Bainbridge Dynamic Secularization

Information Technology and the Tension Between Religion and Science
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-3-319-56502-6
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 270 Seiten

This book discusses secularization, arguing that it may be more complex and significant than is generally recognized. Using a number of online exploration methods, the author provides insights into how religion may be changing, and how information technology might be energized in this process.
Working from the premise that the relationship between science and religion is complex, the author demonstrates that while science has contradicted some specific religious beliefs, science itself may have been facilitated by beliefs formed many centuries ago. Science assists engineers in the development of powerful new technologies, and asserts that the universe is based on a set of fundamental principles that can be understood by humans through the assistance of mathematics. 
The challenging ideas discussed will benefit readers through sharing a variety of Internet-based research methods and cultural discoveries. The book provides a balance between quantitative methods, illustrated by 24 tables of statistics, and qualitative methods, illustrated by 30 screenshots of computer-generated virtual worlds. Analysis interweaves with description, creating a sense of involvement in the experience of exploring online realities at the same time as radical insights are shared. 

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bainbridge, William Sims

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface;5
2;Contents;7
3;Chapter 1: Fragmentation: Online Evidence About Religious Innovation;9
3.1;1.1 Secularization of Religion;13
3.2;1.2 Parapsychology;19
3.3;1.3 A Virtual Religion;26
3.4;References;32
4;Chapter 2: Humanization: The Crash or Reboot of Social Psychology;34
4.1;2.1 Conservative Curmudgeonism;35
4.2;2.2 Religious Innovation;39
4.3;2.3 A Nineteenth-Century Science of the Mind;43
4.4;2.4 The Current Crisis;47
4.5;2.5 Subconscious Pathologies;51
4.6;2.6 Countercultures;54
4.7;References;60
5;Chapter 3: Paganization: The Virtual Revival of a Cult Online;65
5.1;3.1 Animal Welfare;71
5.2;3.2 Musical Variations;74
5.3;3.3 Virtual Scriptures;78
5.4;3.4 A Book of Faces;81
5.5;3.5 Repeating a Revisit;84
5.6;3.6 A Virtual Second Life;88
5.7;References;92
6;Chapter 4: Residualism: Online Survival of Rejected Religions;94
6.1;4.1 Children of God;97
6.2;4.2 The Shaking Quakers;106
6.3;4.3 Twilight of the Gods;111
6.4;4.4 Biorhythms: The Skeleton of Astrology;118
6.5;References;124
7;Chapter 5: Jediism: The Most Popular Online Virtual Religion;126
7.1;5.1 Origins of a Religious Movement;128
7.2;5.2 From Movies to Videos;134
7.3;5.3 Temple of the Jedi Order;136
7.4;5.4 The Jedi Church;142
7.5;5.5 The Virtual Force;148
7.6;References;153
8;Chapter 6: Pessimism: Critiques of Religion and Technology in the Fallout Games;155
8.1;6.1 Preludes and Fugues;158
8.2;6.2 Isomorphic Apocalypse;163
8.3;6.3 Virtual Scientography;167
8.4;6.4 Aleatoric Adventuring;170
8.5;6.5 Radioactive Beltway;173
8.6;6.6 Institutionalized Technology;176
8.7;6.7 The Wider Fallout;180
8.8;References;182
9;Chapter 7: Optimism: Religious Diversity in the WildStar Massively Multiplayer Online Game;184
9.1;7.1 Flying to Nexus;187
9.2;7.2 The Demography of Planet Nexus;192
9.3;7.3 Church of the Dominion;194
9.4;7.4 Paganism and Mechanism in the Dominion;195
9.5;7.5 Secularism of the Exiles;198
9.6;7.6 Nature and Technology in the Exiles;202
9.7;7.7 Technological World Building;205
9.8;References;210
10;Chapter 8: Transhumanism: An Online Network of Technoprogressive Quasi-Religions;211
10.1;8.1 The Birth of Superman;213
10.2;8.2 Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies;217
10.3;8.3 The Terasem Movement;221
10.4;8.4 The Turing Church;226
10.5;8.5 Adaptive Radiation;232
10.6;References;236
11;Chapter 9: Transcendence: Virtual Artificial Intelligence;239
11.1;9.1 Robotics;245
11.2;9.2 Calibrating Personhood;250
11.3;9.3 Virtual Friends, Virtual Gods;254
11.4;9.4 The Argument from Design;260
11.5;References;267