AV俱乐部

Education

• BA Hons, MA, Concordia University
• PhD, University of Toronto

Research interests

Christopher Helland鈥檚 research focuses upon religion in contemporary culture from a sociological perspective. His primary work examines the impact of the Internet and World Wide Web on a variety of religious traditions and practices. Helland鈥檚 research examines the role of new media in relation to issues of religious authority and power, religious information seeking behavior, ritual practices, and even changing belief systems. His most current research project is investigating the effects of computer-mediated communications on diaspora religious groups.

Helland has also done extensive research on contemporary premillennial and apocalyptic movements and studied a variety of UFO based new religious groups. His research in this field examined the Raelian Movement, Ashtar Command, and George Van Tassel.

Selected publications

• Helland, C. (2016). Digital Religion. In: David Yamane (Ed.)聽Handbook of Religion and Social Institutions聽(pp. 177-196).聽Springer: Switzerland.
• Helland, C. (2016). Ashtar Command. In: David Bromley聽(Ed.)聽.
• Helland, C. (2015).聽. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press: New York.聽
• Helland, C. (2014). Virtual Tibet: Maintaining Identity through Internet Networks. In: Gregory Grieve and Danielle Veidlinger (Eds.).The Pixel in the Lotus: Buddhism, the Internet, and Digital Media. Routledge: New York.
• Helland, C. (2012). Ritual. In: Heidi Campbell (Ed.).聽Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds聽(pp. 25-40). Routledge: New York.