Chapter 9
In: Protestant Periodicals in Transition
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Abstract
Today more and more previously printed magazines either move online or are complemented with an online version. The online version can range from an online version of the printed publication, in pdf format, to continuous online updates on a webpage, in a blog like format, complemented with a stream of updates on social media, such as Facebook, and YouTube. This challenges a previous understanding of what a periodical is. New media build upon previous media, still digital media constitute something new, a potentially interactive situation where the “readers” can be part of the media production with the possibility to share, interact, and even re-formulate media content. This chapter will thus explore the communication traditions, aims, and view of digital communication of different religious groups with different attitudes to media—and how these attitudes constitute a framework for how digital media is used. The chapter will focus on two rather different contemporary Swedish Christian movements/denominations, representing two sides of the religious and communicative spectrum; the rather technology hesitant Lutheran confessional and conservative Laestadian movement, and the more technology friendly Charismatic movement stemming from the Pentecostal movement. Through a mapping of their online presence complemented with interviews with people working with communication the different rationales for being online is discussed and analyzed.