Japan

Christopher Helland completed his doctorate examining early forms of online religious activity. He has a number of influential publications examining religion on the Internet and was one of the pioneering researchers in this developing field of study. Helland was heavily influenced by the writings of William Gibson and Neal Stephenson and has been an avid gamer (both online and offline) since his teenage years. His current research on video games is examining the transfer of the ritual activities and sacred narratives into the game environment. His work in Japan explores Indie games and the cultural representations of traditional and new religious narratives that have become part of this gaming genre.