| Education
|
2004
Doctor of Philosophy: Sociology of Religion, University of Toronto, Centre for the Study of Religion.
Course Work: Method and Theory in the Study of Religion; Religion,
Science and Nature; Sociological Theory; Religious Innovation and
Accommodation in New Religious Movements. Cumulative GPA 4.0
Language comprehension exams completed in Spanish and French.
Thesis Topic: “Religion on the Internet: A Sociological Inquiry
into Participation and Community Online.” Supervisors: Dr.
John Simpson, Centre for the Study of Religion, University of Toronto;
Dr. Joseph Bryant, Centre for the Study of Religion, University
of Toronto; Dr. Lorne L. Dawson, Department of Sociology, University
of Waterloo.
Major Field: Sociology of Religion
Minor Field: New Religious Movements
1999
M.A., Concordia University, Montreal Quebec, Department
of Religion.
Course work: Theories of Religion; Methodological Problems in the
Study of Religion; New Religious Movements and Apocalyptic Belief
Systems; Millennial Thinking; Dualism in the History of Christianity;
Jewish and Christian Theological Responses to the Holocaust. Cumulative
GPA 4.0
Thesis Topic: “Science
and the Sacred: New Technologies within New Religions, a Reaction
to Secularization and a Reinterpretation of Myth”
Supervisor: Dr. Frederick Bird, Department of Religion, Concordia
University.
1997
B.A. Honours, Concordia University, Department
of Religion.
|
| Awards
and Honours
|
2010
Co-Investigator Religion and Diversity Project
SSHRC MCRI (Major Collaborative Research Initiative), hosted at the University of Ottawa
2009
Social Science and Research Council of Canada Standard Research Grant ($79,918)
2008
Dalhousie Research Development Fund for the Social Sciences ($3500)
2005
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Jack Shand Research Award ($750)
Dalhousie Research Development Fund for the Social Sciences
($3000)
2004-2006
SSHRC-Social
Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Post Doctoral Fellowship
($75,056)
2003-2004
OGS-Ruth E. and Harry E. Carter Ontario
Graduate Scholarship in the Faculty of Arts and Science ($15 000)
2002
ASR-Ralph
A. Gallagher Travel Grant ($500)
2001-2003
SSHRC-Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship ($35,400)
1999-2002
FCAR-Fonds
pur la Formation de Chercheurs et l’Aide a la Recherche, bourse
de doctorat ($37,634)
1999
University
of Toronto Doctoral Fellowship ($11,100)
|
| Refereed
Publications |
Books
Helland, C. (Forthcoming). Internet Communion
and Virtual Faith: The New Face of Religion in the Wired West.
Oxford University Press: New York.
Journals
Helland, C. (2007). "Diaspora on the Electronic Frontier: Developing Virtual Connections with Sacred Homelands." Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, Special Issue on Religion and the Internet, Volume 12, Issue 3, April 2007.
Helland, C. (2006). "Using the Internet for Religious Studies Research." Religious Studies Review, 32: 4.
Helland, C. (2006). "Websites for the Study of New Religious Movements." Religious Studies Review, 32: 4.
Helland, C. (2005). “Online Religion as Lived Religion:
Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on
the Internet.” Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on
the Internet. Vol. 1, Issue 1. Special
Issue on Theory and Methodology.
Helland, C. (2002). Surfing
for Salvation. Religion.
Vol. 32, Issue 4, October.
Helland, C. (2000). The Big Bang and the Big Bomb: Examining the
Role of Science and Technology in Apocalyptic Belief Systems. Journal
for Millennial Studies. Vol. 2, Issue 2.
Helland, C. (1999). Premillennialism, the Community of Conflict,
and the Problems of Classification. Journal
of Religion and Culture. Vol. 13, Fall.
Contributed Works
Helland, C. (In Press). Online Religion in Canada: From Hype to Hyperlink. In: Lori Beaman (Ed.), Religion and Canadian Society: Traditions, Transitions, and Innovations. Canadian Scholar's Press: Toronto.
Helland, C. (2011). Ritual in Cyberspace. In: Heidi Campbell, (Ed.), Digital Religion. Routledge: New York.
Helland, C. (2010). Online Religion. In: Nina Azari (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Sciences of Religion. Springer: New York.
Helland, C. (2008). Canadian Religious Diversity Online: A Network of Possibilities. In: Peter Beyer and Lori Beaman (Eds.). Religion and Diversity in Canada. Brill Academic Publishers: Boston.
Helland, C. (2007). Hinduism on the Internet. In: Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (Eds.). The Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Routledge: New York.
Helland, C. (2007). The Raelian Creation Myth and the Art of Cloning: Reality or Rhetoric? In: James R. Lewis (Ed.), Alien Worlds: Social and Religious Dimensions of the UFO Phenomenon. 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.), Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet.
Routledge.
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.
Prometheus Books.
Helland, C. (2003). The Ashtar Command . In: James R. Lewis (Ed.), The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of UFO Religions. Prometheus Books.
Helland, C. (2003). From Extraterrestrials to Ultraterrestrials:
the Evolution of the concept of Ashtar. In: Christopher
Partridge (Ed.), UFO
Religions. Routledge.
Helland, C. (2001). Science and the Apocalypse: Accepting Catastrophe
and Anticipating Salvation. In: Christopher Brittain and Stephan
Dobson (Eds.), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Religion
but were Afraid to Ask Students. SACSR Publication: Toronto.
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. 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.
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.
ABC-Clio: Santa Barbara, California.
Book Reviews
Review of Stephen Ellingson, The Megachurch and the Mainline: Remaking Religious Tradition in the Twenty-first Century. University of Chicago Press, 2007. The Canadian Journal of Sociology Online 2007
Review of Douglas Cowan, Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet. Routledge: London and New York, 2005. Journal of Contemporary Religion, October 2006, Vol. 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
Centre 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.
Reviews of My Own Work
Online Religion/Religion Online and Virtual Communitas framework reviewed in:
Handbook of Religion and Social Institutions. Edited by Helen Rose Ebaugh, Springer Press 2006.
Media Anthropology. Edited by Eric Rothenbuhler and Mihai Coman, Sage Publications, 2005.
Religion in Cyberspace. Edited by M. Hojsgaard and M. Warburg, Routledge 2005.
Cyberhenge: Modern Pagans on the Internet. By Douglas E. Cowan, Routledge 2005.
Belief in Media: Cultural Perspectives on Media and Christianity. Edited by Peter Horsfield, Mary Hess, Adan Medrano, Ashgate Press 2004.
|
Conference Presentations
|
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.
2009. Biannual Joint Meeting of the Society for Psychological Anthropology and the Society for the Anthropology of Religion , paper:
Engineering an Alternative Ending: Creating Utopian Communities and Sacred Spaces in Cyberspace. Asilomar, California in March.
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.
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
2006. 5th International Conference on Religion, Media and Culture, paper presentation: Diaspora on the Electronic Frontier: Developing Virtual Connections with Sacred Homelands. Sigtuna, Sweden.
2006. 5th International Conference on Religion, Media and Culture, panel presentation: Religion Online: Looking Toward Third Wave Research. Sigtuna, Sweden.
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).
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. 2005 Annual Meeting, Philadelphia.
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. University of Heidelberg, Germany.
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.
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.
2001, Religious Encounters in Digital Networks, Plenary
Lecture: The
Syncretic Inducement of Online Religion: Charting the Paths of Religious
Participation on the Web. First International Conference
on Religion and Computer Mediated Communication, University of
Copenhagen,
Denmark.
2000, American Academy of Religion, paper: Virtual
Communitas, Online Religion and the Mythic Dimension of the Internet.
Annual Meeting, Nashville, TN.
2000, American Academy of Religion, paper: Science
and the Apocalypse: Accepting Catastrophe and Anticipating Salvation.
Eastern International Regional Meeting, Syracuse University, Syracuse,
NY.
1999, Center for Millennial Studies, paper: The
Big Bang and the
Big Bomb: Examining the Role of Science and Technology in Apocalyptic
Belief Systems. Boston University, Boston, MA.
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.
1998, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, paper:
Science
and the Sacred: Incorporating Technology in New Religious Belief
Systems. Montreal, Quebec.
1998, Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion and Culture,
paper: Premillennialism
and the Community of Conflict. Concordia University, Montreal,
Quebec.
1997, Interdisciplinary Studies in Religion and Culture, paper:
Hale-Bopp,
the Millennium, and the End of the World. Concordia University,
Montreal, Quebec. |
| Academic
Work Experience |
Teaching Experience
Associate Professor of Sociology of Religion (July 1, 2010 - present)
Assistant Professor of Sociology of Religion (July 1, 2005 - June 30, 2010)
Tenure Stream Appointment
Summer 2005, Summer 2003. Nova Scotia College of Art and Design: Instructor, Critical Studies: Art and Religion.
Fall - Winter 2004. Saint Mary's University: Instructor, RELI
251.1 and 251.2: Religion in Contemporary Culture.
1999 - 2002. University of Toronto: teaching assistant.
1997 - 1999. Concordia University: teaching assistant.
Committee Work
Assistant Dean, Academic Integrity Officer, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2011)
Assistant Dean, Student Matters, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
(2009)
Undergraduate Honours Advisor: Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology
Senator representing the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (July 1, 2006 – June 30, 2009)
Chair, Research Ethics Committee, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology
Chair, Promotion and Communications Committee, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology
Committee Member, History Department Chair Search Committee (2006)
Professional Services
Reviewer for the Chancellery of Honours, Order of Canada, nomination committee.
Editorial Board, Online-Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet.
Guest Editor, Religious Studies Review, Special Issue on Religion and the Internet.
|
| Invited
Lectures |
May 2007, Google International Headquarters, Mountain View California, “From Cyberspace to Sacred Space: examining the Religious Revolution Occurring on the World Wide Web.”
March 2007, University of King’s College, “Religion in Cyberspace.” Sponsored by the John Templeton Foundation.
February 2007, Cape Breton University, Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, “Internet Communion, Virtual Faith, and Cyber Pilgrimage: Examining the New Face of Religion in the Wired West.”
January 2007, Dalhousie University, INFO 6600 Information Sources in the Humanities and Social Sciences, “Cyberspace Research.”
May 2006, Dalhousie University, ENGL 3300 Television: Theory and Criticism, “Televangelism.”
February 2006, Dalhousie University: SOSA 2002X Thinking & Doing Sociology, “Internet Ethnography.”
May 2006, Dalhousie University, ENGL 3300 Television: Theory and Criticism, “Televangelism.”
March 2002, Queen’s
University: “Searching for the Sacred: Religion in Cyberspace.”
August 2001, York University: Religion AKHumA1850, “The Bible
and Cyberspace.”
November 1999, University of Toronto: Sociology 305F, “The
Social Significance of the Raelian Movement.”
March 1999, Concordia University: Religion 211/3, “New Religious
Movements in North America”.
February 1998, Dawson College: Intro to World Religions, “Gnostic
Elements in New Religious Movements”.
February 1998, Dawson College: Intro to World Religions, “The
Social History of Gnosticism”.
October 1997, Concordia University: Religion 298/P, “Gnostic
Elements of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment”.
October 1997, Dawson College: Intro to World Religions, “The
Social History of Gnosticism”.
|
| Media Interviews
|
Television
CBC News Nova Scotia: televised interview concerning the Lord’s Prayer being used at public functions. March 30, 2007.
CBC News: Sunday Report with Evan Solomon and Carole MacNeil, in-depth nationally televised interview concerning Millennialism and apocalyptic reporting in the media in the United States. August 6, 2006 (televised on the CBC and CBC Newsworld).
CTV Live at Five, televised interview concerning Wicca and Neo-Pagan Midsummer Festivals. June 21, 2006.
Radio
BBC World Service Radio, interview with Tim Jackson concerning religion and the Internet "Free to Speak--Free to Worship." Part 1 broadcast December 11, 2007.
CBC Sounds Like Canada with Shelagh Rogers, detailed interview concerning religion on the Internet and my current research, broadcast October 3, 2007. Podcast
CBC Radio Canada International, detailed interview with Mary Travis concerning Christmas Rituals. Interview 1, “Christmas Traditions” broadcast December 28, 2006. Interview 2, “Christmas Tree” broadcast December 29, 2006.
Print
Dalhousie News, story on my research related to religion and the Internet titled "The Latest in Godcasting: More People are Participating in Religious Rituals Online," by James Covey, July 16, 2007.
The Canadian Press, information source for news story on religion and the Internet titled “Faithful Flock Online,” by reporter James Keller, June 6, 2007.
The Daily News, full page story on my research related to religion and the Internet titled “Googling for God: virtual worship goes mainstream,” by reporter Jon Tattrie, April 15, 2007.
The Chronicle Herald, information source for news story on controversial church ad campaign titled “Church ad becomes hot topic,” by reporter Chris Lambie, January 31, 2007.
The Coast, in-depth story on my participation in the Dalhousie University “Discover the Unexpected” campaign titled “Heart on his sleeves” by
Meredith Dault, January 11-18, 2007.
The Daily News, in-depth story on my participation in the Dalhousie University “Discover the Unexpected” campaign titled “Dal’s newest poster boy.” December 10, 2006.
Pittsburgh Tribune Review, information source for news story titled “Godcasts spread the Word” by reporter Greg Latshaw. August 13, 2006.
The Daily News, full page story on current research titled “The Church of Cyberspace,” by reporter Richard Cuthbertson. January 9, 2006.
Globe and Mail (Canadian Associated Press), information source for news story on Transcendental Meditation titled “Indian guru who taught the Beatles sets sights on Canada,” by reporter James Keller, October 17, 2005. |
| Memberships in Professional
Associations |
American Academy of Religion
Association of Internet Researchers
Association for the Sociology of Religion
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
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