New Religious Movements and the Internet

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of scholarship on new religious movements (NRMs) and the Internet. A brief snapshot of NRM studies provides a meaningful context in discussing past, present, and future works committed to the exploration of new religions in digital religion studies. As will be shown, thematic concerns that characterized the former subfield are also present in past and present research that focuses on the intersections between NRMs and computer-mediated communication. What follows is a historical tracing of this scholarship, with special attention given to studies that occupy the liminal spaces between NRM studies and digital religion studies.