Uppsatsens undersökning bygger på en studie av den officiella Scientologikyrkans hemsida: www.scientologi.se. Den frågeställning varpå uppsatsen främst baseras på är: På vilket sätt förmedlar Scientologikyrkan sitt budskap via www.scientologi.se? Tidigare forskning kring ämnet är väldigt knapphändig vilket motiverar valet av uppsatsämne. Uppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkt baseras på Christopher Hellands begrepp religion online och online religion. Studien lägger därför stor vikt på huruvida Scientologikyrkans svenska hemsida är en religion online eller en online religion. En koppling görs även mellan undersökningens resultat och tidigare forskning kring ämnet, för att belägga det som har framkommit genom den utförda studien.

Trata-se de uma investigação que busca a partir de um estudo comparativo entre três tipos de manifestação do sagrado nas redes digitais (a religião tradicional, a new age e a ciber-religiosidade), refletir e interpretar que tipo de representação do sagrado o digital favorece ou até possibilita. Esta investigação está alicerçada em um quadro interpretativo das tecnologias comunicativas que as entende como elementos fundamentais nas transformações sociais, logo, a investigação primeiramente busca justificar o caráter não instrumental da mídia a partir de um exame da história das tecnologias de comunicação, analisando como diferentes tecnologias comunicativas tiveram suas influências singulares no campo religioso. A segunda etapa da dissertação pretende revisar criticamente a literatura da comunicação digital, e principalmente explorar como o tema da religião na internet foi tratado pelo meio acadêmico. As últimas etapas da pesquisa se referem ao estudo empírico da presença das representações do sagrado nas redes digitais, adotando uma estratégia de pesquisa que denominamos como estudo exploratório participativo online, que para cada tipo de manifestação elencada, possui suas singularidades. / The research consists of an investigation that seeks to understand and interpret which type of representation of the sacred is favored or even enabled in the digital culture. The investigation is made through a comparative study between three types of manifestations of the sacred in digital networks (the traditional religion, the new age and the cyber-religiosity). This investigation is based on an interpretative framework of communication technologies that are understood as essential elements in the social transformations. Therefore, the investigation first aims to justify the non-instrumental character of the media from an examination of the history of the communication technologies, analyzing how different communication technologies have singularly influenced the religious field. The second stage of the dissertation intends to critically review the literature of digital communication, and mainly to explore how the subject of religion in the Internet was treated in the academic field. The last stages of the research relates to the empirical study of representations of the presence of the sacred in digital networks, adopting a research strategy that we call an exploratory participative online study, which holds singularities of each type of the chosen manifestation.

Trata-se de uma investigação que busca a partir de um estudo comparativo entre três tipos de manifestação do sagrado nas redes digitais (a religião tradicional, a new age e a ciber-religiosidade), refletir e interpretar que tipo de representação do sagrado o digital favorece ou até possibilita. Esta investigação está alicerçada em um quadro interpretativo das tecnologias comunicativas que as entende como elementos fundamentais nas transformações sociais, logo, a investigação primeiramente busca justificar o caráter não instrumental da mídia a partir de um exame da história das tecnologias de comunicação, analisando como diferentes tecnologias comunicativas tiveram suas influências singulares no campo religioso. A segunda etapa da dissertação pretende revisar criticamente a literatura da comunicação digital, e principalmente explorar como o tema da religião na internet foi tratado pelo meio acadêmico. As últimas etapas da pesquisa se referem ao estudo empírico da presença das representações do sagrado nas redes digitais, adotando uma estratégia de pesquisa que denominamos como estudo exploratório participativo online, que para cada tipo de manifestação elencada, possui suas singularidades. / The research consists of an investigation that seeks to understand and interpret which type of representation of the sacred is favored or even enabled in the digital culture. The investigation is made through a comparative study between three types of manifestations of the sacred in digital networks (the traditional religion, the new age and the cyber-religiosity). This investigation is based on an interpretative framework of communication technologies that are understood as essential elements in the social transformations. Therefore, the investigation first aims to justify the non-instrumental character of the media from an examination of the history of the communication technologies, analyzing how different communication technologies have singularly influenced the religious field. The second stage of the dissertation intends to critically review the literature of digital communication, and mainly to explore how the subject of religion in the Internet was treated in the academic field. The last stages of the research relates to the empirical study of representations of the presence of the sacred in digital networks, adopting a research strategy that we call an exploratory participative online study, which holds singularities of each type of the chosen manifestation.

Since its inception, the Internet has served as a powerful medium for the dissemination of religious information and the creation of religious communities. Cyberspace now represents an important global paradigm shift in the way religion is conducted. This research provides a sociological account of the affordances the Internet contributes to religious life by examining the ways in which it has influenced the conduct or practices associated with Buddhism. In particular, it assesses the extent to which the rituals constitutive of the Buddhist practice of meditation have been achieved by the Cybersangha, the term Buddhists use for the online Buddhist community. The thesis argues that the Internet is not well suited to the facilitation of particular types of religious understanding and that there are clear limitations to its ability to provide the shared ritualistic experience necessitated by meditation. This is due to the fact that current technology can enable ritual only to a limited degree, and to the ways in which the textual nature of the Internet poses problems for religious experience of an intuitive, non-mediated nature. For these reasons, despite the fact that many websites advertise ‘online meditation’ and despite the strong attempts of some communities to use the Internet as a meditational medium, online meditation cannot be fully facilitated by the Internet. Since a key method by which a Buddhist attains understanding of reality is the use of the body in a meditative act, the inability to provide for embodiment means that the Internet can never offer an experiential equivalent to that of an offline environment. The lack of this experiential aspect means that it cannot in turn provide for holistic, religious communion. As such, there needs to be a further philosophical and practical appraisal of the capabilities of the Internet in general, and as a medium by which a religious experience can be engendered.

Since its inception, the Internet has served as a powerful medium for the dissemination of religious information and the creation of religious communities. Cyberspace now represents an important global paradigm shift in the way religion is conducted. This research provides a sociological account of the affordances the Internet contributes to religious life by examining the ways in which it has influenced the conduct or practices associated with Buddhism. In particular, it assesses the extent to which the rituals constitutive of the Buddhist practice of meditation have been achieved by the Cybersangha, the term Buddhists use for the online Buddhist community. The thesis argues that the Internet is not well suited to the facilitation of particular types of religious understanding and that there are clear limitations to its ability to provide the shared ritualistic experience necessitated by meditation. This is due to the fact that current technology can enable ritual only to a limited degree, and to the ways in which the textual nature of the Internet poses problems for religious experience of an intuitive, non-mediated nature. For these reasons, despite the fact that many websites advertise ‘online meditation’ and despite the strong attempts of some communities to use the Internet as a meditational medium, online meditation cannot be fully facilitated by the Internet. Since a key method by which a Buddhist attains understanding of reality is the use of the body in a meditative act, the inability to provide for embodiment means that the Internet can never offer an experiential equivalent to that of an offline environment. The lack of this experiential aspect means that it cannot in turn provide for holistic, religious communion. As such, there needs to be a further philosophical and practical appraisal of the capabilities of the Internet in general, and as a medium by which a religious experience can be engendered.