Abstract
his chapter considers the topic church and the Internet. We start with outlining some directories for “virtual religion,” defined earlier as that religion which finds electronic expression in the virtual world. We note that there are directories both for real-world churches with a Web presence, and those that are truly a stand-alone online initiative. The two types of “church” are often confused. We continue by looking at specific examples of entities that are solely based on the Internet. They call themselves :Internet church,” or might be called “Internet church.” The examples mentioned range from Internet ventures sponsored byofficial mainline churches (e.g., I-Church), providing paid staff for pastoral oversight, to those set up by self-help organisations for the blind (e.g., EChurch-UK), to satirical efforts at making religion humorous (e.g., Church of Fools), and sites that appear “scam-like,” designed for collecting funds, offering schemes to “get rich,” and giving ordination qualifications, and so forth.