In recent years there has been a groundswell of interest on how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can best be harnessed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Catholic liturgy. Accordingly, the book discusses the future of worship at a time of digital explosion in the Christian Churches, as expended through the lenses of the Second Vatican Council's interdisciplinary document titled Inter Mirifica 13. While the nexus between ICT and Liturgy may seem obvious, the deep connections and the many possibilities for the 21st century e-worship are yet to be significantly explored. When not handled well, they will lead to cataclysmic destruction of liturgical heritage and patrimony. Nonetheless, exploring ICT for e-worship, the book advocates for adherence to guidelines in liturgical celebrations. Hence, the book discloses the meaning, theology, types, prospects, uses, and abuses in ICT for digital worship. This book will make a vital contribution not only to scholarship in liturgical studies in Africa but also as a catalyst towards a simplified consolidation, to the practice of Christian worship in the world today.

In recent years there has been a groundswell of interest on how Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can best be harnessed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Catholic liturgy. Accordingly, the book discusses the future of worship at a time of digital explosion in the Christian Churches, as expended through the lenses of the Second Vatican Council's interdisciplinary document titled Inter Mirifica 13. While the nexus between ICT and Liturgy may seem obvious, the deep connections and the many possibilities for the 21st century e-worship are yet to be significantly explored. When not handled well, they will lead to cataclysmic destruction of liturgical heritage and patrimony. Nonetheless, exploring ICT for e-worship, the book advocates for adherence to guidelines in liturgical celebrations. Hence, the book discloses the meaning, theology, types, prospects, uses, and abuses in ICT for digital worship. This book will make a vital contribution not only to scholarship in liturgical studies in Africa but also as a catalyst towards a simplified consolidation, to the practice of Christian worship in the world today.

A child begs her father to take her to the baseball game, where she roots for the home team and eats peanuts and Cracker Jack.

Online churches are internet-based Christian communities, pursuing worship, discussion, friendship, support, proselytization, and other key religious goals through computer-mediated communication. Hundreds of thousands of people are now involved with online congregations, generating new kinds of ritual, leadership, and community and new networks of global influence. Creating Church Online constructs a rich ethnographic account of the diverse cultures of online churches, from virtual worlds to video streams. This book also outlines the history of online churchgoing, from its origins in the 1980s to the present day, and traces the major themes of academic and Christian debate around this topic. Applying some of the leading current theories in the study of religion, media and culture to this data, Tim Hutchings proposes a new model of religious design in contexts of mediatization, and draws attention to digital networks, transformative third spaces and terrains of existential vulnerability. Creating Church Online advances our understanding of the significance and impact of digital media in the religious and social lives of its users, in search of new theoretical frameworks for digital religion.