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FEATURE Crypto Weekly
Religion in the Metaverse: Finding community and fellowship in VR Religion and virtual reality
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R Church's lead pastor, D.J. Soto, preaches a sermon in his Fredericksburg, Va., home on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Soto sings, preaches, and performs digital baptisms to a growing congregation of avatars in the metaverse. A recent Sunday church service was missed by Garret Bernal and his family while under quarantine for COVID-19 exposure. Bernal, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (Mormon church), said, "I could not have had such an immersive experience sitting in my seat." He put on a virtual reality headset and tried to imagine what it would be like to worship
February 2022 | Volume 15
in the metaverse. Pastors guided him and others through computergenerated illustrations of scripture passages that looked like they were coming to life as they prayed in one of the many metaverse spaces that became popular during the Coronavirus pandemic. While floating over pastures, rocky cliffs, and rivers, he was able to commune spiritually through virtual reality, one of many evolving metaverses made popular during the Coronavirus outbreak. From meditations in fantasy worlds to traditional Christian worship services with virtual sacraments in hyperrealistic, churchlike settings, their devotees say the experience provides fellowship that is as genuine as in a
brick-and-mortar temple. Bernal's most crucial aspect of his short stay was his closer connection with God. The service was hosted by VR Church, founded in 2016 by D.J. Santiago, a former high school teacher and pastor of a nonvirtual church. VR Church describes itself as a spiritual community that exists entirely in the virtual world to celebrate God's love for mankind. Soto had previously felt called to start new physical churches. However, after discovering the VR social platform AltspaceVR, he was made aware of the possibilities of connecting in virtual reality. Having heard that Facebook would invest billions in building out
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