Recently, I was interviewed by a post-graduate student of sociology from the UK. His university-sponsored research focuses on how and why Christians are using online environments like Second Life for faith-focused purposes. “The available literature on religious practices within virtual spaces is currently very limited,” his introductory research material says. “As these environments become increasingly popular and more sophisticated there is a growing need for us to better understand how they are similar to, and different from, the ‘real’ world.”
I thought it might be informative to share my responses to his interview questions. I’ve withheld his name, although I confirmed his identity and the university’s sponsorship of the research project. You probably know as well as I … there are a lot of people out there in Second Life who use the line, “I’m doing some research I’d like you to help me with …” It’s always good to check that people are legit. One hint: NO university allows human subject researchers to remain anonymous or hidden behind an avatar name. Always keep your guard up, kids J
Researcher: Okay, Cosmic, so let’s start with how you first came to use SL for religious purposes.
I've used SL for a couple years now, and Christian communities were among the first sims I sought out. I was a Christian before I came here, and knew I would like to find Bible studies or discussion groups. I had no idea when I came here that there would be whole sims dedicated to services and Christian activities. Once I knew that, I began to attend the services and the Bible studies, participating to the extent I could, and enjoying the sermons, music, and groups.
Researcher: So the wide range of activities is something which you like about Christian worship in SL.
Yes -- some sims have more than others, of course, but I like to track down Bible studies and different praise and worship services here. Those don't replace the same activities in real life for me, although I know that for some SL users, this is the only place they have their worship and studies of the faith.
Researcher: Do you feel that the search function within SL has enabled you to come into contact with a wider range of Christians from various denominations than in RL?
Yes, it certainly has. For example, I had never met a Calvinist in real life. My first exposure to that form of theology was here in Second Life, and I doubt I would have found them without using the search capabilities of SL. Simple terms like "Bible" or "Christian" or "church" can lead to entirely new experiences, and exposure to ideas and lifestyles I'd never known existed.
Researcher: So do you feel that SL has enabled you to view Christianity in a different way than you did before using Second Life?
Yes. Meeting the Calvinists turned out to be a rather negative experience. But on the other end of the spectrum, I had my first encounter with a sim for the United Church of Christ. It sounds naive of me, but before going there, I had no idea that Christians could be social liberals. I had always felt uncomfortable in real life about the harsh, unwavering approach my congregations took to homosexuality, single motherhood, diversity of families, things of that sort. When I began visiting SL prayer services with UCC Christians, I began to realize there were people out there who shared my less-than-conservative social views in some areas that (at least in the US) are unwaveringly conservative among evangelical Christians. So ... it would appear that SL didn't exactly change my ideas (in that case), but at least allowed me the vision to see that I was not alone, having unprecedentedly crazy thoughts like compassion and voting Democrat.
Researcher: On the conservative scale of Christian services, you attend ALM services fairly regularly. From my own perspective this is a very conservative strain of Christianity.
Yes, and I also attend House of Prayer, also conservative and more Pentecostal. I'm a Latina, and in that immediate cultural setting, you're often limited to seeing two strains of Christianity -- Roman Catholicism, and Pentecostalism. When I frequent the more charismatic sims, it's a reflection of my comfort with old habits (although there are things about me that group wouldn't like if I were too open about them). When I frequent other denominations, it's an expression of my curiosity, and my desire to use SL to learn things I couldn't learn quickly in RL.
Researcher: From my own Christian background, I'm Anglican. For me ALM is a hard line of Christianity that I had never encountered before.
I have comments on that, but they may not pertain to your research.
Researcher: I am mostly interested in the technological use of SL for fellowship and worship, but feel free to put opinions forward if you wish to.
In fact, this does have a technological element. I see ALM's pastoral team as an odd mix of conservative ideology, improbably blended with New Age and Conspiracy theory type ideas that are pervasive throughout the Internet. To explain: the pastor is part of this technological generation. He sounds older, but he is only my age. He is a devoted follower of Internet-distributed ideas -- conspiracy theories, alternative medicine ideas, health food crazes.
You can see this by viewing his personal Web sites, and you come to realize that rather than being trained in a seminary, he is training himself via the Internet.
Researcher: Yes, I know. I've looked at his website and had a good few chats with him
He's completely Net-based. It is where his "pastor" certificate comes from. And it's where his ideas come from. I can guess what his sermons will be about weekly ... I simply go to his personal Web site and see what product or service, often with a New Age bent, he is currently trying to push online. If he's going through an organic food craze, his sermons will link spirituality to organic food. If he's been reading about 2012 and Planet X ..... suddenly, his sermons will spiritualize those ideas.
Researcher: I didn't know about his ordination credentials. All I know is that he works solely online.
He seems to be, frankly, the first full manifestation of an online pastor I've ever met ... online trained, online ordained, online practicing.
Researcher: You appear to view this kind of ministering in a negative light. Do you therefore feel that SL ministering needs to be linked to an RL, bricks and mortar church?
The negativity you sensed from me was more directed at the specific topics covered by ALM sermons. But I also have some issues with those who run churches in SL without having any RL affirmation of their roles as pastors or faith leaders. Likewise, I get a bit nervous about those who entirely replace their Christian lives in the physical world with digital relationships and spirituality. At one time, I did an informal poll of those I knew in Christian churches here in SL, and found that a full two-thirds of my Christian acquaintances had no RL church. For disabled shut-ins, I can understand that. For most people, though, it makes me wonder what they're avoiding.
Researcher: In your opinion, can a spiritual, or reverential atmosphere be created in SL services?
In my opinion, yes.
Researcher: How do you think it compares to a service in RL? Do you prefer it over RL?
I see SL worship as positioned between my RL worship with my church community, and my private worship and prayer time at home. I prefer an RL congregation above all else ... those are my immediate brothers and sisters in Christ, and it would be spiritual suicide to forsake coming together with them, and ministering both with and to them. On the other hand -- in my SL services, I am, essentially, alone. In that way, it is like my private devotional time. The big difference is that I'm aware of being in a network of individuals who have all chosen to join in loosely knit private worship. Is it as communal as real life worship services? For me, no ... I can't hug a sister in Christ over SL; I can’t put a hand on a brother’s shoulder when I know he's feeling down. And it is for that reason that I equate SL more with private prayer than with communal worship.
Researcher: So the physicality is important for you in worship. Within SL you don't feel present?
Interestingly put. J I do feel more present in SL than when I am, say, in a text-only chat room. But that presence is an illusion ... and the illusion is shattered when in the midst of a moving service, I realize a sister or brother is in need, and I can't support them with my physical presence. Sometimes it's the very illusion of presence in SL that makes the realization you're NOT present so upsetting. You suddenly realize you're only with others as much as you would be over a long-distance phone call.
Researcher: What are your thoughts on the use of avatars within worship? Do you feel SL is more, shall we say, intimate and engaging than text-only chat rooms?
Yes.
Researcher: In what ways do you think this feature of Second Life enhances worship and fellowship?
In a chat room, the text I toss out is just my on-the-fly opinion. In SL, the avatar I've built and tweaked and dressed and keep trying to perfect is really "me," at least to the emotional part of my brain. It may not be Actual Me, but it is Analog Me, and there are many, many people who will only know me through that representation. I imbue my avatar (unconsciously at first, but consciously, too) with a portion of my spirit. I'm not being literal here. I look on the screen, though, and when my avatar walks across a sim, in my mind it is me taking that walk. When I am in a service and have my avatar raise her hands, it is me, in my mind, raising my hands. Because I have a visual (rather than text-only) representation of myself ... and because that representation becomes more lifelike with each SL generation ... I am willing to suspend disbelief and consider myself to BE the worshipper in there, in the SL world. In fact, even thinking of it as "in there" is a betrayal that I think there's a "there" there.
Researcher: You see it as a representation of yourself. What are your thoughts on avatar representations of children and furries in a religious context?
My visceral reaction is that it creeps me out a little. But apparently, I'm not so dogmatic about it, since one of my friends on SL is a married man from Mexico in his 30s who comes on SL as a little white girl. I've taken a little time to think about it in his case, and I've concluded that there is something in his self-expression that makes him need to present himself that way ... vulnerable, requiring care and a gentler touch. I know that some people use child avatars on SL for pretty disturbing purposes, but my friend isn't like that. He is a Christian, and I realize, I speak to him very gently and carefully due to that avatar. Not because I'm swayed by what the avi looks like, but because I sense what it represents. Furries on the other hand ... I've never had any issue with them. They're probably more accepted by congregations because they're so removed from reality. No one thinks of them as anything but costumed people. Child avis are approached with much more caution, due to our natural fear for the safety of children.
Researcher: Perhaps you're right. One of my respondents who presents themselves as a child mentioned some issues along those lines at one of the churches he attends. But do you feel the role playing element detracts from the reverential atmosphere?
Yes, sometimes. When my avatar is being human in its expression, and suddenly the Green Lantern or a bipedal wolf is praying beside me in the pews, I find I move my camera to keep from losing the sense of worship.
Researcher: So in regards to SL congregations, what are your thoughts on the permanency or fluidity of membership?
There is high fluidity at this time. I say that with confidence because I've been watching numerous SL congregations for a couple years now. Church sims come and go, and lead players are the only ones who stay the same.
Researcher: So you've seen churches disband?
Yes. In fact, I've seen one disband twice already, and it is on its third incarnation, having reformed under a third name just a few months ago.
Researcher: lol … I've got this mental image of a vicar in robes running away from worshippers.
Not a bad image, that. Although, more of a suited preacher :)
Researcher: Do you see the same people popping up at different churches and ministries within SL?
Two answers: (1) yes, and (2) how would I know? To the first ... I see a core of people who move through, going from church to church, many hoping for leadership positions, others, more like me, wanting a variety to the styles of preaching. The first group is like a cadre of wannabes. The second is a sad collection of channel surfers. J Just kidding, but only a little. On the other hand -- as to (2) above, I would say that there are new people I've met in churches here who turn out to be people I already knew before -- except they are in new avatars, with new names, trying again.
Researcher: Sure, I can appreciate your second point. I've noticed in my own research that when I church hop, I find quite a few people appear at other services, too.
There is something quintessentially Christian about the idea of ditching an avatar for a new avatar. It’s a variation on the traditional "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives." Shedding the old self to put on a new one -- it's odd how the virtual world has made that a bit more real.
Researcher: I agree, like rebirth.
And more than rebirth -- have you seen churches in reality where some people go up for altar calls every other week to give their lives to Christ? It's almost a reflection of that kind of mentality ... looking for that initial high all over again, wanting to return to the start and feel it all fresh. Once again, Born Again again. J You're an Anglican, so you'll understand when I say this: If you have a faith with no sacramental framework ... where the only sacrament is called "the altar call" .... then that's the only sacrament people will participate in, over and over again.
Researcher: Yeah, I can definitely see your point. For me personally, one thing I find attractive about SL in regards to worship is the possibility for spontaneity. Trudging up to the altar on a Sunday can make people seem somehow like automatons, a distinct lack of thought. I've done it myself. which is partly why I find SL intriguing.
Agreed. It's interesting how we mix the old and the new here. I once saw a pastor in an SL church ask an avatar to take his cartoon hat off while in the church, to show respect. Meanwhile there was a wolf avi in the front row, and the wolf was a deacon at the church. No cartoon hats, gentlemen, but furry deacons are okay. Talk about old realities meeting new.
Researcher: Finally, I'd like to ask you about 'griefing' in services. What are your thoughts on purposeful disruptions of services?
I don't see it as any different from the vitriol one finds everywhere on the Internet. The anonymity of the medium attracts those who would behave in ways and say things that they'd never say in real life. It's not a church thing, it's not an SL thing ... it's a Web thing. And what a better way to see the reality of human nature, than to strip away accountability for one's actions and thoughts? The real human ... Man, the unregenerate man, fallen man ... comes to the forefront. And while griefers can, of course, disrupt an SL service in ways no one would disrupt them in reality, the digital world also has a benefit the real world doesn't -- those in need of Christ come right to us. They aren't merely griefers. Like my friend who dresses in the avi of a little girl, they are people who behave in ways driven by internal needs and impulses. In a very real way, griefers are the SL mission field for believers. Griefers are the unbelievers who showed up. Most never do.
Researcher: So you see them as potential converts?
Yes, I do. Christ would.
Researcher: That’s an interesting way to look at it, and agreed on Jesus’ point of view, but if you look at the 'banned' list of ALM, as an example, that’s a lot of people who won't be listening to sermons any time soon.
True. Two points toward that: (1) I've looked at that list, and have seen the same people banned under 5 or 6 different avatar names. So it isn't as long a list as it seems. And (2), there does come a point when the needs of the congregation outweigh the needs of a single griefer. Christ instructed the disciples to shake the dust from their feet when certain conditions of rejection have been met. So shaking the pixels from one's feet is also part of keeping the Gospel spreading.
Researcher: Good analogy. Well, that about wraps it up for my research questions …
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