In some communities, the religious blogs have outstripped the traditional religious print press. And on any number of issues, religious blogs and religiously-minded secular blogs outstrip the mainstream media by bringing nuances of theology and history to subjects covered by most “God beat” reporters as either innocuous spirituality or dangerous fanaticism. Belief more often incorporates elements of both – which is perhaps the one conclusion most easily drawn from a survey of religion blogs.
So what do religion blogs mean to traditional media, religious and secular? Are they bringing belief more visibly into the public sphere? Do they threaten traditional religious hierarchies? Are they contributing to the growth of new varieties of religious experience such as Paganism, or “alt.Christianity” for hipsters? Resuscitating forgotten orthodoxies, such as catacomb Catholicism? Do they tend toward the politicization of religious belief? How do belief blogs relate to the real world -- as lay ministry, as rebellion, as outsider critique? Are they a force for change within religious institutions? Journalistic institutions?
We’ll start with some of these questions and see where they take us, emphasizing subjects relevant to both religion bloggers and bloggers who sometimes write about religion. We’re not looking to define the role of religion on the web, but rather to explore its growth and try to imagine some of the implications, in this world and in the blogosphere.
Discussion leader: Jeffrey Sharlet. [bloggerCon News]
