Greetings,
I'd like to bring your collective attention to this recently released
book by Dr. Robert Gerachi, associate professor of religious studies at
Manhattan College.
Virtually Sacred: Myth and Meaning in World of Warcraft and Second Life
"Millions of users have taken up residence in virtual worlds, and in
those worlds they find opportunities to revisit and rewrite their
religious lives. Robert M. Geraci argues that virtual worlds and video
games have become a locus for the satisfaction of religious needs,
providing many users with devoted communities, opportunities for ethical
reflection, a meaningful experience of history and human activity, and a
sense of transcendence. Using interviews, surveys, and his own
first-hand experience within the virtual worlds, Geraci shows how World
of Warcraft and Second Life provide participants with the opportunity to
rethink what it means to be religious in the contemporary world. Not all
participants use virtual worlds for religious purposes, but many online
residents use them to rearrange or replace religious practice as
designers and users collaborate in the production of a new spiritual
marketplace.
Using World of Warcraft and Second Life as case studies, this book shows
that many residents now use virtual worlds to re-imagine their
traditions and work to restore them to "authentic" sanctity, or else
replace religious institutions with virtual communities that provide
meaning and purpose to human life. For some online residents, virtual
worlds are even keys to a post-human future where technology can help us
transcend mortal life. Geraci argues that World of Warcraft and Second
Life are "virtually sacred" because they do religious work. They often
do such work without regard for-and frequently in conflict
with-traditional religious institutions and practices; ultimately they
participate in our sacred landscape as outsiders, competitors, and
collaborators."
Regards,
Morgan Leigh
PhD Candidate
School of Social Science
University of Tasmania
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