Sikh-ing online: the role of the Internet in the religious lives of young British Sikhs

Set in the context of a wider study of processes of religious transmission, this article examines the role of the Internet in the religious lives of young British Sikhs. Having explored the emergence of the presence of Sikhism online, data gathered through interviews, focus groups and a large scale online survey is analysed to understand how and why young British Sikhs use the Internet to learn about Sikhism and how the online environment may or may not impact on their ideas of religious tradition and authority. Using Campbell's [2007. “Who's Got the Power? Religious Authority and the Internet.” Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 12 (3): 1043–1062] recommendation that any examination of the impact of the Internet on religious authority needs to be sufficiently contextualised, I argue that the effects of the online environment on traditional sources of religious authority are not as stark as scholars studying the early impact of the Internet suggest. Given that ‘going online’ has become an everyday practice for many young people living in Britain, this article contributes to understanding the online religious lives of young people in general, and young British Sikhs in particular.