemingly immaterial realm that is cyberspace. This article examines unique aspects of the nature of online religion and pays particular attention to the fluidity of online/offline relations and the subject of "authenticity" in the realm of online religion. Following from that is the discussion of how actor-network theory (ANT), first developed by Bruno Latour, can be deployed as a useful methodological approach to researching online religion, and to navigate potentially deterministic and oppositional discourses of online/offline relations.