Christopher Helland is an Associate Professor of Sociology of Religion in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology at Dalhousie University in Canada. He completed a PhD in Sociology of Religion from the University of Toronto in 2004. His research focuses upon religion in contemporary culture from a sociological perspective. Much of his earlier research focused upon UFO religious groups and apocalyptic movements. His primary work explores the impact of the Internet and World Wide Web on a variety of religious traditions and practices. Helland’s current research examines the role of this new media in relation to issues of religious authority and power, religious information seeking behavior, ritual practices, and even changing belief systems. One of his major funded research projects is investigating the effects of 3DVR on ritual practices.