Mapping japanese religions on the internet

Abstract

In the late 1990s discussion of religion online (and online religion) began to surface and researchers began to be concerned about the potential effects technology was having on religious identities and practices. Since then, web-based communities and services (the so-called ‘web 2.0’), such as weblogs, social-networking sites, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, and social software, have increased dramatically and modified the ways users use the web and share information. Since then religious organizations in Japan have demonstrated their ability to adapt to the internet and to adopt its technologies to their benefit, actively reshaping their identities and their image strategies. We discuss how the enlarged possibilities of online communication and interaction are impacting this situation and affecting the (re)presentation of religious groups and individual "religiosity." We focus primarily on religious discourse on the internet, and in particular on how Japanese religions are represented or present themselves. An introductory section presents the characteristics of the Japanese internet, delimiting the virtual geography of interest. Next we address general aspects of religion and the internet in Japan addressing historical developments in reference to different religious traditions in Japan, namely Shinto, Buddhism and "New Religions." Online religious communication is discussed in detail, ranging from email counseling to forum threads and Social Network presence. Finally, we point out seven major functions that characterize religious communication on the Japanese internet, and stress the role of multiplatform presence as well as of internationalization being a prominent element leading religious organizations to establish a lively presence on the interactive online Social Space.