ABSTRACT
Chapter Eight, “The digital present: fans, participatory culture, and virtual congregations,” is a collaborative chapter between the author, Colleigh Stein, and Cathryn Piwinski, and uses television and television fan cultures to think about the idea of civil and lived religion through communal and shared viewing practices. Traditional religion has often been based on “presence,” or “hope,” or on sacred places, objects, and practices. Can there be any kind of religion outside of these signifiers of certainty?
