Malaysian Christians Online: Faith, Experience, and Social Engagement on the Internet

Acknowledgements
Abstract
Contents
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
	Forms of Online Christianity Expressed
	Types of Online Christian Content and Spheres of Influence
		Church Websites
		Facebook Groups and Other Social Media Forums
		Online News Portals
	Malaysia as a Site for Online Christianity
	Key Research Questions
	An Overview of This Book
Chapter 2: Locating the ``Everyday´´ and the ``Offline´´ in Online Christianity
	The Dynamics of the Internet´s Material Existence
		Cyberspace as ``Space´´
		The New Limits of Cyberspace
		Online/Offline: Simultaneously Lived
	Everyday Religion and Organized Religion
		The ``Ritual´´ in Everyday Religion
	The Human Body in Everyday Religion
	Tracing the Network of Online Religion
	Forms of Online Christianity Expressed
	Researching the Actors: A Note on Methods
	Ethnography and the Internet
		ANT and Ethnography
	Research Design
		The Fieldwork Phase
		A Survey of Research Informants
	What to Expect
Chapter 3: The Personal Experience: Blogging as Development of Spiritual Identity
	The Blog: Where Online and Offline Converge
		Case Study 1: Matt´s Blog
		Case Study 2: Helen´s Blog
	Real Spiritual Relationships Online?
		Case Study 3: Suvi´s Blog
	Liberties and Boundaries of Online Religious Experience
		Case Study 4: Stark´s Blog
		Case Study 5: Alfred´s Blog
	The Social Cyborg: A Brief Discussion
	A Sidebar: Blogs, Conversions, and the Importance of ``Telling´´
Chapter 4: Church in Cyberspace: Authority, Transparency, and Pastors as Online Authors and Citizens
	New Media and Religious Authority
	Case Study: Blogging Disagreements with the Church
	Calvary Today: Blogging as Protest
		Purposes and Objectives
		Authorship, Readership and Comments
		Notable Content
	Calvary Today: Democratizing Religion?
	Now Stand: Overview
		Purposes and Objectives
		Authorship, Readership and Comments
		Notable Content
		Comparisons Between the Two Blogs
	Handling Church Conflicts Internally or Publicly
	The Need for Educating Church Members
	Pastors Are Cyber-Citizens Too
	The Internet´s Usefulness to Pastors
	Pastors as Cyber-Authors
		Pastor Ong´s Music Ministry
		Pastor Homer and His Personal Blog
		Pastor Lenny and His ``Shared´´ Google Calendar Account
	Pastors as Cyber-Citizens
		Pastor Jack and Online Sermons
	Conclusion
Chapter 5: Digital ``Surtsey´´: Lessons from a New Online Christian Community
	Case Study: The End-Time Watchmen
		Purpose of the Group
		The First Few Days
		Official and Preferred Ideology
	Discussion
		What is a ``Malaysian´´ Group?
		An Online or Offline Community?
		Authority, Rules and Social Norms Developed Over Time
	Conclusion
Chapter 6: Engaging Malaysia: A Grassroots Approach to Inter/Intra-Religious Communication
	The Information Gap in Malaysian Christianity and Socio-Political Discourse
		Representations of Christian Issues in Mainstream Malaysian Media
		Case Study: Valentine´s Day, 2011
		The Malaysian Christian-State Conspiracy, 2012
	A Grassroots Approach to Engaging Socio-Political Issues in Malaysia
		Friends in Conversation
	Internal Mechanisms with Friends in Conversation
	Conclusion
Chapter 7: Reproducing Ideology: Christians, Facebook Groups, and the Bersih 4 Protests in Malaysia
	Bersih 4
		Case Study: Friends in Conversation, the End-Time Watchmen, and Bersih 4
		Engaging Bersih 4 Online
		Friends in Conversation and Bersih 4
		The End-Time Watchmen and Bersih 4
		The Post with 79 Comments
	Discussion: Authority in an Online Community
		Pastors are Social-Media Leaders Too
		Management of Core Values
	Conclusion
Chapter 8: Conclusion: Locating the Offline in the Online and Vice-Versa in Malaysian Christianity
	Deconstructing the Online/Offline Boundary in Online Religion
	Everyday Religion Within Organized Religion
	Future Directions, Limitations, and Parting Thoughts
References
Index