Buddhism on the internet: the methodology of virtual religious communities study

The article is devoted to the methodology of sociological study of religion on the Internet. In the modern society the religious virtual intensification in the network attracts more and more attention of researchers. The virtual religious activity is being developed, new forms of the religious communities arise: «digital», online religion. Internet became a field of religious social interactions, nearly devoid of territorial, political or other limits. The authors analyze the contemporary sociological approaches to studying of the virtual religious communities. The Buddhist virtual communities have become one of most fast-growing religious Internet phenomena. It demonstrates various ways of arranging new forms of information transfer: construction of discursive practices and integration of real groups. The most interesting are the sites of the religious groups, network religious communities in the social media and their influence on the real social interactions