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Rethinking Cyberreligion? Cover
By: Mia Lövheim  
Open Access
|Feb 2017

Abstract

Since the coming of the Internet scholars have been discussing its implications for the future of religion. With its high levels of Internet use and low levels of religious practice Sweden represents an interesting case for studying these issues. This article presents findings from the first online survey of Swedish teenager’s use of the Internet for religious purposes, conducted at one of the largest social networking sites LunarStorm. The results show that more young people seem to come into contact with religion via the Internet than through local religious communities. However, the findings also challenge several early expectations about the Internet as a new arena for religion in contemporary society. Thus the article initiates a critical discussion of what conclusions may be drawn from these results, and where future research on young people, religion and the Internet should be directed.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/nor-2017-0186 | Journal eISSN: 2001-5119 | Journal ISSN: 1403-1108
Language: English
Page range: 205 - 217
Published on: Feb 14, 2017
Published by: University of Gothenburg Nordicom
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

© 2017 Mia Lövheim, published by University of Gothenburg Nordicom
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.