The Politics of Familiarity: Visual, Liturgical and Organisational Conformity in the Online Church

“Online churches” are Internet-based Christian communities, pursuing worship, education, support, proselytisation and other religious goals through computer-mediated communication. This paper draws on three years of participant observation and 50 interviews to investigate reliance on the familiar in the aesthetics and sensory experience of online religion, a trend that previous researchers have noticed but not fully explained. I use two ethnographic studies to explore the range of motivations that can guide this common strategy and consider visual design, use of sound, avatar gestures, awareness of co-presence and the physical activity of the computer user. Key factors include the desire to “frame” participant expectations, “ground” online experience, demonstrate theological “authenticity” and encourage participatory leadership, and these achievements are used to validate experimentation in other areas. This strategy is not uncontested, however: “outsiders” are frequently deterred by styles that “insiders” consider “normal”, and both churches have begun to explore new forms of architecture, ritual and communication with no clear offline parallels. New blends of familiarity and innovation are emerging, indicating some of the future directions of online churchmanship. My two case studies, the Anglican Cathedral of Second Life and LifeChurch.tv Church Online, reflect two key trends among online churches: the proliferation of small-scale independent congregations and the increasing involvement of wealthy institutions. The empirical and theoretical dimensions of this paper are innovative and timely, drawing attention to the professionalization and domestication of online religion and the rise of the “online campus”, key developments that deserve considerable scholarly attention

"The Light of a Thousand Stories": Design, Play and Community in the Christian Videogame Guardians of Ancora

Understanding a videogame requires attention to the social dimensions of its production, its material form and its reception. Games are produced in communities of designers, played by communities of gamers, and accepted into families, households, and other communal settings. Christian games have often been designed with this wider community context in mind, advertised to families and churches as products that can help attract and retain new audiences.This article focuses on the children’s videogame Guardians of Ancora (GoA), produced by the Christian organization Scripture Union in 2015. We will use an interview with the product developer to explore the intent behind the game, and we will use an interview with a British volunteer at ‘St. George’s Church’ to discover how the game has been used within a Christian community. GoA incorporates a degree of procedural rhetoric (Bogost 2007) into its design, but St. George’s invites children to engage with the game’s story and world in the context of a week of crafts, songs and other volunteer-led activities. Scholars of digital religion have long been fascinated by the relationship between online and offline religion, and the study of the social context of religious gaming offers a new way to approach this classic theme

Angels and the Digital Afterlife: Death and Nonreligion Online

This brief article aims to draw the attention of nonreligion researchers to a growing interdisciplinary research field: the study of death online. In digitally networked societies, the dead are remembered online, and their survivors can use digital resources to express grief, find support and construct memorials. New norms and languages of mourning are emerging, including new references to heaven, angels and communication with the dead. The boundary between religion and nonreligion is blurred in these new practices, but we know very little as yet about what this blurring actually means to the bereaved. This article will outline the main approaches to religion in studies of death online, draw on nonreligion research to critique these approaches, and call for new directions and methods in future studies of nonreligion and media. It will argue that scholars of religion and nonreligion have much to offer to the study of death online, and this article acts as an introduction and an invitation to future interdisciplinary exploration

Are You Ready to Be Second? Christian Recruitment Online

I am Second is an American religious movement that uses online video narratives to promote the Christian faith. This case study analyses I am Second’s evangelistic strategy, with particular attention to four areas: the website, Facebook page, blogs and YouTube. I am Second combines online and offline resources in sophisticated ways to mobilise grassroots support and draw attention to its stories, hoping that visitors to its website will watch more evangelistic content and contact an online missionary for conversation. I find no evidence within my selected samples to suggest that supporters are using the Internet to conduct their own evangelism, but branded merchandise and local events are discussed with enthusiasm. Even if supporters are hesitant to share evangelistic content through email or social media, they hope to start conversations with non-Christians by wearing, gifting and displaying intriguing brand logos.

Who studies religion? Towards a better conversation between Theology, Religious Studies, and Religious Education

This paper calls for better integration between the fields of Theology and Religious Studies (TRS) and Religious Education (RE). Positive reform in RE requires integration between educational theory, policy, and practice, but we argue that the academic study of theology and religion is too often an overlooked partner in these conversations. The separation of TRS from RE is damaging at all levels of the curriculum, undermining the rigour and critical depth of school syllabi, cutting TRS and RE specialists of from valuable intellectual discussion, and leaving university departments unprepared to properly support student progression. This destructive divergence has long been observed (e.g. Cush, 1999), but this paper proposes that the emerging paradigm of Religion and Worldviews Education (RWE) has encouraged important progress. The advent of RWE has generated new interest among RE specialists in the theory and practice of multidisciplinary TRS. It has also created space for TRS academics from many felds to engage with teachers and policymakers in productive conversations. To illustrate this argument, we highlight some examples of good practice and suggest future work through which links might be strengthened

Observational study of the effects of traumatic injury, haemorrhagic shock and resuscitation on the microcirculation: a protocol for the MICROSHOCK study

Introduction: The microcirculation is the physiological site of oxygen and substrate exchange. Its effectiveness during circulatory shock is vital for the perfusion of tissues, and has a bearing on subsequent organ function and prognosis. Microcirculatory dysfunction following traumatic haemorrhagic shock (THS) has been understudied compared with other pathologies such as sepsis. The aim of the MICROSHOCK study is to investigate changes seen in the microcirculation of patients following THS, and to assess its response to resuscitation. A greater understanding of the behaviour and mechanisms of microcirculatory dysfunction in this context may direct future avenues of goal-directed resuscitation for these patients. Methods and analysis: This multicentre prospective longitudinal observational study includes patients who present as an emergency with THS. Microcirculatory parameters are recorded using sublingual incident dark field microscopy alongside measurements of global flow (oesophageal Doppler and transthoracic echocardiography). Patients are enrolled into the study as soon as feasible after they arrive in hospital, and then at subsequent daily time points. Blood samples are taken for investigation into the mechanisms of microcirculatory dysfunction. Sequential Organ Failure Assessment scores will be analysed with microcirculatory parameters to determine whether they correlate with greater fidelity than more conventional, global circulatory parameters. Ethics and dissemination: Research Ethics Committee approval has been granted for this study (Reference: 14/YH/0078). Owing to the nature of THS, capacity for informed consent will be absent on patient enrolment. This will be addressed according to the Mental Health Capacity Act 2005. The physician in charge of the patient's care (nominated consultee) may consent on behalf of the patient. Consent will also be sought from a personal consultee (close relative or friend). After capacity is regained, the participant will be asked for their consent. Results will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journal format and presented at relevant academic meetings

Response to Consultation on Curriculum for Wales - Religion, Values and Ethics (RVE) guidance

From a sociological perspective, Religious Education (RE) has often been criticised for presenting ‘world religions’ as “discrete, self-contained, clearly defined traditions” that could be studied in isolation from one another (Cooling, Bowie and Panjwani, 2020: 24). As a result, RE has regularly been accused of failing to reflect the lived experiences of religious (and non-religious) communities (Benoit,2020; CoRE, 2018). The interdisciplinary approach taken to the Humanities is welcomed, and the contribution of RVE to the Humanities Area is not only relevant but also important. However, the proposed RVE guidance fails to give pupils the opportunity to learn what religion really is, how it is understood in the modern world, or how it can be taught as a challenging, exciting and intellectually stimulating subject. We recommend that a sociological approach be also adopted in RVE to study the phenomenon of religion and non-religion. We are also concerned that the RVE guidance does not take the opportunity to explicitly adopt a decolonised and anti-racist curriculum

Religion and Worldviews: The Way Forward? Considerations from the study of religion, non-religion and classroom practice

This article builds on Worldview-A Multidisciplinary Report (Benoit, Hutchings and Shillitoe, 2020), a publication commissioned by the RE Council of England and Wales to outline the academic history of the study of worldviews. We focus on three particularly significant questions for the future of Religious Education (RE) / Religion and Worldviews (R&W) arising from our report. First, what is the relationship between worldview and religion? Second, does worldview present a valuable approach to the study of non-religion? And third, can worldview be deployed effectively in the classroom? We conclude with a call for greater attention to the voices of teachers and pupils in curriculum design in RE

Global and regional burden of disease and injury in 2016 arising from occupational exposures: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Objectives This study provides an overview of the influence of occupational risk factors on the global burden of disease as estimated by the occupational component of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2016 study. Methods The GBD 2016 study estimated the burden in terms of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) arising from the effects of occupational risk factors (carcinogens; asthmagens; particulate matter, gases and fumes (PMGF); secondhand smoke (SHS); noise; ergonomic risk factors for low back pain; risk factors for injury). A population attributable fraction (PAF) approach was used for most risk factors. Results In 2016, globally, an estimated 1.53 (95% uncertainty interval 1.39–1.68) million deaths and 76.1 (66.3–86.3) million DALYs were attributable to the included occupational risk factors, accounting for 2.8% of deaths and 3.2% of DALYs from all causes. Most deaths were attributable to PMGF, carcinogens (particularly asbestos), injury risk factors and SHS. Most DALYs were attributable to injury risk factors and ergonomic exposures. Men and persons 55 years or older were most affected. PAFs ranged from 26.8% for low back pain from ergonomic risk factors and 19.6% for hearing loss from noise to 3.4% for carcinogens. DALYs per capita were highest in Oceania, Southeast Asia and Central sub-S aharan Africa. On a per capita basis, between 1990 and 2016 there was an overall decrease of about 31% in deaths and 25% in DALYs. Conclusions Occupational exposures continue to cause an important health burden worldwide, justifying the need for ongoing prevention and control initiatives.BPAQ acknowledges the institutional support of PRONABEC (National Program of Scholarship and Educational Loan), provided by the Peruvian Government; and the Judith Lumley Centre of La Trobe University. Till Winfried Bärnighausen was supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation through the Alexander von Humboldt Professor Award, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany. Félix Carvalho acknowledges UID/ MULTI/04378/2019 support with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. Eduarda Fernandes acknowledges UID/QUI/50006/2019 support with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. Mihajlo Jakovljevic acknowledges that the Serbian part of this GBD contribution was cofinanced through Grant OI 175 014 of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. Yun Jin Kim was supported by the Office of Research and Innovation, Xiamen University Malaysia. Walter Mendoza is currently a program analyst for Population and Development at the Peru Country Office of the United Nations Population Fund UNFPA, an institution which does not necessarily endorse this study. MMolokhia was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. Abdallah M Samy received a fellowship from the Egyptian Fulbright Mission Program (EFMP). SMSI is funded by a Senior Research Fellowship from the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN), Deakin University. RT-­S was supported in part by grant number PROMETEOII/2015/021 from Generalitat Valenciana and the national grant PI17/00719 from ISCIII-FEDER. Paul Yip was supported by the Strategic Public Policy Research (SPPR) grant (HKU-12).publishedVersio