Search
Close this search box.

Tag: cyberspace

What Will Online Religion Look Like In The Metaverse?

The Internet is not to be understood merely as a tool. It is a specific extension of a complex environment instead. Contemporaries live on (or in) the Internet as well as in the physical landscapes of this world. Besides, such a mode of living in the world continues to intensify. Always more human activities are being moved into the online environment which changes them a lot. Just think of how rapidly the activity of shopping has changed during, let’s say, the last decade. Three decades ago, shopping was a completely different experience than it is nowadays, as the Internet became an everyday reality.

Regardless of these considerations, it would be a mistake to see the Internet only as a kind of parallel reality. As a complex phenomenon, the Internet touches all spheres of human life, including the sphere of religion – the religious life. At this place, a crucial question might be asked: What is the relation between religion and the key technical medium of the internet?

In general, we may consider 3 dimensions of such a relationship. It is (1) religion online, (2) online religion, and (3) online religious experience. The first two dimensions were studied and well defined by Canadian sociologist and anthropologist of religion, Christopher Helland. The third was added a few years ago by new media and media theory experts from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Menahem Blondheim, and Hananel Rosenberg. The concept they suggested raises serious questions, but at the same time, it touches on the limits of what is presently possible. In any case, all phases (if we look at the problem from the perspective of development as Christopher Helland), or dimensions (if we consider the fact that the first two categories often exist in parallel or in different combinations) might be described as follows.

taken from Pixabay.com

The Initial Stages of Internet Religion

Religion online describes a static presence of religion on the internet. Typically, good examples of this are the websites containing information about different religious communities and their activities. In the Christian religious tradition, we can point out websites of parishes or church communities. According to Helland, this relationship between religion and the internet belongs to the past, which was characteristic of slow internet connection and technically undeveloped, static, access devices (e.g., heavy personal computers), which some of us may remember from the 1990s. At that time, the internet was understood by religious communities merely as a tool for their presentations. With time, websites, as well as social networks with religious content, became an integral part of life for a great number of religious communities. They will likely continue to serve, as such, even in times when the internet offers new possibilities.

In online religion, the Internet has become a tool for developing religious practice online with the improvement of the connection speed and improved access technologies. Online prayer groups, religious rituals, or services set and performed in an online environment might be mentioned as examples. This form of interaction between religions and the internet encountered its unprecedented boom during the last two years in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. With governmental restrictions and lockdowns, religious life in its traditional communitarian form stopped practically overnight and religions were forced to move a large part of their activities to the online environment. The internet was naturally used as a tool to handle this change. Soon, however, it was understood that it is not only a tool but also a new environment for religious practice from now on.

This is of course not without theological problems. Perhaps, one of the crucial questions refers to the online religious experience. Is it possible to speak about online religious experience at the level of online religion? Is online religious experience real or rather “just” virtual (and thus not real)? Blondheim and Rosenberg open this question and argue for a new dimension of the relationship between religion and the internet because, in their opinion, it is possible to encounter authentic religious experiences in cyberspace.

Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

The Next Frontier

It is disputable if online religious experiences are already present phenomena or if they are an uncertain matter of the future. In the latter form, they would only be considered at a level of a vision for the future. Some suggest that something like an online religious experience is principally not possible at all. However, theoretically speaking, the increasing speed of connection and response of largely personalized and omnipresent access devices (e.g., smartphones), quickly advancing the datafication of human lives, virtual reality development, and interaction with artificial intelligence, bring serious questions into the realm of religion.

The internet is becoming a true environment; something that becomes more transparent like a borderline between cyberspace and real space in which our bodies dwell. It slowly fades away. Consequently, cyberspace should neither be labeled as a “consensual hallucination” as it once was by its conceiver William Gibson, nor as a kind of utopia, or place “nowhere-somewhere” (Kevin Robins). Contemporary people live in digital landscapes as they do in physical ones. These two traditionally separated spaces manifest themselves, today, as one hybrid space.

The age of the internet of things is slowly coming to its end, and the era of the internet of everything is setting in. Quickly advancing mobile technologies are playing a key role in the hybrid space interface. Thanks to them, people are practically connected to the internet non-stop. They can create digital-physical landscapes and perceive how they become digital-physical hybrid entities as they live in hybrid (real-virtual) spaces they create for themselves. To put it bluntly, what is happening on the world wide web, is happening in the real world, and vice versa. Everything might be online, and to a large extent, it already is.

Photo by Diana Vargas on Unsplash.com

Religion in the Metaverse

Let’s assume that in such an environment (such as the metaverse) it is possible to have an authentic religious experience. In other words, let’s presume that from this perspective, the encounter with the Sacred in cyberspace has the same characteristics and qualities as in the physical landscapes of this world. An imaginary wall between real and virtual is still perceivable. However, with the emergence of the metaverse, it is becoming more transparent and more permeable. Yet, if it ever will disappear remains a question. In each case, we can already speak of religious experience in cyberspace concerning some computer games as World of Warcraft, for instance (Geraci, Gálik, Gáliková).

Recent research on Neo-Paganism suggests that a relatively high number of its adherents consider their online religious activity equivalent to that in the physical world. Some of them even stated that their religious activity in cyberspace is on a higher level than that in real life. We may also speak of online religious experiences concerning the phenomena of virtual pilgrimages (cyber-pilgrimages or e-pilgrimages). Further, platforms like the one with the meaningful name Second Life make it possible to live a religious life in a completely online environment.

Blondheim and Rosenberg believe that online religious experience in the digital world is “emerging from the breakdown and collapse of all entrenched conventions and narratives in the digital world, and the opening of a chaotic abyss can (…) serve as a prelude to a fresh new theological start.” Unfortunately, they do not say anything about how this new theological start they propose should look. But, right now, it is not that important because it may stimulate our imagination and thoughts on the transformations of faith in the digital age.

What would be your reflection on this matter?

An earlier version of this text originally appeared in the Christnet online magazine in Czech (https://www.christnet.eu/clanky/6592/nabozenstvi_on_line_on_line_nabozenstvi_a_on_line_nabozenska_zkusenost.url); published 22nd September 2021. English translation published with the permission of the Christnet magazine. Translated by the author.

František Štěch is a research fellow at the Protestant Theological Faculty of Charles University. He serves as coordinator of the “Theology & Contemporary Culture” research group. Previously he worked at the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University as a research fellow and project PI. His professional interests include Fundamental theology; Ecclesiology; Youth theology; Religious, and Christian identity; Intercultural

Get to know our Advisory Board

Looking for the Bright Side in the Corona Pandemic

I would like to step aside from my usual lane of writing to reflect on how the Corona pandemic is affecting us in unexpected ways. As I write this from the US, my kids will be homeschooling starting on Monday while myself and many other co-workers will be working from home. To be fair, I already worked from home but having the kids at home with limited choices of public places to go will certainly be a change in routine. I am also blessed to have my wife be a stay-home mom which makes our change in routine less dramatic.

Yet, I can only imagine how many other families, especially those where both parents work are coping with this new situation. Rarely have I seen a global event have such wide-spread routine-braking impact like this one. Certainly local communities have experienced much worse tragedies, yet, their impact was more localized.

With that said, I would like to join others in the blogosphere who are choosing to shed light on the upside of this crisis. By doing so, I don’t mean to trivialize the suffering of those affected by the virus or the disruptions stemming from it. Quite the opposite, I would hope that what I say here will signal that their suffering is not in vain. Maybe this is the crisis that will bring us together in surprisingly beneficial ways.

Grateful for Technology

I am thankful for the technology available to us in this time. Those facing the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918 were not as lucky. Over tens of millions died and millions more had their lives severely disrupted. I am grateful for communication technologies that have allowed news of this virus to spread quickly. Government and other institutions that undergird our society had the ability to coordinate with some lead time.

In spite of the misinformation spread through social media, this vehicle also brought quality and accurate information to the general public. “Flattening the curve,” a term only familiar to statisticians, soon became popular jargon to explain why we need to practice “social distancing.” In fact, many of the voluntary closures are not result of top-down management mandates but the collective action of an intelligently informed population. We quickly learned that to love our neighbor, especially the elderly, meant to stay away physically.

Furthermore, I am grateful for screen and phone technologies that now allow a large portion of the population to work or study remotely. Businesses, schools and government organization were able to quickly pivot to a remote workforce diminishing the already pervasive impact in the economy. To be fair, it is still very likely the global economy will enter a recession but it could have been much worse. As many become homeschoolers and remote workers, society does not have to stop completely.

The Advent of Global Cooperation

Rarely have I seen such display of global cooperation as in this crisis. Governments are talking to each other, businesses are offering paid-sick leave even when not required, schools are offering lunches even in days they are closed and neighbors are offering to buy groceries for those who cannot do it for themselves.

In American politics, we have experienced even a limited time of bipartisan cooperation to address this crisis. Corona is bringing together even the left-most Democrat with the right-most Republicans. They are realizing that their petty differences must recede when our whole livelihood is at stake. Certainly the federal response to the crisis could have been much more swift and effective but fortunately I see a society rising to shore up for the deficiencies of governmental action.

Even more encouraging has been the responsible self-quarantining of high-profile leaders, showing by example what we can all do to mitigate the Corona virus’ impact. From Justin Trudeau to Senator Ted Cruz, leaders are stepping up with their personal lives encouraging many to follow suit. Furthermore, Delta CEO announced that he would forgo his salary for 6 months in order to contain layoffs from this crisis. These are all examples of leadership that are worth celebrating.

Hope in Unexpected Places

Many have now heard about the singing in the streets in quarantined towns in Italy. People who are now confined to their homes found unexpected ways to show solidarity to each other. They can’t meet but their voices can connect them through empty space. It only highlights the fact that we humans are wired for community. We may often fight but we can’t live isolated from each other.

Apparently, Earth is grateful for this virus too. CO2 transmissions have fallen drastically globally as people self-quarantine or and avoid public gatherings. In a surprising twist, a deadly virus to humans is proving to be life giving to our beloved dirt home. My wife even speculated that this virus was simply Mother Nature screaming at us to emit less pollution and slow down global warming. She may well be right. This may be Earth’s plot to stop our insatiable pursuit of destructive technological progress.

Indeed, the Corona pandemic will continue to affect us in unexpected and enduring ways. Above all, this crisis is forcing us to stop, rest and do less. It could have paradigm shifting effects in how we relate to each other especially through cyberspace. I am particularly curious on its impact in the thousands of churches that will be holding services online in this period of social distancing. Could cyber connection become a dominant form of communicating ideas and enacting rituals? Could virtual church become part of mainstream rather than a fringe movement?

It is too early to say. Yet, my encouragement to all reading is to look for the opportunities arising from this crisis. Life will be different for a while but it may very well be a lot more beautiful than you expected.