ABSTRACT
The practice of religion as technology is brought out well in a study of the early use of the Internet by ultra-orthodox Jews, with their concerns for the precise techniques by which religious law can be applied. The Internet has been used by Trinidadian religions to help foster identity within what may be seen as a series of concentric circles. The Hindu community in Trinidad, which represents around a quarter of the population, is dominated by the organization of the Sanathan Dharma Maha Sabha. Established religions, just as much as the other institutions already discussed, are faced with an Internet that seems to represent a new potential for freedom. In most religions the authority of their establishment is closely bound to arguments about authorship. The Internet is not a simple new communicative device. It is a related series of evolving technologies, each with its own specific potentials and constraints.
