Intercultural Dialogue: How Do We Live Together In The Internet Age?

2019 5 18
May 18, 2019

Southeast University, Nanjing, PR China

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Intercultural Dialogue and the Construction

of Spiritual Community in the Internet Era:
An Anthropological Perspective

INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE: HOW DO WE Fiona Bowie

School of Anthropology and

LIVE TOGETHER IN THE INTERNET AGE? Museum Ethnography

Oxford University
1

The Internet is a powerful tool whether it is used for good or for ill. The fact
that it is so often misused need not blind us to the ways in which it can be used
positively. When we look at the construction of spiritual communities we are
aware that while the word ‘community’ normally has a positive connotation,
there are also religious communities that are negatively focused, based on
distorted ideologies and aims, capable of reaching great numbers of people.
Much depends on the capacities and intentions, as well as the technology,
used to reach and recruit others to a particular point of view. The way stories
are selected and reported can also influence the ways diverse communities
perceive one another.
2.

EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY

AND INTERNET USAGE
1. The Cameroonian Bangwa Diaspora: Keeping families and communities together.
Religion an intrinsic part of an existing community.
2. The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD): Creating a new online community and
a new form of religious identity.
3. The Focolare Movement: Strengthening an international, intentional community. The
Internet as a way of creating a common identity and building a sense of family across
races, cultures and religions.
Reflections from the perspective of religion: The power of thought and intention – the
meaning of life.

In this presentation I present three examples, showing how the Internet can be
used to help build spiritual communities. They illustrate very different sorts of
community and therefore help us to reflect on the breadth of both the term
community and Internet usage.

1. My first example is of a Cameroonian people known as the Bangwa. The

Internet plays an important role in keeping families and communities together,
and in the process reaffirms religious identity and ideas.

2. The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) is a relatively new form of
Druidry, a Pagan religion with ancient roots. It is based on the idea of creating
a new community and form of religious identity.

3. The Focolare Movement uses the Internet to create a common identity and
build a sense of family among members who belong to different countries,
cultures and religions.

I will finish with some reflections from the perspective of religion on the power
of thought and intention, and the role the Internet plays in this process.
3.

1. THE BANGWA
Bangwa chief with
some ritual
paraphernalia
dating back to the
mid-Nineteenth
Century and
modern furnishings
– including
graduation
photographs.
3

The Bangwa of South West Cameroon are a group of Western Bamileke

peoples speaking related dialects. Until very recently around half the
population lived in their traditional rural villages and scattered settlements,
and half in the towns and cities of Cameroon, and in other parts of the world,
with a large diasporic community in the USA. The area of South West
Anglophone Cameroon in which the Bangwa live s currently in the throes of a
civil war. In the last twelve months most of the population have fled, either
into the bush to hide from the government forces, or to family and friends
outside the area.

The Bangwa are enthusiastic users of the Internet to maintain a sense of

community, both among people living in the same country and city, between
transnational families, and between linguistic and village groups spread over
several continents.
4.

BANGWA AND THE INTERNET

§ Closed Internet email
groups, e.g. SWESANET for
alumni of Seat of Wisdom
College.
§ Facebook, both individual
and community pages.
§ Community events, locally Facebook page showing Bangwa delegation
and nationally. in Rome, with commentary and comments in
Nweh 4

Two popular mediums are closed email groups and Facebook. Both are used to
form and inform the community. This may be a local diasporic community,
such as Bangwa living in the Washington DC area who are invited to a local
celebration, or Bangwa in the USA who are invited to the national annual
convention. They also inform the scattered Bangwa community of visits from
dignitaries from Cameroon. These community events are important in
reaffirming status, networking, and keeping a sense of Bangwa identity. English
dominates as the language of Internet communication but often mixed with
Pigin English, the lingua franca of Cameroon, and the mother tongue, Nweh.
5.

BANGWA – DEATH AND ANCESTORS

§ Death announcements and
celebrations (‘Cry-die’ in Pidgin
English).
§ Importance of correct rituals for
Christians and traditional religionists.
§ Status reflected in rites and in where
they are performed.
§ For first generation migrants links
with natal villages still very
important.

Facebook is more likely to be used as well as, or instead of, email groups to
give notice of deaths, which are very important community occasions. In this
case a link on a Facebook page led to this website for condolences, with
pictures of the deceased, a biography and tributes. It also gives the time and
place of funeral celebrations.
6.

TRADITIONAL ’CRY-DIE’ IN CAMEROON

For Bangwa who are prominent, titled, figures in their homeland, such as a
male who succeeded his father as a chief, sub-chief or notable, there may well
be funeral celebrations back home as well as in the country of death, with
those who are able travelling to ensure that the correct traditional rituals are
performed. Internet links also inform Bangwa abroad of deaths back home. It
makes little difference whether the deceased and family are Catholics or
belong to another Christian denomination (and most are at least nominally
Christian) or identify as traditional religionists. The same traditional rites are
performed. Traditional ancestor cults have undergone some changes, both
with mobility and contact with Christianity, but handling the dead correctly is
still a very important component of Bangwa cosmology if the deceased are to
become ancestors rather than ghosts.
7.

BANGA RELIGION – BLESSINGS AND CURSES

§ Blessings and curses intrinsic to
spirituality and often displayed in
Internet posts.
§ May be person-to-person or
invoke God.
§ Related to witchcraft and the
power of intentions and words.
§ Generational changes. Gestures of blessing

Spirituality is intrinsic to Bangwa identity, and Internet posts very often refer
to God, asking for blessings, offering prayers, sometimes cursing or asserting
that God will surely harm transgressors. The language of blessing and cursing is
closely related to witchcraft and an awareness of the power of intentions and
words, whether spoken by people or attributed to God. Many posts are full of
moral injunctions to individuals and the community at large to behave morally
if they wish to avoid harm and to build community consensus.
8.

NEW AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY

Curses can come from other people or they can come from
other realms.

When we interact with other people, our auras merge, and we

began to exchange energy (information). The energy could
be good, or it could be bad. Bad energy can be transferred
in forms of a curse and it works in two ways. It can either
take your energy and or dump bad energy into your auric
fields.

http://newafricanspirituality.com/page3/files/96517156584f8ebfcace571d0081e5f6-49.html#
8

With the second and third generations of African migrants we begin to see a
merging of more traditional notions of witchcraft with New Age, Western
esoteric ideas, which also adopt the language of popular science, as in this
quotation from a web site newafricanspirituality.com.
9.

2.ORDER OF BARDS, OVATES AND DRUIDS (OBOD)

The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids is a
worldwide group of over twenty thousand members
in fifty countries, dedicated to practising, teaching,
and developing Druidry as a valuable and
inspiring spirituality.
The Order was founded in Britain over 50 years
ago by the historian and poet Ross Nichols, aided
by the writer and founder of the Tolkien Society
Vera Chapman, and fellow members of the Ancient
Druid Order, which developed during the early
years of the last century out of the Druid Revival
which began about three hundred years ago.

My second example concerns a neo-Druidic group. Druidry is the ancient

religion of the Celts – the Romans tried to eradicate Druidry, both by killing
Druid priests and native population and by destroying their alters and sacred
groves, when they invaded and occupied Britain in the Third and Fourth
Centuries.

Druidry was essentially a nature religion, linked to poetry, communication with

animals and agricultural cycles. Elements of a seasonal nature religion survived
in Britain alongside Christianity and over the centuries has resurfaced in
various ways. One modern version of Druidry is OBOD, the Order of Bards,
Ovates and Druids, which offers a correspondence course for would-be druids.
The Bards, Ovates and Druids are three levels of initiation through which the
student can progress. There is an opportunity for face-to-face meetings for
celebrations and rituals, particularly seasonal rituals and initiations.
10.

CREATING A NEW SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY

OBOD continues to offer its

training courses through the
post using print and CDs,
but supported by Facebook,
YouTube videos, web sites
and other on-line material.
The internet is a crucial way
that people to learn about
the existence of the course.
10

If the Internet is used by the Bangwa to strengthen existing communities,

related by language, place of origin, family and neighbourhood ties, OBOD
seeks to form entirely new ones. You cannot be born and raised as a member
of OBOD as only adults are admitted. Due to prejudice and misunderstandings
of Paganism, and links in the popular press between Paganism and Satanism,
many practicing Pagans are rather secretive. Members of OBOD and other
Pagan groups often hold professional positions, such as university lecturers,
teachers, doctors, and lawyers, and fear some reputational damage or job loss
if their pagan affiliations are widely known. Others fear, not without cause,
that social services might seek to take custody of their children. While there is
nothing intrinsically secret about Paganism in the UK it is still poorly
understood. A course such as that offered by OBOD allows a high degree of
anonymity to those who take part, which might be part of its attraction. It is
also not limited to any one place and does not depend on finding fellow
travelers to take part and belong.
11.

3. THE FOCOLARE – AN INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNITY
§ Roman Catholic ecclesial Movement
§ Ecumenical and Interfaith
§ Founded by Chiara Lubich (1922-
2008)
§ Awarded Templeton Prize for
Progress in Religion in 1977
§ Charism of unity
§ The Golden Rule – ‘do to others as Chiara Lubich addressing African-American
you would have them do to you’ Muslims in the Malcolm X Mosque in Harlem,
New York in 1997
11

A third example, which is different from the first two, is the Focolare
Movement. This is an ecclesial Roman Catholic Movement founded in 1943 by
an Italian woman, Chiara Lubich. She received the Templeton Prize for Progress
in Religion in 1977, followed two years later by Nikkyo Niwano, a close friend
and collaborator, and founder of the Buddhist Movement Rissho Kosei Kai.
One reason cited was the way in which Chiara’s charism for unity has spread
beyond the Roman Catholic Church to other Christian denominations, and to
members of other religions.

Chiara was the first Christian and the first woman to preach in the Malcolm X
Mosque in Harlem, New York, where in May 1997 she addressed 3,000 African-
American Muslims. The Focolare was the first Catholic organisation to admit
members of other Christian churches and other faiths to its communities.

The Focolare is present in most countries in the world. Unity is understood as

respecting one another’s differences while sharing values, particularly the
Golden Rule, ‘do to others as you would have them do to you’, rather than
uniformity.
12.

FOCOLARE AND THE INTERNET

§ Chiara’s last wishes – ”be a
family’’
§ Websites publish monthly
‘Word of Life’, a phrase from
the Gospel to be put into
practice
“ Daily Thought to help turn
religious theory into lived
experience
12

The Focolare embraced modern technology from the start. Before her death,
Chiara Lubich urged members of the Movement to ‘be a family’ and
technology is seen as a way of achieving this goal. The international and
national websites publish news from around the world of the activities of
members. There is a monthly ‘Word of Life’, a sentence taken from the
Gospels published with a commentary and suggestions on how to put it into
practice. Linked to the Word of Life there is also a Daily Thought, a short
phrase that is easy to remember, which again is intended to help members to
live the spirituality of the Movement, based on unity and love of neighbour.
The emphasis is very much on life, particularly common life, with people
encouraging one another to continue loving whatever the circumstances.
13.

WORLD NEWS – THE ‘COLLEGAMENTO’

§ Monthly sharing of spirituality and life
§ Live links, recorded for those who can’t watch
live, with centres around the world
§ Affirmation of the values of living the
Gospel – to love your neighbour as yourself
§ Builds a sense of being one international
family
§ Originally for internal members but now
publicly available online

13

Also central to the injunction ‘be a family’ is the ‘Collegamento’ – the monthly
or bi-monthly meditation and news updates from around the world, with
Focolare Centres in different countries linked to the Headquarters near Rome,
and many individuals following the link from their own homes. The
collegamento is an important occasion for building a sense of solidarity with
people around the world, particularly in war zones, such as Syria and
Cameroon. The tone tends to be hopeful and uplifting – the Focolare
Movement was born in a war zone in northern Italy during the second world
war. Early experiences of closeness to death led to the affirmation that the one
thing that matters is to love those around you, that love is stronger than death.
14.

RELIGION, COGNITION AND THE INTERNET

§Words, thoughts and intentions have
energy and power
§They can be used for good or evil
§They can be directed and harnessed,
blocked and negated
§A community is stronger than an
individual
§Love is stronger than hatred, fear
and ignorance
14

We have seen three very different types on Internet usage and community –
all using Internet technologies to build communities that have core spiritual
values as well as wider objectives. I want to end by sharing some thoughts on
the role of the Internet and construction of spiritual communities from a
cognitive and religious perspective. Religious teachings have at their core the
idea of transpersonal relationship – we have contact with forces and beings
that do not take material form, or not in a way that we can see them, but
which are nevertheless real.
15.

DUNBAR’S NUMBER
Support group 5

Active network –
cognitive group size
150
Recognized
individuals 1500

15

In evolutionary terms human beings have been found to form active networks
of around 150 people (known as ‘Dunbar’s Number’ after the evolutionary
anthropologist, Robin Dunbar). This seems to be our cognitive limit for
reasonably close associates. Contemporary society places many demands on
us in terms of getting along with large numbers of people. Music, dance,
rituals, and singing have, in evolutionary terms, allowed modern humans to
form and maintain larger social groups. I would argue Internet usage, also
allows us to form communities that enlarge this group size without exceeding
our cognitive load. We may not recognize 3,000 Facebook ‘friends’, or a
hundred thousand or more YouTube followers, but we can reach them and
share our ideas, or be influenced by the ideas of the group, in a way that was
inconceivable a generation ago. This is both exciting and dangerous.
16.

GOOD VERSUS EVIL

16

Indian Vedic teaching, which has passed into modern Hinduism and Western
esoteric traditions such as Theosophy, share the belief that ideas, intentions
and words have power and force. This view is also common in Africa and is
probably universal. There is a cosmic battle that is waged both within and
between individuals, communities and supernatural forces - between good and
evil. While Zoroastrianism in particular focused on this battle, elements of this
belief remain ubiquitous.

The Internet is a powerful tool for enhancing the effects of individual thoughts,
words and intentions. Just as a society based on notions of witchcraft needs
diviners and anti-witchers to counter negative forces, so too we need
adjudicators and technology to counter negativity online. My examples
illustrate some of the more positive ways in which the Internet can be used to
form spiritual communities based on love and respect, on values of family,
community, and harmony with nature.
17.

THE INTERNET AS INTERMEDIATE ZONE

Chinese war art

Space junk in orbit around Earth Betelgeuse

17

In many traditions these forces are not abstract but have a material form, even
if only visible to siddhis (developed yogis), psychics, shamans and seers. While
we may all have seen images of space junk around the earth or planetary
auras, we can also imagine a cloud of energy, with dark and light spots,
surrounding us. Artists sometimes depict cosmic battles in the sky that dwarf
the puny efforts of human beings on earth.

The Internet can be thought of as occupying an intermediate zone between

human beings and this cloud of positive and negative energy, capable of
multiplying and accelerating thoughts, both good and bad.
18.

18

Much contemporary science teaches that energy and information are at the
core of the universe, and that we are entangled, co-creators in a dynamic
system. Such views are consonant with religious teachings such as those I have
described. If this is the case each of us has a responsibility in the way we use
the Internet to build positive communities based on human values, and to
resist the negativity that is always waiting in the wings.