ABSTRACT
The Conclusion consists of the summary of results presented in the previous chapters. It is argued that online religious communities should be considered a digital frontier of community-building, where offline forms, norms, and functions become reformulated to adapt to the online environment. Then, it is stated that while the Internet facilitates the emergence of communication communities, it can simultaneously effectively sustain individualistic orientations. Consequently, religious forums can be considered inherently individualistic. It is then emphasised that individualisation of religion manifests itself on the forums on several levels: in the content of the exchanges, in the focus on expressing one’s opinions and emotions, and in the fact that while knowledge circulation and source interpretation are group activities, their primary purpose is to benefit the conversing individuals. It is also discussed that reflexivity is an important aspect of forum debates and yet another facet of individualisation, as it allows sharing personal experiences and make the individual the object of inquiry. It is argued that the reliance on knowledge observed on all three forums recalls the processes of the protestantisation of Catholicism, which are a consequence of increased religious pluralism and individualism and are associated with assertive laity.
