Affiliation:
1. University of Salerno, Italy
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to define the characters of the online neo-Celtic Italian society, especially their religious beliefs, through the observation of their activities on blogs and social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media became, in fact, the main diffusion channel for these religions, replacing forums and other kinds of online communities as virtual places where people are allowed to interact with others who share their own spirituality. Within neo-paganism, some groups belonging to this religion started, during the last decade, identifying themselves with a more specific name, that is neo-Celtic instead of neo-pagan, that clearly defines the group as a part of pre-Christian cultural heritage. In this chapter, the author will attempt to define the characteristics of these neo-pagan groups focussing on their self-constructed identity and their relationship with the larger society.