From Sacred Text to Internet

by Beckerlegge, Gwilym

• ISBN13: 9780754608165
• ISBN10: 0754608166
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-01
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Ltd

Summary

From Sacred Text to Internet addresses two key issues affecting the global spread of religion: first, the impact of new media on the ways in which religious traditions present their messages, and second, the global relocation of religions in novel geographical and social settings. The book offers extended studies of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and a wide-ranging survey chapter that refers to the presence on the Internet of many of the world's most influential religions. The chapters explore the relationship between scholarly reconstructions of the life of Jesus and representations of Jesus in contemporary popular cultures; the production and use of sacred images for the Hindu mass market; how Buddhism is represented and spread in the West; the Islamization of Egypt, its causes and influences; and the uses to which the Internet is put by religions as well as how information technology has influenced the future shape of religion.The five textbooks and Reader that make up the Religion Today Open University/Ashgate series are:o From Sacred Text to Interneto Religion and Social Transformationso Perspectives on Civil Religiono Global Religious Movements in Regional Contexto Belief Beyond Boundarieso Religion Today: A Reader

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Jesus in history and film	p. 11
Hindu sacred images for the mass market	p. 57
Representing western Buddhism: a United Kingdom focus	p. 117
Representing Islam: the 'Islamization' of Egyptian society 1970-2000	p. 161
Computer-mediated religion: religion on the Internet at the turn of the twenty-first century	p. 219
The characterization of Jesus	p. 267
The embodiment of divinity in India	p. 281
Popular street images	p. 289
Buddhism in Europe: past, present, prospects	p. 295
Dramatic reversals: political Islam and Egyptian television	p. 319
Acknowledgements	p. 335
Index	p. 337
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.