I’ve cribbed some of it below - but drop by her site for the full details.

Call for Papers for Edited Book on CHURCH AND NEW MEDIA: PERSPECTIVES, PRACTICES AND FUTURES
Editors: Pauline Hope Cheong, Peter Fischer-Nielsen, Stefan Gelfgren and Charles Ess

Background and Rationale
This book brings together, for the first time in five years, a collection of key articles in the area of religion and the Internet, particularly as new media relates to church, mission and interfaith dialogue. In light of the increasing mediation of everyday life in many parts of the world, this book approaches online religion with a fresh perspective, to account for contemporary developments in media and spirituality, with implications for faith and other civic organizations.

Arguably, as institutionalized religions and movements rush to leverage the Web to improve their reach, religious communication on the Internet takes an increasingly significant role alongside more traditional venues for such discourse. It may be, however, that religious use associated with new media problematizes established faith rituals, and religious community building in both its conception and operationalization. Changes in the Church can also
be conceived as intertwined with a range of other forms of social and political developments, such that new media acts as an agent and practice to challenge and transform the influence and authority of the Church. Furthermore, as ³new² media is a moving target, there may be past concepts that are more able to explain the nature of church life (such as evangelical
mission and systematic theology) or new concepts that are being developed that are better able to address the diversity and complexity of contemporary social and religious life (such as the ideas of social networking, viral marketing and church branding).

This edited collection aims to address and inform such issues and debates by offering new empirical, theoretical, and theological insights into how religious life continues to transform and be transformed by these new communication technologies. Current contributors, together with the editors, include Knut Lundby, Heidi Campbell, Mark Johns and Jørgen Straarup.
We hereby invite proposals for additional chapters (particularly in the historical and theological sections as explained below) that will complement and expand upon these contributions.

Theology After Google | Transforming Theology

I’m still trying to reduce my finished paper in size. Still too long, but if I talk to my paper rather than read it verbatim it should be fine. However, I’ll spend some time on the place highlighting what might be summarized and then print out a shorter version at the hotel.

I’ll know a few more people there this year - as opposed to last year when I knew no-one - so I’m hoping to catch up with some of them over the conference.

In particular this special issues aims to explore the relationship between online and offline forms of religious practice and community. Key questions include:

• What is truly unique about the performance of religion online?
• How is the practice and conception of religion online connected to offline practices, communities and institutions?
• In what ways does religion online reflect trends seen offline in religious culture and practice?
• How do these transformations connect with issues of globalization and glocalization?

You can read the full CFP over at When Religion Meets New Media: CFP: Special Issue on Religion and the Internet: The Online-Offline Connection.

Related link - article seen today - Religion moves online | Stuff.co.nz

Compare and contrast the perspectives of each of these people:

• Next-Wave Ezine - There Is NO Virtual Ecclesia by Bob Hyatt.
• The various articles by Mark Brown at: Articles for download at Brownblog, and especially:
• • The Bible in the Digital Space
  • Christian Ministry in a Technological Age
  • The Digital Revolution and the Church
  • Christian Mission to a Virtual World
• Shane Hipps interview with Christianity Today about virtual community.
• For further investigation look at:
• Who’s Got the Power? Religious Authority and the Internet by Heidi Campbell

Have fun

See Sentient Developments: J. Hughes: Radical Life Extension, Transhumanism and Catholicism.

Related link: In Google we trust: our new faith | Stuff.co.nz