What is it about?
The roles of digital media in the lives of migrant religious believers in dealing with the sense of isolation that migration brings, as well as the bad aspects that have been linked to various forms of religious violence.
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Why is it important?
This review outlines both the beneficial and negative aspects of digital media in the lives of migrant believers, such as assisting them in reconnecting with other believers back home and around the world. However, when exploited to promote hateful discourse, like in the case of the Rohingya crisis, digital media has also contributed to other forms of religious violence. Furthermore, in this day and age of digital media, this review will demonstrate that this book is an excellent resource for understanding many religious phenomena, such as why many people practice their religion online via Facebook, YouTube, and other digital media, and why more religious leaders have decided to embrace digital media to promote their religion.
Perspectives
Writing this book review has made me more aware of the "dark" aspect of digital media that many people tend to overlook. When it comes to a sensitive topic like religion, I believe that such a tendency could be costly, particularly in the Southeast Asia region, because religion is something that the majority of the population in the region holds dear and yet it is the most vulnerable to politicization, which often leads to certain types of violence to emerge. As a result, I hope that people would be more cautious when using digital media for religious or non-religious purposes.
FNU Ngatini
Florida International University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Catherine Gomes, Lily Kong and Orlando Woods, eds. Religion, Hypermobility and Digital Media in Global Asia, Journal of Religion Media and Digital Culture, January 2023, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/21659214-bja10079.
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