Publications
Refereed Articles
Helland, C. and David Michels (2021). “Religion in the News on an Ordinary Day: Diversity and Change in English Canada.” Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Culture. Volume 10 (2021): 249-270.
Michels, D. and Christopher Helland (2021). “Religion in the News on an Ordinary Day: Methodology, Choices, and Bias.” Journal of Religion, Media, and Digital Culture. Volume 10 (2021): 312-329.
Helland, C., (2018). Geemu On! A Preliminary Study of Indie and Doujin Game Development in Japan. gamevironments 8, 38-48. Available at http://www.gamevironments.unibremen.de.
“Video Game Development In Asia: Voices From The Field,”Gregory P. Grieve, Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, Xenia Zeiler and Christopher Helland. gamevironments 4 (2018), 1-9. Available at http://www.gamevironments.uni-bremen.de.
“Video Game Development in Asia. A Research Project on Cultural Heritage and National Identity,” Gregory P. Grieve, Christopher Helland, Kerstin RaddeAntweiler and Xenia Zeiler. gamevironments 3 (2017) 102-115. Available at http://www.gamevironments.uni-bremen.de.
“Augmenting the Dharma. Religion Going Public,” Helland, C., Gregory Grieve, and Rohit Sing (2018). Available online at http://religiongoingpublic.com/archive/2017/augmenting-the-dharma
“(Virtually) been there, (Virtually) done that: Examining the Online Religious Practices of the Hindu Tradition,” Helland, C. (2010). Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, Special Issue on Aesthetics and the Dimensions of the Senses. Volume 4, Issue 1. Avaliable online at http://online.uni-hd.de/
“Diaspora on the Electronic Frontier: Developing Virtual Connections with Sacred Homelands.” Helland, C. (2007). Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Special Issue on Religion and the Internet. Volume 12, Issue 3, April 2007. Available online at http://jcmc.indiana.edu/
“Online Religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet,” Helland, C. (2005). Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. Vol. 1, Issue 1. Special Issue on Theory and Methodology. Available online at http://online.uni-hd.de/
“Surfing for Salvation,” Helland, C. (2002). Religion. Vol. 32, (4), 293-302.
“The Big Bang and the Big Bomb: Examining the Role of Science and Technology in Apocalyptic Belief Systems,” Helland, C. (2000). Journal of Millennial Studies. Vol. 2, (2), 1-6.
“Premillennialism, the Community of Conflict, and the Problems of Classification,” Helland, C. (1999). Journal of Religion and Culture. Vol. 13, Fall, 97-108.
E-Book
•Helland, C. (2015). Virtual Religion: A Case Study of Virtual Tibet. Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press: New York.
Contributed Works
• Helland, C. and Kienzl, L (2022). Ritual. In: Heidi Campbell and Ruth Tsuria (Eds.). Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds, Second Edition (pp. 40-55). Routledge: New York.
• Gregory Grieve, Helland, C., Rohit Singh (2019). Digitizing Tibet: A Critical Buddhist Reconditioning of Stig Hjarvard’s Mediatization Theory,”. In Xenia Zeiler and Kerstin Radde (Eds.). Mediatized Religion in Asia: Studies on Digital Media and Religion. Routledge: New York.
•Helland, C. (2018). Forward. In: V. Šisler, K. Radde-Antweiler, & X. Zeiler (Eds.), Methods for studying video games and religion. Routledge: New York.
•Helland, C. (2016). Ashtar Command. In: David Bromley (Ed.) World Religions and Spiritualties Project. Available online at: http://www.wrldrels.org/profiles/AshtarCommand.htm
•Helland, C. (2016). Digital Religion. In: David Yamane (Ed.).Handbook of Religion and Social Institutions (pp. 177-196). Springer International Publishing: Switzerland.
•Helland, C. (2016). Digital Religion. In: James Arvantakis (Ed.). Sociologic: Analysing Everyday Life and Culture (pp. 316-317). Oxford University Press: Sydney, NSW.
•Helland, C. (2015). Virtual Tibet: Maintaining Identity through Internet Networks. In: G. Grieve and D. Veidlinger (Eds.). The Pixel in the Lotus: Buddhism, the Internet, and Digital Media (pp. 213-241). Routledge: New York.
•Helland, C. (2013 [2005]). Online Religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet. First Published in Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet, reprinted in C. Cusack and D. Kirby (Eds.) Sects, Cults and New Religions (pp. 286-298). Oxford, UK: Routledge Major Works.
•Helland, C. (2012). Ritual. In: Heidi Campbell (Ed.). Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds (pp. 25-40). Routledge: New York.
•Helland, C. (2012). Online Religion in Canada: From Hype to Hyperlink. In: Lori Beaman (Ed.). Religion and Canadian Society: Traditions, Transitions, and Innovations (pp. 375-390). Canadian Scholar’s Press: Toronto.
•Helland, C. (2012). Online Religion. In: Nina Azari (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Sciences of Religion (pp. 1554-1556). Springer: New York, NY.
•Helland, C. (2008). Canadian Religious Diversity Online: A Network of Possibilities. In: Peter Beyer and Lori Beaman (Eds.). Religion and Diversity in Canada (pp. 127-148). Brill Academic Publishers: Boston.
•Helland, C. (2007). Hinduism on the Internet. In: Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (Eds.). The Encyclopedia of Hinduism (pp. 376-378). Routledge: New York.
•Helland, C. (2007). The Raelian Creation Myth and the Art of Cloning: Reality or Rhetoric? In: Dianne Tumminia (Ed.), Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of the UFO Phenomenon (pp. 275-290). Syracuse University Press.
•Helland, C. (2004). Popular Religion and the World Wide Web: A Match Made in [Cyber]Heaven. In: Lorne Dawson and Douglas Cowan (Eds.), Online Religion: Finding Faith on the Internet (pp. 23-36). Routledge: New York.
•Helland, C. (2003). From Extraterrestrials to Ultraterrestrials: The Evolution of the Concept of Ashtar. In: Christopher Partridge (Ed.), UFO Religions (pp. 162-178). Routledge: London.
•Helland, C. (2003). The Ashtar Command. In: James R. Lewis (Ed.), The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions (pp. 497-518). Prometheus Books: New York.
•Palmer, S. and Helland, C. (2003). UFO Religions Online: Prophetic Failures and the Narrative Techniques of the Ground Crew. In: James R. Lewis (Ed.), The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions (pp. 331-346). Prometheus: New York.
•Helland, C. (2000). Online Religion/Religion Online and Virtual Communitas. In: Jeffery K. Hadden and Douglas E. Cowan(Eds.), Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises (205-224). JAI Press: New York.
•Helland, C. (2000). The Ground Crew/Planetary Activation Organization. In: James R. Lewis (Ed.), UFOs and Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Myth (pp. 140-142). ABC-Clio: Santa Barbara, California.
•Helland, C. (2000). The Ashtar Command. In: James R. Lewis (Ed.), UFOs and Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Myth (pp. 37-40). ABC-Clio: Santa Barbara, California.
Research Reports
•Helland, C. (2018). Virtual Reality Spaces: From the Profane to the Sacred. Hypermediations.net
https://hypermediations.net/content/virtual-reality-spaces-profane-sacred
•Helland, C. (2014). Does Faith Matter? Leaders on the Role of Faith in Society. Geneva: World Economic Forum. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GAC/2014/WEF_GAC_RoleFaith_DoesFaithMatter_Re port_2014.pdf
World Economic Forum Blogs
•Helland, C. (2016). “Faith, The Internet, and Improving the State of the World.” Geneva: World Economic Forum. Available online at https://www.weforum.org/
•Helland, C. (2015). “How the Pope’s climate message went viral.” Geneva: World Economic Forum. Available online at https://www.weforum.org/
•Helland, C. (2015). “How the Pope will tell the world about climate change.” Geneva: World Economic Forum. Available online at https://www.weforum.org/
•Helland, C. (2014). “Why the world is not as secular as you think.” Geneva: World Economic Forum. Available online at https://www.weforum.org/
•Helland, C. (2013). “On a Tweet and a prayer.” Geneva: World Economic Forum. Available online at https://www.weforum.org/
Magazine Articles
•Helland, C. and Grieve, G.P. (2022). “The Spiritual Pings of Digital Religion.” Dharma World Vol. 22, Spring 2022: 10-14.
Review Articles
•Helland, C. (2006). “Using the Internet for Religious Studies Research.” Religious Studies Review. 32: 4, 222-223.
•Helland, C. (2006). “Websites for the Study of New Religious Movements.” Religious Studies Review. 32: 4, 215-216.
Book Reviews
•Review of Stephen Ellingson, The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-First Century. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2007. The Canadian Journal of Sociology Online, 2008.
•Review of Douglas Cowan, Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet. Routledge: London and New York, 2005. Journal of Contemporary Religion, October 2006: 21 (3).
•Review of Jens Kreinath, Constance Hartung, and Annette Deschner (Eds.), The Dynamics of Changing Rituals: The Transformation of Religious Rituals within Their Social and Cultural Context. Peter Lang: New York, 2004. Journal of Contemporary Religion, January 2006: 21 (1).
•Review of Paolo Apolito, The Internet and the Madonna: Religious Visionary Experience on the Web. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2005. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, December 2005: 44 (4).
•Review of Brenda E. Brasher, Give Me That Online Religion. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2004. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, September 2005: 73 (3).
•Review of Emily Noelle Ignacio, Building Diaspora: Filipino Cultural Community Formation on the Internet. Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2005. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, August 2005.
•Review of Stewart Hoover and Lynn Schofield Clark (Eds.), Practicing Religion in the Age of Media: Explorations in Media, Religion, and Culture. Columbia University Press: New York, 2002. Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, December, 2003.
•Review of Mikael Rothstein (Ed.), New Age Religion and Globalization. Aarhus University Press: Denmark, 2001. Sociology of Religion, 64(3), Fall 2003.
•Review of William Sims Bainbridge, The Endtime Family: Children of God. University of New York Press: New York, 2002. The Canadian Journal of Sociology Online September – October 2002.
Presentations
Invited Speaker and Plenary Lectures
•August 2018. International Society for Religion, Media, and Culture. Invited Speaker Closing Plenary Panel “Public Scholarship.” Boulder Colorado https://livestream.com/accounts/983593/events/8316732/videos/178818958
•March 2015. Video Gaming and Culture, Society, and Religion. Establishment of an International Multidisciplinary Network. Invited Speaker: “Ritual in the Gaming World: Forms, Functions, and Fabrications.” University of Helsinki, Finland.
•December 2014. Religion, Diversity, and Governance Conference, Australian Association for the Study of Religion Annual Conference. Plenary Paper: “Connecting with the Sacred in Cyberspace: Examining the Developing Role of the Internet within Tibetan Diaspora Religion.” Melbourne, Australia.
•September 2013. Religion in the Digital Age: Mediating the Human in a Globalizing Asia. Invited Speaker: “Co-Locating the Sacred Center: Examining the Developing Role of the Internet and WWW within Tibetan Diaspora Religion.” NYU Center for Religion and Media.
•November 2012. Cyberspace 2012 International Conference. Invited Speaker: “Virtual Ritual: The Really Real in Cyberspace.” Masaryk University, Brno, Prague.
•January 2012. The Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, International Conference on Digital Religion. Plenary Lecture: “Online Ritual.” University of Boulder.
•November 2011. Digital Dharma Symposium. Invited Speaker: “Virtual Tibet.” University of California, Chico.
•October 2011, Texas A & M University: Department of Communications. Invited Speaker: “Approaching Ritual Online.” College Station, Texas.
•March 2011. The Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, Plenary Lecture: “Digital Religion.” University of Boulder.
•July 2010. How Virtual is Reality? Invited Speaker: “Religion on the Internet: A Historical Overview.” Sponsored by Volkswagen. University of Bremen, Germany.
•October 2008. Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual. Invited Speaker: “From Cyberspace to Sacred Space: Utilizing the Internet and World Wide Web for Ritual Engagement.” University of Heidelberg, Germany.
•March 2008. University of King’s College. Invited Speaker: “Religion in Cyberspace.” Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.
•May 2007. Google Tech Talk. Invited Speaker: “From Cyberspace to Sacred Space: examining the Religious Revolution Occurring on the World Wide Web.” Sponsored by Google. Google International Headquarters, Mountain View California.
•July 2006. 5th International Conference on Religion, Media, and Culture. Plenary Lecture: “Religion Online: Looking Toward Third Wave Research.”Sigtuna, Sweden.
•April 2006, 31st Spalding Symposium on Indian Religions. Plenary Lecture: “Virtual Sacrifice and Internet Puja: Examining the Impact and Implications of Long Distanced Ritual Practice from the Hindu Diaspora.”Oxford University, Jesus College.
•October 2004, Between Online Religion and Religion Online: Forms of Ritual Transfer on the Internet. Invited Speaker: “Evaluating, Assessing, and comparing Online Religion and Virtual Community: A Proposed Methodology.” Second International Conference on Religion and Computer Mediated Communication, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
•March 2002. Queen’s University: Department of Religion Speaker Series. “Searching for the Sacred: Religion in Cyberspace.” Queen’s University, Canada.
•November 2001, Religious Encounters in Digital Networks. Plenary Lecture: “The Syncretic Inducement of Online Religion: Charting the Paths of Religious Participation on the Web.” University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Refereed Conference Presentations
•July 2017 South and South East Asia Association for the Study of Culture and Religion, paper: “The Cyberlama and the Virtual Sangha: Tibetan Buddhism beyond the Nationless State.” Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam.
•August 2016. International Society for Media, Religion, and Culture, paper: “Never Alone? From Sacred Myth to Secular Play: Transferring Ancient Traditions to Digital Games”. Seoul, South Korea.
•August 2014. International Society for Media, Religion, and Culture, paper: “Co-Locating the Sacred in Cyberspace: Examining the Developing Role of Online Ritual within the Tibetan Diaspora.” Canterbury, England.
•September 2013. CRESC Conference 2013. Invulnerabilities and Social Change: Precarious Lives and Social Change, paper: “Far Away-So Close: Examining the Developing Role of the Internet and WWW within Tibetan Diaspora Religion.” SOAS, London.
•Janurary 2012. International Conference on Digital Religion, paper: “Virtual Tibet: Maintaining Identity through Computer Networks.” The Center for Media, Religion, and Culture, University of Boulder.
•November 2011. American Academy of Religion, paper: “Online Ritual.” Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
•November 2009. American Academy of Religion, paper: “(Virtually) Been There, (Virtually) Done That: Ritual Practice of the Hip and Wired in the Hindu Tradition.” Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
•March 2009. Society for the Anthropology of Religion, paper: “Engineering an Alternative Ending: Creating Utopian Communities and Sacred Space in Cyberspace.” Asilomar, California.
•June 2007. Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences; Canadian Communications Association, paper: “From Cyberspace to Sacred Space: Can Virtual Religious Rituals be Real Religious Practices?” Vancouver, Canada
•November 2005, American Academy of Religion, paper: “Diaspora Religion and the Internet: The Costs and Benefits of a Wired World.” Special panel on religion and the Internet. Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
•May 2003, CSSR Congress of the Humanities and the Social Sciences, paper: “I Clone Therefore I Am: Examining the Raelian Movement’s Link between Science and Religion.” Annual Meeting, Halifax, NS.
•August 2002, Special Joint Session of the American Sociological Association and the Association for the Sociology of Religion, paper: “Popular Religion and the World Wide Web: A Match made in [Cyber] Heaven.” Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
•November 2000, American Academy of Religion, paper: “Virtual Communitas, Online Religion and the Mythic Dimension of the Internet.” Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN.
•May 1999, Religion and Science: Tension, Accommodation and Engagement, paper: “New Technology within New Religions: Pushing the paradigms of Traditional Religion and Science.” Ohio Sate University, Columbus, Ohio.
•November 1998, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, paper: “Science and the Sacred: Incorporating Technology in New Religious Belief Systems.” Montreal, Quebec.