- Does digital media strengthen or weaken individual's ability to construct or perform their religious identity?
For this question I would like to reference the example of the online Puja that we noted in class. We discussed the possible pros and cons of practicing such a tradition from an online perspective. The possible advantages it would have for some of those who are physically or otherwise unable to attend, and the disadvantages of not having things like the tactile stimulus. I believe that digital media can strengthen someone's ability to construct a religious identity because they have the freedom to choose their own scope of learning. This could be bad for an individual who learns that something their ritual leader or place has taught them could be controversial or strange, but the point remains that it is still strengthening the individual's ability to construct their own identity. Kerstin Radde-Antweiler supports this when she states that in most online religions, "...believers can seek the guidance of a leading clergyman of their choice while various books and online resources provide further advice." How this relates to the Puja is that when someone abroad pays to have it done, there is always room to find the service somewhere else if one does not like the service they receive the first time around.
The site I found was an article:
http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2006/6953/pdf/online_journal_Introduction.pdf
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