Researching Shamanism in Contemporary Japan

This paper takes its cue from Massimo Raveri’s studies and interests, especially concerning Japanese shamanic practitioners and the relationship between media and religion. By further broadening his analysis with more recent data, this paper suggests how a study of contemporary Japanese shamanism could be undertaken, within the theoretical framework offered by critical discourse analysis. Through the suggested examination of the multiple discourses on shamans conducted in peripheral and central areas of the country, it would be possible to reach a better understanding of both shamanism and contemporary society, overcoming essentialist views.

Ideology and State Apparatus to Create New Order State Power

This research tries to describe how the New Order State Journey to power and perpetuates its power. By applying Althusser's theory of State Apparatus, this study specifically focuses on the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) and Repressive State Apparatuses (RSA) which were operationalized in the New Order society. Qualitative descriptive research is used to interpret data in books that have researched the “New Order” before. The results of this study indicate that the “New Order” state used ISAs such as political parties, cultural, law, media, and religion. Then, “New Order” state used the RSA such as military and para-military organizations to control and maintain domination within the Indonesian State.Keywords: New Order State, Ideological, State ApparatusAbstrakPenelitian ini mencoba mendeskripsikan bagaimana Perjalanan Negara Orde Baru berkuasa dan melanggengkan kekuasaannya. Dengan menerapkan teori Althusser tentang Aparatur Negara, penelitian ini secara khusus berfokus pada konsep Aparatus Ideologi Negara (ISA) dan Aparatur Negara Represif (RSA) yang dioperasionalkan dalam masyarakat Orde Baru. Penelitian deskriptif kualitatif digunakan untuk menafsirkan data dalam buku-buku yang pernah diteliti “Orde Baru” sebelumnya. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa negara “Orde Baru” menggunakan ISA seperti partai politik, budaya, hukum, media, dan agama. Kemudian, negara “Orde Baru” menggunakan RSA seperti organisasi militer dan paramiliter untuk mengontrol dan mempertahankan dominasi di dalam Negara Indonesia.Kata Kunci: Negara Orde Baru, Ideologi, State Apparatus

The Production of Salafi Spaces in Computer-mediated Environments: A Social Theory Perspective on ‘Digital Religion’

The concept or notion of ‘digital religion’ has gained traction in recent years in the study of the intersection of media and religion. In this paper, I argue that this concept tends to reify ‘religion’ as a unique, sui generis phenomenon, disregarding decades-long debates about the idea of ‘religion’ in the study of religion. After deconstructing the notion of ‘digital religion’, as put forward in an essay by Stewart Hoover and Nabil Echchaibi (2014), I propose a social theory perspective of (digital) space, drawing mainly from the sociology of space and taking into account affordances and the citational nature of signifying practices. In the final section, I apply this approach to data I gathered during fieldwork online and offline among Salafi Muslims in the Netherlands and Germany from 2008 until 2015; this will showcase the potential not only for abstaining from ‘religionizing’ social phenomena but also of a social theory approach to the production of digital spaces.

Public Religion after Genocide

This article explores Pentecostal sounds and voice in postgenocide Rwanda. It centers on the question of why gospel singers were criticized for crossing over into “secular” music after beginning their careers in the church. Joining scholarship that examines the relationship between media and religion, it suggests that in Rwanda debates about the kind of music Pentecostal artists should perform must be contextualized in relation to (1) a Pentecostal “theology of sound,” or the belief that particular music and sound practices bring individuals closer to God; and (2) changes within Rwanda's postgenocide media landscape. The liberalization of the media in 2002, coupled with advances in recording technology, created new possibilities for Pentecostals to become individual “gospel stars,” as opposed to choir members, in ways that they had been unable to before, prompting debates about the nature of the postgenocide Pentecostal voice itself. These debates are considered alongside Pentecostal radio, and within a wider context in which the Rwandan government has become increasingly concerned with policing “noise pollution.” Paying closer attention to the materialities of sound and voice helps us trace the specific ways in which Pentecostalism attempts to “go public” and the kind of public it calls into being.

The Virtual Da’wa Laboratory for Islamic Moderatism

This paper aims to analyze the virtual da'wa laboratory of Walisongo TV (WTV) and MBS FM owned by the Faculty of Da’wa and Communication, UIN Walisongo Semarang in nurturing Islamic moderatism during Ramadan 2020 amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. This research is a qualitative study using the New Media and Religion approach from Cambpbell (2010) who stated that there are two important objects regarding online religion, namely the technical aspects of new media, and the non-technical aspects related to three things, namely the community, authority, and textual media. The study concludes that first, technically WTV and MBS uses new media such as WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Jitsi.meet, and Zoom meeting for all activities, starting from the internal crew's coordination; communication between crews and da’i in discussing da’wa contents; videos taking process; production activities, to promotions and publications. Second, non-technically WTV and MBS FM provide the products in the form of recordings and LIVE (live broadcast). The products represent the Islamic moderate community behind the media authorized by Nadlatul Ulama (NU) da’wa ideology. Hence, media text broadcasted is framed by the jargon “Islam Rahmatan li al-‘Alamin” based on the classical Islamic texts (Kitab Kuning). This suggests that community, authority, and textual media have to be taken into account in forming a virtual moderate da’wa laboratory.

Media as Religion. Stardom as Religion. Really? Christian Theological Confrontation

In the more recent scholarly literature on media, pop culture or celebrity studies, there has been a growing tendency to identify media, stardom and other pop culture forms of cult with religion. An increasing number of concepts have sprung up such as “media as religion” or “stardom as religion”. However, these concepts need to be critically scrutinized as to whether the use of specific theological terms in those concepts is sound and consistent—or, as the case may be, superficial. The primary aim of this paper is to examine whether there are essential intrinsic similarities between religion and media. To answer this question, we have examined the structural similarities between media and religion (by comparing their use of ritual and liturgy; emotions; cosmology; myth and archetype; and the cult of individualism in particular). Subsequently, we have analyzed the key terms that have emerged from those comparisons (religion and faith; God; emotions; community; liturgy; cosmology; archetypes; saints; individualism). The term religion is used in its broad sense; however, the subject is examined in detail within the context of Christian theology. We came to the conclusion that media religion is a non-theistic religio without God, with an exclusive emphasis on social cohesion. The absence of verticality, lack of transcendence to eternity as well as the non-existing relationship with God as a person—have determined the remaining partial conclusions presented herein.