Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry

Tabernacle in the Wilderness:

Hierophany in Virtual Space.
How do virtual spaces facilitate a manifestation of the 'sacred'?
After moving to Berlin last fall I came into contact with Second Life for
the frst time through this course. Encouraged to explore the islands of Second
Life my avatar 'appeared' and clumsily 'traveled' through elaborate worlds created
for a myriad of virtual activities. Perhaps it was homesickness or the fact that
often when in placed in a new environment we tend to congregate around what is
already familiar to us, I found and teleported to a reproduced version of the main
city square down the street from my previous apartment in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A bit kitsch or maybe touching for someone dealing with a grey,cold winter away
from the family, mountains and his city. Te architecture of a particular open
religious building on the square was impeccably recreated down to the carpet color
and number of seats. I am not religious or even spiritual but I felt the longing and
satisfaction for the familiar quite strongly at that moment.
1
Te recreated virtual
reality of the building gave license for feelings that transcended my temporal space
of sitting at a laptop in Berlin. I felt nostalgic for my own culture, despite the fact
I've pushed against it nearly my entire life. I was intrigued by the power of
virtually representing the physical and familiar, and how it can facilitate such an
emotion.
In this paper I explore the arena of similar feelings while online, but within
a decidedly religious context. I begin with a cursory background in religious
theory, prefacing the efect of replicated and designated space used in religious
practice online.
SACRED & PROFANE
1 Te Salt Lake Tabernacle was completed in 1867. I personally recognize the structure as a cultural hub
and note my ancestors were among the builders. What struck me was the similarity of emotions of
visiting the space in RL as I was experienced in 2L.
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
DURKHEIM
Te work of French sociologist David mile Durkheim aimed to identify the
function and genesis of religion as a unifying social practice. Examining aspects of
various religious traditions that could be investigated together, Durkheim searched
for the social powers of religion that surpass the ideas of God and spirituality.
A religion is a unifed system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred
things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden-beliefs and practices which unite in
one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them
(Durkheim 1915:47).
2
Durkheim boiled down religious practice to three concepts; the sacred,
beliefs and practices, and the moral community (Allan 2005:116).

Durkheim concentrated on the concept of the sacred, defning it as
....simply collective ideals that have fxed themselves on material
objects...the are only collective forces hypostasized, that is to say, moral forces; they
are made up of the ideas and sentiments awakened in us by the spectacle of
society, and not of sensations coming from the physical world (Lukes1985:25).
Durkheim's stance was of a social construction bent. He considered the
origin of what was 'sacred' about an object, place or ritual to be a byproduct of the
collective efervescence (Durkheim 1915:226) of the religious group, society or
culture involved. Durkheim considered the sacred nature to be superimposed on
the object through synergy of the emotions, memory and hopes of a group
interacting together rather than being a mythical manifestation. Te activity,
rituals, emotions and traditions pertaining to the sacred were repeated, thus over
time creating and cementing a division between the sacred (ideal and
transcendental) and everyday life (material world), or in other words the profane
(Durkheim 1915:39).
Tis sacred-profane dichotomy is a major frame work for the approach of
Durkheim as well as other theorists, for the organization and social institution of
2 Tis work by Durkheim is available, translated into English in its entirety at
<http://archive.org/stream/elementaryformso00durk#page/n5/mode/2up>
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
religion.
3

ELIADE
Romanian theorist and writer Mircea Eliade continued in this vein and
essentially popularized Durkheim's classifcation of the sacred-profane dichotomy.
However Eliade fundamentally disagreed in regards to the process through which
something is or becomes sacred. Seth Walker succinctly packages the diference
between the two and introduces Eliade's signature term 'hierophany'.
...the understanding that Eliade has of sacred space refects his notion of
the sacred: it inherently exists and, thus, must reveal itself. Tis is
fundamentally diferent from Durkheim's understanding, which does not require
the type of hierophanic
4
manifestation that Eliade does; humanity simply
designates what is sacred, thereby designating what constitutes sacred space
(Walker 2010).
Understanding the sacred world to exist and be inherent in objects, spaces,
rituals, etc. Eliade uses the term hierophany, which is a less limiting version of
theophany,
5
to signify a manifestation of the sacred; a breach in the profane
material world through which life and the lived experience are ontologically
founded (Eliade 1959:21). In a hierophanic or spiritual experience, the true reality
and purpose of life reveals itself as the barrier separating the profane and sacred is
breached.
Te "profane" space of nonreligious experience can only be divided up
geometrically: it has no "qualitative diferentiation and, hence, no orientation
[is] given by virtue of its inherent structure. Tus, profane space gives man no
pattern for his behavior. In contrast to profane space, the site of a hierophany has
a sacred structure to which religious man conforms himself. A hierophany
amounts to a "revelation of an absolute reality, opposed to the non-reality of the
vast surrounding expanse" (Eliade 1959:21-22).
Eliade continued that the proIane world has no direction or meaning, it
merely exists. The sacred space and its maniIestations (hierophanies) thereIore
3 It is important to note that Durkheim's claim for the sacred-profane dichotomy to be
universally applicable across all religion has received critique in recent years. See Coleman and
White in works cited.
4 Hierophany: (Greek., hieros, sacred, + phainein, to show). Te manifestation of the divine or
the sacred, especially in a sacred place, object, or occasion.Oxford Dict. of World Religions.
5 Teophany:(Manifestation of God) Eliade, Te Sacred and the Profane, p.2022.
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qualiIy and establish an absolute fxed point, a center (Eliade 1959:21). At the site
and moment of a hierophany an individual or group is then a contemporary part
of its collective myth as well as the mythical age of the sacred world. Eliade
describes this as eternal return. Terefore, myths and rituals will be repeated in
attempts to elicit a hierophany in order to regain contact with the mythical age.
6

In the foreword to the 2004 Princeton University Press edition of Eliade's
book, Shamanism, Wendy Doniger writes that Eliade's theory regarding the
eternal return has become a truism in the study of religions (Doniger 2004).
Comparing and understanding Eliade and Durkheim regarding the sacred
and profane is extremely valuable specifcally because they fundamentally difer.
Durkheim ofers social construction as the chassis to understand the sacred, thus
aligning with secular and contemporary social science. Eliade's theory explains a
hierophany which is an incredibly important aspect of religious experience, with
scientifc vocabulary, facilitating the examination of spirituality, sacredness and
religious experience among believers to be understood on like terms.
In my research for this paper and video, I gathered interviews from those
identifying themselves as believers. With the theories of both Durkheim and
Eliade in mind, I noticed that among other aspects of religiosity, belief of inherent
sacredness and the eternal return appeared to exist among those I interviewed.
A VIRTUAL HIEROPHANY
In organizing the factors that either encourage hierophanies in virtual
worlds, I have separated the research sites into three categories. (1) Simulation
refers to religious physical structures, spaces or customs purposely replicated
online. (2) Transmission, refers to live webcams of holy or sacred sites, and live
transmission of religious events. (3) Creation, refers to religious groups or cultures
which have created unique platforms, spaces or applications for religious purposes
online.
SIMULATION
6 An interesting background account from Eliade's childhood, which may shed light on his
theory of hierophany is available in his autobiography. See Eliade 1990 in works cited.
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
The avatar of a curly blonde haired boy in jean shorts, converse tennis
shoes and a striped shirt sits at the welcome center of the Sim Adam Ondi Ahman,
an island created by Keith Tompson, a.k.a. Skyler Goode, and swings his legs as I
walk up to him for an interview. Te Sim is a Mormon themed community, with
replicated structures from Temple Square in Salt Lake City
7
, and the Washington
D.C. Temple standing atop a central hill. In addition to another structure
replicating a traditional Mormon meetinghouse, signs with web addresses and
hyperlinks to ofcial church websites are across the island. Te island is not
directly afliated with the Mormon church and is reported to have over 1000
members from 30 diferent countries.
I talked with Skyler about why he built these structures and whether he
believes they can facilitate hierophanies.
miguelitoterry: Have there been any experiences that have been shared with you
regarding how others feel here on this Sim, comforted, peaceful, etc.?
Skyler B Goode: Yes - we have spiritual experiences here all the time
Skyler Goode: many come just to sit and listen to our music
miguelitoterry: could you give me an example? you don't need to give me names or
anything.
Skyler Goode: one man has been coming every day for the past month. he will sit in the
meetinghouse model
Skyler Goode: he is a member of the church who is going thru a bad time right now
Skyler Goode: then we had one lady come for awhile who's husband - not a member -
was threatening her if she ever had anything to do with the church again
Skyler Goode: this was the only way she could
Skyler Goode: some members are too distant from meetinghouses for regular church
attendance
Skyler Goode: i wish we could do more for them
From his own experience on the site, he shared an experience when
members of an evangelical church came to the site,
Skyler Goode: not too long ago, a couple of evangelical christians came
Skyler Goode: they brought all the usual objections to our faith
Skyler Goode: it was starting to get a bit heated - i was close to asking them to leave
Skyler Goode: then something happened, the Spirit came and calmed us all - in the end,
we parted friends
Skyler Goode: they understood more about why we believe the way we do
Skyler Goode: forging friendships is more important to us than winning arguments
miguelitoterry: What do you attribute that to?
Skyler Goode: I'm still a bit puzzled about that
Skyler Goode: but the Holy Spirit can be like that
7 Temple Square is a 10 acre square city block in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. On the square
is the Temple, Tabernacle, Church Ofce Building, Joseph Smith Memorial Building and
Memorial Hall of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon).
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
Our conversation progressed to his real life. Keith Tompson's life. He
shared that his involvement on Second Life had greatly increased his spirituality.
Prior to his Second Life activity he sufered neurological damage as a result of
bipolar disorder and was on disability with his days consisting of television and
medicine. Claiming that activity in creating and maintaing the island empowered
and ofered meaning to his life, he said,
Skyler Goode: i found a way to share my very strong faith
Skyler Goode: to be part of what the Lord is doing in our time to prepare this world for
His Second coming
Skyler Goode: the strength i found here has bled over into RL
Skyler Goode: and i'm now the ward clerk for our congregation and a temple worker
Skyler Goode: oh - and i havent watched TV in the last 5 years :).
8

Noting that there are not any services or rituals held on the Sim, the
occurrence of such experiences are partially attributed to the mere replication of
existing physical structures. Tese static structures, which do not in any way serve
the same purpose as their physical counterparts, have created a referential space of
sacredness and culture.
Comparing replications of Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock between
Palestinian and Israeli Sims, Tobias Becker writes that while the Dome of the
Rock in the Muslim oriented Sim is rich in decoration and a refection of its
actual appearance as a holy site; in the Israeli variation, there was nothing inside
but a stone foor. Te structure is merely part of Jerusalem, not a holy site (Becker
2011: 5).
Citing Boelstorf,
In virtual worlds, cultural objects are not divorced from their referents,
because both object and referent are within the virtual world.
(Boelstorf 2008:243)
Becker continues,
Tis assumption means that political circumstances [or cultural ones in
the case of Adam Ondi Ahman] in the actual world , which are
simultaneously refected and loaded in architectural contexts, do have the same
meaning in the virtual world. (Becker 2011:5)
8 Interview in March 2012 at Adam Ondi Ahman, Second Life.
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
Looking toward Sim representations of the Chebi Mosque and the Blue
Mosque on Second Life are additional examples of architecture collaborating with
the user to provide the arena for spiritual experience. Referring to these Sims as
detailed reconstructions of spiritually-charged physical loci (Derrickson 2008), the
intended nature of the space and corresponding architecture is immediately seen
in the regulation of certain behaviors.
At the Chebi Mosque Sim, visitors are asked to remove their shoes. At the
Blue Mosque Sim fying is disabled. Tis corroborates that these sites, as
Derrickson writes, do not cease to be treated as sacred simply because they are
virtually mediated (Derrickson 2008).
TRANSMISSION
Rivkah Elishva Kazor said: am 20 July 2010 om 19:40
I found your website and within seconds my whole soul and body was
reverberating with the holy sounds of the early morning risers davening
shacaris. I had headphones on so it made it that much more personal. I really
got goosebumps to be here in North America, after the fast and yet to be
experiencing a little bit of kedusha from Eretz Israel. Tanks for this.
9
A quiet evening at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City streams live
via webcam. In the background, black shapes stand facing the wall as walkers of
various speed pass the ebbing crowd in the foreground. Two younger individuals,
possibly part of a generation more savvy with the digital age, jump up and down
waving their arms for what appears to only be the webcam, which is at a
considerable distance.
On the website, NeverBeSilent.org, a pro-Jewish, pro-Israel site
maintained by a Dutch couple who are Christian, users are able to leave comments
below the webcam players. From the comments, the live transmission from the
wall evokes a likeness between virtual and physical visits.
Caroline Baldwin said: am 22 October 2009 om 11:30
Blessings from the United states to Jerusalem! Blessings to all the people on
the webcam today at the wall! It makes me so happy to be able to see hundreds
9 All comments were collected from NeverBeSilent.org's Western Wall webcam page. Accessed
in March 2012. <www. neverbesilent.org/en/live-webcam-kotel-western-wall/>
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
of miles away to blessed Jerusalem! What a century we live in where this is
capable! Many people in our past died making pilgrimages to do what takes me
a second to do! One day maybe I too will visit the wall in person, until then,
there is this wonderful webcam!!! Tank you!!!!!!!!!!
Kelli said: am 11 March 2009 om 06:29
To be able to witness this experience live is such a blessing. My grandpa
was fortunate enough to visit this live in person, what joy this must have
brought to him. He is with the Lord, and has been for many years, but it
would bring great joy to him to know all who wished to view this live now
have the opportunity.
Corresponding to the common physical activity at the Western Wall of
leaning towards the wall and praying, comments are typed out in prayer form,
Pawel said: am 25 March 2010 om 12:06
God bless Israel! Ill pray for you
HOSZAIA ET AMECHA,
UWARECH ET NAHA LA TE HA,
UREM, UREM, UREM, UREM WE NASEM
UREM WE NASEM AD HA OLAM.
Szalom!
Guide at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow, Poland; Jared Gimbal
ofers both counter and opportunity for virtual transmission of the wall, during an
interview regarding his physical visit,
I don't know how I would react to the webcam on a normal day. I
felt that it was an experience of the senses....the act of touching the western wall
was especially powerful...as well as that thought process of writing something
and putting it into the wall, when you think about what you should
request...there is that notion that the prayers aren't as powerful as thinking
about what to pray for.
10

If the religious ritual requires a physical act like placing a note between
stones, or leaning on a structure; the activities, while still proving to have
spiritualistic value, become more symbolic in online modes.
As Schroeder, Heather and Lee write in reference to O'Leary's
11

observation of techno-pagans,
While online text-based ritual lacks physical presence, the interaction of
!" #$%&'()&* *)%, -.%,/'0 1-'2, 3"!30
11O'Leary, 1996. See in works cited.
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
text, graphics, video and sound open up a range of ritual possibilities that may
have profound consequences for the symbolic expression of religiosity.
(Schroeder 1998)
For an example of such symbolism, while living in Ethiopia, devout
Mormon Stefanie Reeder traveled 6 hours by bus to the capital city to listen to a
live online broadcast of the General Conference of her faith. During the semi-
annual conference broadcast from the U.S., the leadership of the church is
sustained by its member.. In earlier days of the church, (when the entire
membership was in one building) the person presiding over the meeting would ask
for those present to sustain (confrm support and approval) the leaders of the
church by a show of hands. Followed by asking those not in favor to show their
disapproval in the same fashion.
12
Tis practice is known as raising one's hand to
the square. Despite that people listen in online from across the world, and their
approval or disapproval cannot be physically seen, this practice continues to exist.
. In an interview Reeder shares her experience,
Where I was at, the church was only about 5 of us. Sometimes you'd
miss that contact, there is that strength and unity, so to go up there [Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia] and listen to it on the internet with the people of your same
faith was just a boon to your morale, it was rejuvenating and reminded me that
there were 10 million other people out there listening as well. Te thing that
stands out the most, during the sustaining I raised my hand to the square and
was enthralled to see everyone raise their hands to sustain the prophets.
13
Observing online E-Church behavior, Schroeder writes,
...meeting follows a response mode between leader and congregation
and among congregation members, and that this structure shapes the ebb and
fow of emotional intensity of the meeting, as in any real-world ritual.
(Schroeder 1998)
In the case of Reeder in Ethiopia, and perhaps with all live transmissions
of rituals, the origin of the user's possible spiritual experience resulting from
symbolic performance of ritual, does not apply to the theory of collective
efervescence. Tis case demonstrates that whatever is in place to facilitate such
12 See Church in works cited.
13Interview with author. March 2012.
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
emotion must originate solely from the individual(s) symbolically participating,
who have neither virtual nor physical connection to the leader or origin of the
ritual.
CREATION
While doing research in Second Life I was involved in a conversation with
a zombie hunter listening to soothing hymns inside a chapel. Our discussion led
to computer design and other interesting Sims on Second Life. PinPan then
asked if I'd like to teleport with him to see a gothic cemetery and abandoned
church. I obliged and we spent a few minutes exploring the extremely well
designed island. From inside the church ruins I asked him a question regarding
his real life activity.
miguelito: what I mean is, let's say there is a cool gothic cemetery near your real life house,
would you go heck it out like we're doing now?
PinPan: oh...lol...probably not, cuz it prob wouldnt ever look as cool as this.
14
Te activity of creation in virtual space is incredibly important in relation
to religious ritual and activity. Referring again to Eliade's theory of eternal return,
the very act of creation is as Eliade writes, to organize a space is to repeat the
paradigmatic work of the gods. (Walker 2010) Forming chaos into order is once
again infusing oneself into narrative of the belief's mythic time.
Using Dyck's study of organizational structures of religious places of
worship (Dyck 2005:54), the levels of centralization, formalization and adherence
to the status-quo in a religious organization or culture often resemble their
willingness to embrace and create new ways of ritual. Tis is applicable to virtual
space as well.
O'Leary eludes to this in his observations of techno-pagans and their
conjunction of reverence and irreverence, humor and seriousness, in their online
rituals. (O'Leary 1996:801)
Rather than create a virtual replica of the brick and mortar Congregation
Beth Adam in Loveland, Ohio; Rabbi Robert Barr organized a virtual experience
14Interview with author. March 2012.
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
which refects the unique voice of a humanistic approach to Judaism and
spirituality. As a separate entity, Rabbi Robert Barr and Rabbi Laura Baum
operate the website OurJewishCommunity.org, a website, Facebook Page, podcast
and streaming video service, appealing to liberal, progressive Jews and those
interested in Judaism.
15
During live casts for Shabatt, High Holiday or other
events, users can write in via Facebook chat to ask questions and participate by
sending photos, videos, etc. with Rabbi Barr and Rabbi Baum.
Legitimizing the unique voice and liturgy available through
OurJewishCommunity.org, Rabbi Barr said,
I think philosophically we are in a diferent place, if you want more
structure in peoples lives its hard to be online. Te medium itself says
something....given that there are lots of traditional places to go, to have an
online one that competes with them doesn't make a lot of sense.
16

Barr's observation is that if a religious organization in real life imposes a

strong structure on its congregants, or users in the case of virtual life, the online
format will signify this. Examples can be seen across various faith systems. Te
Vatican's live webcam of St. Peters Basilica is often spliced into live transmissions
from Papal appearances and sermons via the Vatican Television Center. Although
these transmissions are live and in virtual space, there is no opportunity to connect
with the producer or other users simultaneously. With comparison to the
Evangelical Christian website, LifeChurch.tv
17
which expends considerable
resources moderating users comments in the live chat window during live
sermons, pros and cons of each approach are apparent.
Te predicament facing those religious organizations intent on maintaining
structure in online modes is explained by O'Leary,
one defning aspect of the postmodern era is that it is an age when
literally nothing is sacred, then the options for traditional organized religious
bodies in the world for cyber-religion would seem to be limited. Tey can be
dismissed as irrelevant or simply ignored: or they can ofer themselves up in the
new spiritual marketplace of virtual culture (O'Leary 1996:804).
15<OurJewishCommunity.org>
16Interview with author. March 2012.
17<LifeChurch.tv>
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Anthropology in Virtual Worlds WS 2011-12 Visual Anthropology & Media Studies FU Berlin Mike Terry
Available on Apple devices is the application, Confession: A Roman
Catholic App. claiming to be the perfect aid for every penitent.
18
Although from
the description it might appear as if it is for virtual confession, as is the search
term used to fnd it. However, according to Vatican spokesman Frederico
Lombardi in an article published by CNN,
[confession]...cannot in anyway be substituted by a technology
application. One cannot talk in any way about a 'confession via iPhone.
(Gilgof 2011)
Perhaps a sheep in wolf's clothing, the application appears to be an
opportunity for sacred ritual to be performed in the secular world of the virtual,
yet in fact is only to be used in conjunction with a physical confessional. (CNN)
We see that within the category of creation, the promotion of a spiritual
experience may be largely dependent on the particular religious organization's
structure and corresponding autonomy its users are aforded while online.
CONCLUSION
Virtual worlds are not secondary representations of the actual world.
Tey require actual world computers and bodies to exist, and draw upon many
elements of actual-world sociality, but through technology recon these elements
in unforeseen ways. (Boelstorf 2008:201)
Perhaps religious experiences in a virtual space are still so heavily
connected to their physical religious referent, that the temptation to pit one
against the other in a search for a quality check on 'reality' is great. I am of the
opinion it will not last as culturally, online and ofine activity will become more
commonplace. Online religiosity will become an end in itself. Tat isn't to say it
will replace physical religiosity in any way, rather it will shed the heavy connection
and stigma associated with the debate as to whether it is considered an authentic
religious experience.
Rather than split hairs, it is my opinion that we should employ O'Leary's
goal of inverting the question of legitimacy to be a question of what the ritual and
users gain while in a virtual environment. (O'Leary 1996:795)
18<http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/confession-roman-catholic/id416019676?mt=8>
12
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, Kenneth
2005. Explorations in Classical Sociological Teory: Seeing the Social World. Pg. 116.
Tousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press.

Becker, Tobias
N.d. Virtual Representations of the Middle East Confict.
Paper submitted for course work in the Visual Anthropology and Media Studies masters
program at the Freie Universitt Berlin.
Bowker, John
1997. Hierophany. Te Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Accessed March
2012. <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
Boelstorrf, Tom
2008. Coming of Age in Second Life: An Anthropologist Explores the Virtually
Human. Princeton University Press.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
2012. Handbook 2: Administering the Church. 19.3. Sustaining Members in Church
Callings. Accessed March 2012. < http://www.lds.org/manual/handbook?lang=eng >
Coleman, Elizabeth Burns with Kevin White
2006. Te sacred profane dichotomy is not universal. In Negotiating the Sacred: blasphemy
and sacrifege in a multicultural society. Pp. 72-76. ANU E Press. Accessed March 2012.
http://epress.anu.edu.au/nts/mobile_devices/ch06s03.html
Derrickson, Wendy
2008. Second Life and Te Sacred: Islamic Space in a Virtual World. ed. V. Silser
In Digital Islam. Accessed March 2012.
<http://www.digitalislam.eu/article.do?articleId=1877>
Donigan, Wendy
2004. Introduction. In Shamanism: archaic techniques of ecstasy. Auth. Marcel Eliade.
Princeton University Press.
Durkheim, Emile
1915. Te Elementary Forms of the Religious Life. Trans. Joseph Ward Swain.
London: Hollen Street Press LTD. Accessed March 2012.
< http://archive.org/details/elementaryformso00durk >
Dyck, Bruno with Frederick A. Starke, Helmut Harder and Tracy Hecht
2005. Do Organizational Structures of Religious Places of Worship Refect Teir Statements
of Faith? An Exploratory Study. In Review of Religious Research, Vol.47:1. Pp. 51-69.
Pub. Religious Research Association.
Eliade, Mircea
1959. Te Sacred and the Profane: Te Nature of Religion. Trans. Willard R. Trask.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.
Gilgof, Dan and Hada Messia
2011. Vatican Warns About iPhone Confession App. CNN World.
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Lukes, Stephen
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Palo Alto, California: Stanford University Press.

O'Leary, Stephen
1996. Cyberspace as Sacred Space: Communicating Religion on Computer Networks. In
Journal of the American Academy of Religion. Vol. 64:4. pp.781-808
Oxford University Press
Schroeder, Ralph with Noel Heather and Raymond M. Lee
1998. Te Sacred and the Virtual: Religion in Multi-User Virtual Reality. In Journal of
Computer Mediated Communication. Vol. 4:2. Accessed March 2012.
<http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol4/issue2/schroeder.html>
Walker, Seth
2010. My[Sacred]Space: Discovering Sacred Space in Cyberspace. In Journal of Religion
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< http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art22%282%29-mysacredspace.html >
APPENDIX to Video
Te audio segments are scripted from ofine experiences, gathered from interviews and
journals. Te video clips have been compiled from live webcams and the virtual world, Second Life.
Short of a conclusion, this video collage examines the requisite thread of presence, weaving online
and ofine religious experience together. Te constant explored is the necessity of location.
Te audio segments are scripted from ofine experiences, gathered from interviews and
journals on the subject of spiritual experiences. Te video clips have been captured from live
webcams and the virtual world, Second Life.
Te necessity of location is a thread weaving online and ofine religious experience together.
If the sacred can breach the profane, it occurs at a place, a site; regardless of its physicality or
virtuality. Te video is a collage of both loci through audio and visual media.
As mentioned during the pitching session on Second Life, I wanted to provide a straight
forward paper organizing my research in an academic fashion, which would legitimize a more
experimental approach for the screen capture/Machinima video.
My interest in modern religiosity motivated this approach which was strictly confned to
only that which is accessible online.
Admittedly, I have taken heavy license in aestheticizing the elements in the video. Terefore,
I wish to include the media sources as well as information regarding my decisions in editing the
flm, as it is being submitted with an academic paper.
SOURCES
Shabatt & Naming Ceremony / 10 minutes recorded from live transmission of Shabbat service and
naming ceremony on March 1, 2012.
URL: <http://oneshul.org/category/archive/shabbat/>
URL (Ceremony): <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CQwSvSJrXg>
Scripted from email interview with John of OneShul.org. (Father and ofciator of ceremony)
Brigham City Temple / 518 photos taken as screen shots from construction company website on
April 2, 2012
URL: <http://timecam.tv/view_image.aspx?C=A5A0AGEOAB49>
Scripted from interview with Brigham City resident and my mother, Edna R. Terry in March 2012.
Mecca / 15 minutes flmed during live webcam transmission.
URL: <http://live.gph.gov.sa/>
Scripted from web journal entry from Feru from Tenoxtitlan in July of 2006.
Vatican / 10 minutes flmed during a live transmission from Palm Sunday celebrations on April 1,
2012.
URL: <http://www.vatican.va/video/index.html>
Scripted from the journal account of Christian pilgrim Peregrinatio Egeriae to the Holy Land in
1381-1384. Full text available at < http://www.ccel.org/m/mcclure/etheria/etheria.htm >
LDS General Conference / 14 minutes recorded during live transmission of the Semi-Annual General
Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
URL: <http://www.lds.org/general-conference/watch?lang=eng>
Scripted from interview with Stefanie Reeder on February 9, 2012.
Western Wall / 14 minutes of footage from Kotel Cam in February 2010.
URL: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAJcKEfBV48>
URL (Kotel Cam): <http://english.thekotel.org/cameras.asp>
Scripted from interview with Jared Gimbal on March 4, 2012.
Second Life / 20 minutes recorded while visiting Adam Ondi Ahman on Second Life.
URL: <http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Adam_ondi_Ahman>
Scripted from interview with Sim creator and founder Skyler B. Goode (Keith Tompson) on
February 5, 2012.
NARRATION
Te decision to script and narrate the audio segments was a result of a few issues. As all the
research, flming and interviews happened online, interviews were led using Skype, instant
messaging and email correspondence. For this particular bricolage of online and ofine experience, I
felt that attempting to match up the various audio qualities as well as somehow display written text
from IM and email exchange would distract from the experiences themselves.
During my research the aspects of orality in religious ritual became apparent. Across many
faith traditions, the experiences of those from the mythic age (cite) or others in contact with the
sacred are recalled and even 'performed' as an integral part of ritual. I decided to include this
practice of narration in the video with the use of a single narrator. I wanted to mitigate what I
thought may be distracting questions of gender, race and ethnicity to surface while viewing the
video. I digitally manipulated the voice with a slight echo and deeper pitch to replicate an
automated voice.
CONCLUSION
Te mere amount of accessible information through personal accounts (blogs, listservs,
forums) and connectivity (Skype, email, instant messaging) will become more and more depended
upon for anthropological research. Especially research on virtuality and online behavior. As a result
of this project, new questions of ethics, copyright and subject participation have surfaced which I
look forward to discussing in the coming semester.
Te video is an experiment in presentation of anthropological information. I am aware that
many faith traditions are not included, and hope to continue to experiment and refne my approach
and method.