"Providing detailed case studies, this book explores the vibrant digital expressions of diverse groups of Muslim cybernauts: religious clerics and Sufi mystics, feminists and fashionistas, artists and activists, Hajj pilgrims and celebrities. Together, these stories span a vast cultural and geograph
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ic landscape, including Indonesia, Iran, the Middle East, and the United States. These case studies are contextualized within the backdrop of broader social trends, including racism and Islamophobia, gender dynamics, celebrity culture, identity politics, and the shifting dynamics of contemporary religious piety and practice. Authors examine a wide-range of digital multimedia technologies as primary ''texts." These include websites, podcasts, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube channels, online magazines and discussion forums, and religious apps." (Publisher description)
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"[This publication] is a senior project in Religious Studies that explores the conditions, both historical and clinical, which led to the popularity of the guided meditation app Headspace, and the cultural attitudes that surround mindfulness meditation in America." (Publisher description)
"With 13 religions, 8061 religious centers, 2 million of young people, Catalonia accommodates a wide range of religions. Almost 90% of people own digital devices. In this framework, we aim to study the consumption of digital media by Catalan millennials from all over the region, with only young peop
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le from the city of Barcelona being excluded for the purpose of analysis in future projects. Religious apps, games, websites, online communities and participation in forums are some of the main issues we want to explore. We also aim to establish whether or not these devices contribute to consolidate online religious communities and to achieve inter-religious dialogue. For fulfilling this goal, we surveyed more than 1800 young people aged 12–18 years. Methodology also included in-depth interviews with coordinators from youth organizations and netnography. This research is based on previous investigations into communication, digital media, sociology and religion by authors such as Campbell, Elzo, Leurs and Hemming." (Abstract)
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"This article provides a new methodological approach to studying religious-oriented mobile applications available on the iTunes app store. Through an extensive review of 451 religious apps a number of problems were noted when relying solely on iTunes categories to identify app functions and purpose.
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Thus further analysis was done in order to present a new typology and framing of religious apps, which more accurately describe their design. We suggest that the 11 new categories offered here suggest a critical framework for studying religious apps. Thus this study provides a starting point for scholars interested in analyzing religious mobile applications to investigate how app developers integrate religious goals into their designs, and consider the primary ways people are expected to practice religion through mobile apps." (Abstract)
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"In this thesis, I introduce and focus on the term “mobile mindfulness,” arguing that David McMahan’s elements of Buddhist modernism are intensified when practicing religion on the smartphone. These “mobile mindfulness” characteristics include the creation of transient experimental places
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of “play,” religious gamification, and increased individualization. After presenting examples of how Buddhist websites, virtual realities and smartphone apps intensify specific aspects of Buddhist modernism, I define what I mean by the term “mobile mindfulness,” through the analysis of two specific meditation apps, buddhify and ReWire. In these case studies, I show how digital religion on the smartphone is changing how users practice – and view – meditation in modernity." (Abstract)
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"Religious forwarded messages take the form of points for reflection and reminders of religious feasts. In other cases, the messages ask recipients to pray and re-send the same messages in exchange for Divine favor. This study explores the youth's first response to these messages. It aims to learn u
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seful insights that may enhance pastoral ministry for young people, so immersed in cell phone use. The findings show that religious SMS help remind young people of God. But they do not attribute the messages to Divine Providence alone. Response to religious SMS results from an interplay of factors, including the sender himself." (Abstract)
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"This article introduces issues associated with Islamic apps for mobile devices, and surveys some of the products that have emerged into the market. It considers the potential impact of mobile phone interfaces in relation to interpretations of Islam and the use of Islamic resources, given that mobil
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e devices have widened potential audiences for online materials in various forms, especially in areas where other forms of digital access may be more problematic. The article also explores some of the religious and ethical concerns associated with mobile phone use." (Abstract)
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