Kushiels Beloved and St Bernadettes.pptx

Presentation given May 23, 2024 at the 14th International Conferenc of Religion and Spirituality in Society, Complutense University, Madrid.

1. Kushiel's Beloved and St. Bernadette's: Religious Practice in Online Role-play Communities Jean-Paul DuQuette University of Macau 14 th International Conference on Religion and Spirituality in Society Complutense University, Madrid May 23, 2024

2. Preface: A bible study session at St. Bernadette’s

3. Religion in role-play Took place online. Took place in a virtual world community using avatars. Participants are all role-playing. The priest is not a priest. The children are not children. The parents might be parents…but they’re not the parents of the children. But the lesson / message is ‘real’.

4. Second Life: a proto- metaverse Released in 2003 by Philip Rosedale’s Linden Lab (Au, 2008) A persistent, contiguous, 3D graphical chat environment Resident-based economy with its own currency Arguably still the most popular (non MMORPG) MUVE online

5. Communities within SL Educational (e.g. languages, building, scripting, etc.) Social / chat Recreational (live music, art galleries) Role-play (historical, fantasy, sexual)

6. Role-play in SL: larp adjacent LARPs are embodied in the player ( Stenros & MacDonald, 2013). LARPs are co-created LARPS are emergent LARPS are reflexive - “players experience both fictive and real worlds in a dialogic relationship” (Hoover, et al., 2018). LARPs require inter-immersion (pretending together).

7. Role-play in SL: atypical particularities Less game, more improv . No game master. S ocial interaction (which can include romance) is the focus. Shares similarities with asynchronous online freeform play (Hammer, 2018), especially emphasis on text over voice. Few norms regarding IC ( in character ) vs. OOC ( out of character ) (which can lead to bleed ( Montola , 2010; Bowman 2015) and other issues.

8. A look at Religion and ritual in three SL Role-play Groups 1. The Firefly Companion’s Guild 2. The Night/Moon Court (New Elua ) 3. St. Bernadette’s

9. Research questions How do these groups integrate religion / spirituality into their communities? Why do they feel the need to do it?

10. Methodology Qualitative and ethnographic, focusing on participant observation. In the CG (2016-2020). All other research was done (2022-2024). Discourse analysis of semi-structured interviews, classes, informal activities, and recorded ceremonies with participants and event leaders. Methodologically atheist (Berger, 1967) i.e. not concerned with truth propositions or authenticity.

11. 1. The Firefly companions guild A role-play finishing school and adult RP group loosely based on Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Incorporates Tibetan Buddhism, & Japanese geisha and tea culture into their curriculum. While there were more than 100 active members at its peak of popularity, as of 2023 it hovered around 30-50 members.

12. Tibetan Buddhism in the companion’s guild Dakini Land Buddhawheel Priestess training Meditation classes Integration into other rituals Focus on spiritual intermediaries (i.e. guru culture) Performative spirituality (Grieve, 2017) driven by role-play

13. Mandalas of vajrayogini A Tantric Buddhist goddess and dakini (“a Tantric term for female practioners , adepts, spirits and dieties ” (Shaw, 2006, p. 359)). An unselfish deity that strives for the well-being of others and the destruction of their egos Appropriate for those people with passionate natures (which she can change into more enlightened virtues) ( Gyatso , 1996; Shaw, 2006)

14. 2. The Night / Moon Court Based on the fantasy novels of Jacqueline Carey (Carey, 2001). Adult themes make it similar to the Companion’s Guild Conflict within the group led to a transformation from fantasy to sci-fi – New Elua Focuses on opportunities for dedicated IC role-play and OOC socializing

15. Native American themed healing rituals Unlike the Companion’s Guild, these are primarily OOC . Resemble secular support groups. Some ceremonies in the group are IC, but a re members only .

16. 3. St. Bernadette’s Entirely different than the previous two. A Catholic church for IC family role-players. Regular services and Sunday School lessons. Specifically for non-adult rated role-play.

17. Discussion: Why do Role-players feel the need to include religion and ritual?

18. 1) The companions Guild as a Transmedia hybrid NRM Religon and ritual was reported to have an impact on psychological well-being outside of the magic circle of role-play (Huizinga, 1955). Practice-based / dogma-light interactions in role-play provide an opening for Guild participants initially averse or ambivalent to religion / spirituality.

19. Role-play as an introduction to buddhism “ W hile the Guild hasn't turned me into a Buddhist by any stretch, I do know I'm operating under a perception of concepts like attachment that I didn't have before .” ( Lysana , private conversation, 13/4/18) “The Guild training, particularly the meditation element, gave me a social self-awareness that my previous meditation training hadn't addressed. Varahi is not only a gifted teacher but an originator and has effectively created a new spiritual tradition .” ( Beeflin , private conversation, 13/4/18)

20. 2 ) The Moon Court as on online friend group, both IC and OOC There are RP based rituals, but… Many religion-themed activities spring from offline backgrounds and goodwill, not a desire for RP immersion . New Elua itself is evidence of close-knit OOC friendships within the group.

21. Spiritual activities are support and (primarily) separate from RP “The spiritual activities DO increase group cohesion…I mean , look at Facebook groups. there are a lot of big groups based around health, or mental issues, or whatever, with people meeting complete strangers and leaning on them for support.” “So, for our group, we have a lot of wiccans and a lot of atheists. The faux spiritual framework of the Kushiel books, gives us a sort of mutual groundwork that " normies " get from church groups, I think. But that's just my opinion.” J. (SL interview, 4.4.24)

22. 3)St. Bernadette: immersion and validation IC but not “unserious”. Started at the request of the family sim owner. Run by a former priest in RL. Why family RP in the first place? It’s “a willing act of pretense to pretend their way into a fictional time-space in exchange for a deeper childlike enjoyment of its splendor” ( Schrier , Torner & Hammer, 2018; Saler (2012).

23. Ic but serious “I think that some on SL want a place they can pray and meditate and be with others. Many are unable to go to a RL church.” “We are on a family sim, so we do have adult avis and child avis . To be honest, I think of the person behind the avi .” “There are a few places that are serious. Unfortunately there are also some creepy and unserious places…On the sim we are at, we have a security team that makes sure people here follow TOS (Terms of Service) and are not ‘bad’”. F. Chris (Discord interview, 2.4.24)

24. Caveat: Ambiguities in SL role-play There are few clear norms in SL role-play. Even SL role-players in one group may not understand the motivations of others in other groups . Case studies like these are difficult to generalize.

25. Second Life Religion: Playful, but not play “Do you really think most people don't understand the seriousness of many online communities ?” J . (SL interview, 4.4.24 ) Though religion and spirituality are integrated into role-play in different ways in different role-play communities, there is an assumption that this is for RL (real life).

26. It’s not for the role-play, it’s for the role-player Religion in the groups studied is not (primarily) for immersion. Spiritual dimension as justification – for time spent in play. Validation – that one’s hobby is meaningful outside of the circle of play. Camaraderie – to reassure members that outside of RP, they are thoughtful and caring people.

27. Religion is included not for RP immersion, but because it’s seen as a vital aspect of human interaction

28. photos All photos by Jean-Paul DuQuette except: Slide 4, Patrick Kovarik (The Independent, 2022)

29. Steve Mitchell (Getty Images, 2023) Slide 16,17: Fiona Fei (2020)