Religious communities in simulated sacred spaces: A study of pilgrimages in digital media

Abstract

Virtually real spaces are emerging as an alternative to the physical spaces. Cyberspace is not entirely new to the world of entertainment, but its entry into sacred spaces, where sheer rules control the community, is inviting the concerns of the priestly communities. The virtual world created with the help of technology has begun to affect the approaches towards pilgrimages. The impact may be perceived to be adverse or favourable depending upon the varied perspectives. This simulacrum of pilgrimages allows enormous freedom to the pilgrims presenting them with a customized to be more real pictures of the houses of worship. The virtual world is more persuasive in comparison to the world we live in, as this cyberworld, unlike the world of restrictions and virtues, discourages the self-denial and persuades the subject to be more indulged into it considering it a replacement. It can prevail on the subject only through its more appealing truth-like imaginary (but not in all cases) pictures. Thisresearcharticle is intended to discuss and assess the impact of the entry of the cyberspace into the sacred space over the religiosity of the communities in India. The paper further examines the complementarity offered by these two spaces for each other.