Page - 136 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

136 | Lisa Kienzl www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 135–138 highlight the significance of (digital) media technology for religious commu- nities and practices. Digital media are important for religious communities to share information but also to engage in “real-time interactions” (vol. 1, p. 4) with their practitioners, for example when connecting for prayer online despite their different physical locations. In volume one, chapters 2 to 7 focus on technology and religious practices in general, for example how re- ligious communities are using digital media. The next five chapters address specific traditions, such as the use of digital media by Catholic priests (vol. 1, chapter 8) or an analysis of the websites of congregations in the Union of Reformed Judaism (vol. 1, chapter 9), while chapter 13 discusses religious extremism, and chapters 14 to 17 examine “quasi-religious practices from festivals to fandom” (vol. 1, p. 8). Volume two addresses religious communities and their relation to and engagement with (digital) media, offering insight into a broad variety of religious traditions. The discussion in the introduction by August E. Grant and Amanda F. C. Sturgill makes the selection process for the chapters in the second volume transparent for the reader and reveals the challenges faced when creating such an extensive project. The editors elaborate on their de- cision about how many chapters would to be dedicated to specific religious traditions and explain, for example, that only one chapter deals with Is- lam because they “found few differences in the utilization of digital tech- nologies” among various Islamic traditions (vol. 2, p. 3). Various Christian communities are discussed in chapters 2 to 8 while the next three chapters deal with a variety of Jewish traditions. Chapter 12 engages with Islam and (digital) media. In chapters 13 to 15, Hinduism and Jainism with their vari- ous approaches towards media and technology are examined, while chapter 16 addresses Buddhism outside Asia and its connection to media. The last two chapters focus on new religious movements, Scientology and New Age religions, and their close relation to digital media technology. All chapters contextualize the respective religious traditions and provide general infor- mation about them, which makes this volume especially approachable for readers who are not highly familiar with a particular religious tradition or religion in general. Also, the remarks on future research possibilities that appear at the end of each chapter in both volumes open up interesting ques- tions for the development of the field. The editors pursue the ambitious goal of establishing “the most com- prehensive picture available to date of the interplay of religion and digital technology” (vol. 1, p. 8 as well as vol. 2, p. 2). In the introduction to the first