Soon, however, organizers embraced the interactive potential of the Net. Mailing lists devoted to witchcraft and pagan religions helped nurture revivals in oft-ignored beliefs, and newsgroups like alt.bible.prophecy and alt.religion.scientology emerged as some of the Net's most heavily trafficked areas. Today, thousands of groups hawk salvation and spiritual guidance online with the same eagerness of Wall Street traders hyping the latest Internet offering. Each faction vies to achieve brand rec- ognition and to cultivate a loyal congregation. As with other online communities, virtual congregations are a fluid lot.
Members gather, share ideas and quickly disperse in search of the next intriguing thought.
The conversations may be short-lived, yet are rich with emotion and intensity. The result is an emerging belief system based on point and click and cut and paste. Traditionally, it's not the mainliners who are innovative. Among Christian groups, the televangical community has been among the first to embrace electronic commerce. For many of those groups, particularly those based in Orange County, the Net acts as a natural extension of a church's fund-raising efforts by radio or cable television.