Religion from Web 0.0 to 2.0 and Beyond

Editor's Overview: In this section, Andrea addresses the history of the Internet, emphasizing that its capacity to promote social networking has existed from the earliest days.

She also offers several tentative definitions of "Web 2.0," citing in particular scholar Heidi Campbell's suggestion that this new iteration makes the Web "a more dynamic and active forum where social networking takes place."

This section delves into the question of what Web 2.0 means for congregations and the ways that congregations inform their members, communicate, worship, and lead one another. Andrea looks at how people have used the Internet to search for religious information, engage in online evangelism, participate in online ritual and worship, and form religious community.

You may read straight through this section by clicking on the "Next" button at the bottom of each page. Or you may click on any of these subsection titles:

Early Stirrings of Religious Life Online
What, Then, Is Web 2.0?
What's New About Digital Life?
What It Means for Congregations
Critics, Advocates, and Critical Friends
What Does Religion Look Like Online?
  Googling God
  Internet Proselytizing, Online Ritual, and Digital Communities
Living in and with Web 2.0