DIY Religion 2

Ref: DIY Religion 1.

There’s not much farther I can take this on my own. The only thing left is to note that religions that require concrete artifacts will struggle to take full advantage of the network.

Granted, nothing replaces face-to-face human communion of any religion. The lack of shared identity isolates people and that misses the whole point. So most folks, even when fully networked, will have the urge to meet physically sooner or later. If the religious expression requires sacred objects, this means someone involved will have to carry them. If it requires sacred structures, networking is well nigh pointless beyond the mere convenience.

A religion that actually takes full advantage of the network will require using common spaces and common objects. To the degree they can be conditionally sanctified, or if they are only symbolic in the first place, then things get much simpler. The whole point of a networked religion is how much can be accomplished ad hoc.

So much for the social science of religion in the Network Age.