The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns and influenced economic, social, and psychological impacts have forced people into isolation. However, some people who are religiously and spiritually motivated have benefited immensely from their religious and spiritual practices.
The prolonged and continuous lockdowns have resulted to restrictions of movement, therefore, preventing faithful worshippers from carrying out and enjoying their religious and spiritual activities.
Due to emerging technologies, digital religiosity and digital spirituality have come to mind?
Digital religiosity and spirituality entail the maintenance of religious and spiritual practices online using any of the available communications and technologies and social media.
Question: can digital religiosity and digital spirituality yield the same benefits as compared to the traditional practices? What are your views?
Thank you very much for your kind and valuable support.
Relegious traditions are not a conference, they are acts that should be done at A specific way, in A specific time, and place. Other wise they will be not accepted. When we can not do these traditions for any cause, we dont need to excuse. The God know what was the answer.
Insightful thoughts and contributions. Well done @Diana A. Ali and @Azzawi Hadi
Dear Dr Muhammad Aledeh, Thanks for the question. God, evil and spirituality etc are based on belief. If you think digital spirituality will yield same extent of benefits or not, either way you are correct. Regards.
I find the idea quite bizarre dear Muhammad Aledeh . If you meant by it how people are turning to some "spiritual" practices using technology, then I do not see any harm in listening to recitations of the Glorious Qur'an from your iPhone or putting a smart watch at Tarrawieh prayers in Ramadan to read the surahs recited. But this does not venture to "digital religion" or "digital spirituality" simply because the idea can not be materialized!
I fully agree with Dr. Yoganandan and Dr. Hussein on this. Although emerging practices such as education, commerce, virtual learning and meetings cannot be equated with religious and spiritual practices. However, spirituality can be attained and maintained via information and communication technologies such as social media networks irrespective of religious affiliation. How these measure up when compared with traditional practices depends on the user. One important point is in this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, at least these are some options left for some religious faithful worshippers to maintain psychosocial and psychospiritual well-being.
Dear Muhammad Aledeh, it is interesting to see the views expressed by such fellow researchers as Ahmed T. Hussein Yoganandan G Diana A. Ali and others. In my view, however, it is undeniable that digitally-driven social intercourse is unavoidable, and the issue of spirituality and religion is not an exception, with its advantages and disadvantages.
To know and proclaim the religious event we can use technology undoubtedly.
@Mhd. Syahnan and @Md. Abdur Razzak Choudhury thank you very much for your wonderful and invaluable contributions.
@Hermann Grünwald thank you for this beautiful contribution. It has been "virtual" all the way and "faith and religion are two different things". Very useful
I humbly appreciate the discussions of all of you, but I think that the important thing is always the "content very deeply felt", not the "method" ....
Muhammad Aledeh, you ask an interesting and important question and the key to the response is whether an individual has other opportunities for meeting spiritual and social needs. While I personally would prefer to gather in person to participate in my church services, I am grateful for and enjoy the fact that technology is allowing the church group that I lead to meet each week. If our community of 30 plus married couples were not able to meet virtually, I know the impact of the isolation on their spiritual and social health would be much greater. I cannot say the benefits are the same as in person gatherings, but I can say there are definite benefits to meeting virtually over not meeting at all. There are several in our community that tell me that our weekly gatherings on Sunday mornings are the only contact they have with people that are not part of their immediate family. Therefore, I see many of the same benefits coming from virtual church services that I see when we meet in person. Now I am praying that things will loosen up soon so we can go back to in person gatherings, but until then we are Zooming like many others. I hope your study on this topic is profitable.
@Martin Edwards Thank you so much for your invaluable and kind support.
Your contribution to this discussion is greatly appreciated. I so much like the fact that you comprehensively touched the topic in a way that themes and codes can be developed from it were qualitative data were to be developed.
Best regards,
Muhammad
It depends on the level of digitization and internationalization of religious institutions and rituals and on the attitude of citizens to new ICT and Internet information technologies, new Internet media, including social networks, e.g. YouTube, Facebook, etc., where remotely online via the Internet are broadcast religious rites. Much also depends on priests who organize and inform citizens about the ongoing processes of digitization and Internetisation of religious rituals.
Greetings,
Dariusz Prokopowicz
Martin Edwards Your contribution covers a broad spectrum of what has been going on during this pandemic. Looking at one of your text here: "If our community of 30 plus married couples were not able to meet virtually, I know the impact of the isolation on their spiritual and social health would be much greater." One could develop some themes out the whole of your contribution. Thank you one again.
Hermann Gruenwald You feed here: " but the relationship with your GOD was and is always a virtual one.... " still resonates in the discussion. Thank you very much.
Funeral services are aspects of religious and spiritual practices and the COVID-19 has influenced new ways of grieving. The unprecedented challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about new ways of doing things such as working, studying, and learning. However, funerals have been reorganised in ways to enable grieving family members and friends to take part in virtual funeral ceremonies (Merickel, 2020; Muturi, Freeman and Banner-Lukaris, 2020).
For grieving people, grief is a normal response to losing someone who is close and important to them (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Sharing stories and memories of someone who has passed on is important for their families and friends because the person has influenced their lives (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the fear and anxiety about COVID-19 can be overwhelming to families and friends (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020).
Making decisions about how to safely grief and honour their loved ones has become very difficult due to fear and anxiety about the deadly virus (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Therefore, strict safety regulations such as social distancing and wearing of face masks must be adhered to (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020; Muturi, Freeman and Banner-Lukaris, 2020). Although virtual funeral ceremonies generally involve a handful of close friends and family members present at the funeral and graveside while maintaining social distancing, the rest of the attendees watch and participate from home (Merickel, 2020; Muturi, Freeman and Banner-Lukaris, 2020).
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020) Funeral Guidance for Individuals and Families [Online]. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/funeral-guidance.html (Accessed: 2 March, 2021).
Merickel, J. (2020) ‘How an Answering Service can help Virtual Funerals During the Coronavirus [Online]. Available at: https://www.centratel.com/blog/funeral-home-answering-service/how-an-answering-service-can-help-virtual-funerals-during-the-coronavirus/ (Accessed: 2 March, 2021).
Muturi, I., Freeman, S. and Banner-Lukaris, D. (2020) ‘Virtual Funerals During COVID-19 and Beyond’, Innovation in Aging, 4(Supplement_1), p. 966. doi: 10.1093/geroni/igaa057.3530
Great discussions going on here: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Can_digital_religion_and_digital_spirituality_yield_the_same_benefits_as_compared_to_the_traditional_practices_What_are_your_views -
Thank you to everyone here. Well done!
Muhammad Aledeh your thoughts/comments on the conduct and implications of funerals during the pandemic are spot on. In 2017, I was responsible for the planning and conduct of a funeral for a relative. In 2020 and 2021, I attended or am aware of several funerals held for close friends. The distinct difference in the in person funeral conducted in 2017 was the limitation of people to participate and use that service as an opportunity to comfort the family, find closure for themselves, and to be part of remembering the legacy of the deceased person. In person (pre-COVID) funerals would vary in size but were generally locality limited - if folks could not travel they did not participate. In this pandemic environment the locality limitations are removed because many (I might conjecture to say most) funeral services are a hybrid of a local service with at least some level of virtual presentation. In fact the other day, I was watching a virtual choir that sang at the funeral of a friend that passed of COVID about two weeks ago and the video was pre-produced with approximately 50 singers and musicians from the 13 different choirs my friend led over his many years of ministry. The big question, will be whether future funerals and similar types of spiritual ceremonies and gatherings will always have a virtual component? Additionally, does the ability to include a global audience allow a better venue for grieving, celebrating, or otherwise being involved in spiritual activities as a larger community? I look forward to hearing what results from this discussion.
Martin Edwards Thank you very much, Martin Edwards. This post of yours has taken to places as my thoughts have gone here-and-there searching for supporting arguments as to whether the post-COVID-19 pandemic will continue to use emerging information and communication technologies to conduct funerals or use a hybrid of local service and virtual presence.
Hi Muhammad,
Your question is a very relevant one for our times. I believe that if high-quality digital videos are produced with a powerful and relevant spiritual message for a targeted audience, then the reach and positive influence can be far-reaching. Most importantly, the person delivering the message digitally must be "walking the talk", and a person of deep spirituality. This will then resonate with listeners who will be able to sense the love and conviction in the message being delivered. I believe that if some of the original Christian evangelizers such as St. Paul, had access to modern means of communications, they would evangelize the whole world!
Anthony Hadeed
Great contributions here. @Anthony Hadeed Thank you so much everyone your kind support 🙏.
Hello,
Its effect withing certain religions is dangerous, look at fundamentalist terrorist online propaganda and enrollment with disastrous effects.
Vincent O. Nyangaresi Zied Ben Amor Anthony Hadeed Martin Edwards Dariusz Prokopowicz @ everyone who has contributed to this discussion, Thank you very much!
Yoganandan G and Juana Maria Arcelus-Ulibarrena Thank you very much as well!
Well done!
Muhammad Aledeh interesting question and I do agree with the experts above
Article Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinica...
this link might also throw some light on the question raised by you
In general, they could be and have effects, why not? WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS FAITH !!
Religiosity and Spirituality reside in the depths of the Soul and the benefits can never have a material location, Dear Dr. Muhammad Aledeh.
Anthony Hadeed Your contribution is appreciated. Thank you very much.
Professor Dr. Juana Maria Arcelus-Ulibarrena Thank you for your contribution.
Srinivas Kasulla Thank you very much for your contribution. The link to Professor Harold G. Koenig is very useful and relevant.
Best regards!
Francisco Javier Gala Thank you for your contribution to this discussion.
Best regards!