Today’s world is essentially defined by the acceleration of social change and the digitalization of everyday life. The emergence of sophisticated forms of technology-based social gathering generates new forms of expression of the religious phenomenon. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this process, especially in post-secular societies characterized by religious diversity. The main objective of this chapter is to build a theoretical framework to assess the risks, possibilities, and challenges of the institutional activity of religious entities in cyberspace. We intend to establish a new conceptual basis for understanding the diffusion of beliefs and the processes of interreligious dialogue, particularly in the case of the metaverse. Social interconnectedness in virtual social networks and the new possibilities opened up by the metaverse are the keys to understanding this process. Network topology allows us to show the evolution of social interconnections in religious activities on the Internet and the diffusion of religious activities through networks. Religious communities, some of which have already been meeting in virtual reality and taking advantage of the possibilities of an online presence during the pandemic, will play a key role in building a digital future. It is not surprising that companies like Meta are interested in partnerships with religious communities using their media platforms, as they will undoubtedly be first-class agents in the development of innovative communicative practices of social cohesion based on religious elements. Post-secularism helps us to understand digital technology as a form of re-enchantment of the world. Far from leading to a world in which religion plays an increasingly irrelevant role, the metaverse converges with postsecularism to create new avenues and forms of expression for religious and spiritual experience.

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The Religious Experience in the Metaverse: Shaping a New Digital Heaven

  • Javier Bustamante-Donas

摘要

Today’s world is essentially defined by the acceleration of social change and the digitalization of everyday life. The emergence of sophisticated forms of technology-based social gathering generates new forms of expression of the religious phenomenon. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this process, especially in post-secular societies characterized by religious diversity. The main objective of this chapter is to build a theoretical framework to assess the risks, possibilities, and challenges of the institutional activity of religious entities in cyberspace. We intend to establish a new conceptual basis for understanding the diffusion of beliefs and the processes of interreligious dialogue, particularly in the case of the metaverse. Social interconnectedness in virtual social networks and the new possibilities opened up by the metaverse are the keys to understanding this process. Network topology allows us to show the evolution of social interconnections in religious activities on the Internet and the diffusion of religious activities through networks. Religious communities, some of which have already been meeting in virtual reality and taking advantage of the possibilities of an online presence during the pandemic, will play a key role in building a digital future. It is not surprising that companies like Meta are interested in partnerships with religious communities using their media platforms, as they will undoubtedly be first-class agents in the development of innovative communicative practices of social cohesion based on religious elements. Post-secularism helps us to understand digital technology as a form of re-enchantment of the world. Far from leading to a world in which religion plays an increasingly irrelevant role, the metaverse converges with postsecularism to create new avenues and forms of expression for religious and spiritual experience.