On July 29 the UC Berkeley School of Journalism presents a program on "Faces of Faith in Second Life" from 1-2pm PST. Taking place on Nowhereville Island (teleport SLURL), the event will feature Don Lattin and a panel of religious/spiritual leaders for a conversation about faith and spirituality in virtual worlds. Questions will be taken from the in-world audience. Oh and just to prove to us that rabbis and ministers can let their hair down too, there’s a pre-panel mixer and a post-panel party featuring DJ BradElectro. Bust a move, reverend!
Seriously, this sounds like a really cool event. In my experience, Second Life has been a great vehicle for connecting with people of my own faith (Quaker) and other faiths. I’ve dabbled in lots of "virtual spirituality" experiments, from IRC chat worship to email prayer chains to podcasted sermons to streamed church services. Not other technology compares to virtual worlds for a real connection to a community of believers coming together in the unity of the Spirit that transcends all barriers.
Head to www.newsinitiative.org/ucb for more details or contact KaraAndrade Writer in-world.
In related news, there’s a survey on religious life in SL by Soren Ferlinghetti that you can take here.
[Related Posts: "Seeking the Light in Virtuality," "Thoughts on the first Quaker meeting for worship in SL," "Considering in-world violence as a Quaker pacifist."
Thanks Rik! This is the first I’ve heard about it. Sounds like it could be very interesting. I hope they’re including SL leaders, and not just sound feeds of outsiders. (KaraAndrade Writer’s little dig at avatar names doesn’t inspire confidence that she respects “indigenous” SL culture.)