Paper #5
CJN 721:  e-Communities and the Digital Divide

Cyberfaith:  Is the Internet a new tool for Spiritual Journeys?



Increasingly, both traditional, mainstream religions and more personal, home-grown varieties of faiths are finding a home and a congretation in cyberspace.  This paper asks that you explore some of what is happening online, and determine why religion online is gaining in interest, whether such religious connections and emphasis are sustainable, and what the reasons might be for cyber-spirituality as opposed to (or in conjunction with) traditional houses of worship.

I'm not going to explicitly spell out how this paper should be written.  The title above is pretty descriptive.  Your paper should look at what's out there, who uses it, what niches it serves, and what the ups and downs of cyberfaith might be.  You should use source materials.  You should do research (which has been pretty sketchy in some of the papers turned in of late).  You should ensure that you correctly cite sources based on the APA Style guide.  Your paper should include examples, thoughtful commentary, and appropriate support for your claims.

But the good news is that you have several weeks in which to do this, because of the Thanksgiving recess.  This paper will be due November 29.  


Please limit yourselves to 5 pages maximum.