Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; List of tables; List of figure; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Introduction; 1 Understanding the relationship between religious individualisation, community, and authority online; Focus on the changing religious community and individualisation; The transformations of religious authority in times of mediatisation; Towards religious communities of choice; The Catholic Church's response to the transformations of authority and community online; References; 2 Online communities as a process
Some classical concepts of community and where they lead usThe emergence of communication communities: community as a process; Online religious community as a dynamic process; What makes an online religious community?; References; 3 Formation of religious authority; Researching authority formation online; Introducing the three Roman Catholic forums; Religious knowledge as a foundation of authority; Responding to questions and offering solutions to personal problems; Using religious knowledge in the debates on religious authority; The emergence of informal religious experts
Emergence of informal experts: demonstrating religious knowledgeEmergence of informal experts: reflecting upon personal experiences; The function of recognition and acknowledgement in the emergence of bottom-up experts; Double framing of religious authority online; References; 4 Symbolic boundaries of online communities; Discursive construction of symbolic boundaries; Community-building functions of rules and regulations; Integrative and differentiating functions of religious knowledge; Creating group identity: the representation of "ordinary Catholics"; References
Notes
The permanence of community? Concluding remarksIndex
