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When God Becomes Everybody—The Blurring of Sacred and Profane

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When God Becomes Everybody—The Blurring of Sacred and Profane religions Article Digital Media: When God Becomes Everybody—The Blurring of Sacred and Profane Ruth Tsuria Department of Communication and the Arts, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ 07079, USA; [email protected] Abstract: This article explores the relationship between communication technology and religion. While previous research has focused on how religious institutions and individuals use digital media, this article emphasizes the religious feelings digital media seem to invoke, with examples like the Jesus Phone or Kopimism. This is explained using theories from Religious Studies. Borrowing from Durkheim, digital media are examined as “sacred” and as “profane”. It is suggested that digital media can be both sacred and profane because hypermodern societies have sanctified the profane. More specifically, hypermodern societies have “killed” god and replaced it with the human, with everybody. It is then digital media—a tool that is meant to be owned by everybody and represent everybody—that take the place of the divine. This tool then, because it connects and communicates human needs and everyday thoughts (and not despite that), inspires feelings of awe and sanctity, even as we use it for the most profane activities. Keywords: digital religion; Durkheim; sacred and profane; social media; digital media 1. Introduction: From Apes to Apps A viral video of a crow using a tool to slide on a roof for fun inspires curiosity and fear: Citation: Tsuria, Ruth. 2021. Digital after all, using tools has allowed humans to achieve more than what our bodies allowed us. Media: When God Becomes Unlike other predators, we did not survive using our fangs or claws: we survived using Everybody—The Blurring of Sacred spears and writings. According to common myth and evolutionary science (Washburn 1960), and Profane. Religions 12: 110. it is the ape’s unique hand and finger movements, alongside their massive brains, that allow https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12020110 them to use tools. Humans, the “best” of the apes, have just mastered that art to an impressive degree, from using a stick to hunt, to using an app to navigate. As a result, humans have Academic Editor: Kevin Healey been for a long time inspired by their own tools, maybe even obsessed with them. Received: 12 January 2021 Humans have also elevated their tools and made them holy, sacred technologies. Accepted: 5 February 2021 Think, for example, of Prometheus stealing fire from the gods. Or how the technology of Published: 8 February 2021 writing was used to produce sacred books, like the Torah or Quran, which in religious imagination were books that existed before and beyond this world. Another example is Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral John Murray Spear, who in the early 19th century crafted an electrically powered Messiah with regard to jurisdictional claims in (Buescher 2006). Soon after, the telegraph was conceived of as a holy tool of communication published maps and institutional affil- (Carey [1987] 2009), even portrayed as delivered by an angel (see Figure1). More recently, iations. the debut of the first iPhone was lauded by some as the second coming of Christ (Campbell and La Pastina 2010). Thus, what is it about technology that inspires religious feelings, even when it is used for mundane activities? There are a few ways in which this relationship between humans, communication Copyright: © 2021 by the author. tools, and religiosity unravels. One, noted by James Carry, is to divinize the communication Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. tool because it can be used for religious purposes. For example, writing about the telegraph, This article is an open access article Carey notes that: distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons This new technology entered American discussions not as a mundane fact but Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// as divinely inspired for the purposes of spreading the Christian message farther creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ and faster, eclipsing time and transcending space, saving the heathen, bringing 4.0/). closer and making more probable the day of salvation. (Carey [1987] 2009, p. 11) Religions 2021, 12, 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12020110 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Religions 2021, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 12 This new technology entered American discussions not as a mundane fact but as divinely inspired for the purposes of spreading the Christian message farther Religions 2021, 12, 110 2 of 12 and faster, eclipsing time and transcending space, saving the heathen, bringing closer and making more probable the day of salvation. (2009, p. 11) Figure 1. TheThe first first telegraph message from California. Retrieved from: https://www.loc.gov/item/ https://www.loc.gov/item/96516339/.96516339/ (accessed on 31 August 2020). InIn this view, communicationcommunication tools tools become become sacred sacred not not for for their their communication communication powers, pow- ers,but but because because those those powers powers can can be be used used for for good—they good—they are are holy holy becausebecause theythey mediate religionreligion and can carry its messages far and lo loudud (Hoover (Hoover 2006).2006). This approach can be seen todaytoday too too in how some religious communities treat the internet. For example, the Jewish ultraorthodox community community of of Chabad allows allows and encourages using the internet for the purposes of sharing religious information, such as where to find find Kosher food or at what timetime the the Shabbat Shabbat begins begins (Golan (Golan and Stadler 2016).2016). While While others others in in the the larger larger ultraorthodox ultraorthodox community speak against the internet and even ban it, this community have embraced it because of of its its far-reaching far-reaching accessibility—its accessibility—its ability ability to to spread spread religious religious messages messages (Barzilai- (Nahon Nahonand Barzilai and Barzilai2005). In 2005). these examples,In these examples, it is the message it is the that message the communication that the communication tool carries toolthat carries makes that it holy. makes it holy. A second approach to the relationship between communication technology technology and and re- re- ligiosityligiosity is is one one in in which which the the communication communication tool tool itself itself is isthought thought of ofas asholy—regardless holy—regardless of theof the message. message. This This can can be seen be seen for example, for example, in the in case the case of the of “Jesus the “Jesus phone” phone” (Campbell (Campbell and Laand Pastina La Pastina 2010). 2010 During). During the debut the debut of the of iPho the iPhone,ne, several several bloggers bloggers declared declared that thatthis thisde- vicedevice is “not is “not only only [] a arevolutionary revolutionary technology, technology, but but [] aa technologicaltechnological savior”savior” ((CampbellCampbell and La Pastina 2010,2010, p. 1192). 1192). They They thus thus aptly aptly began began to to refer refer to to it it as as “the “the Jesus Jesus Phone”. Phone”. According toto CampbellCampbell andand LaLa Pastina,Pastina, while while the the term term began began as as a a joke, joke, it it was was soon soon incorpo- incor- poratedrated into into Apple’s Apple’s advertising advertising and and news news media media stories stories about about the the iPhone.iPhone. Thus,Thus, religious language, popular culture, and technology were all mixed to contribute to a history of language, popular culture, and technology were all mixed to contribute to a history of sanctifying tools. sanctifying tools. Another example is Kopimism, now recognized as an official religion. Kopimism is a Another example is Kopimism, now recognized as an official religion. Kopimism is a new religious movement which views the spreading of information through file sharing as a new religious movement which views the spreading of information through file sharing as holy action. According to their website, their worldview, inspired by digital file-sharing and a holy action. According to their website, their worldview, inspired by digital file-sharing the internet, holds four principles: All knowledge to all; the search for knowledge is sacred; and the internet, holds four principles: All knowledge to all; the search for knowledge is the circulation of knowledge is sacred; and the act of copying is sacred (Kopimistsamfundet sacred; the circulation of knowledge is sacred; and the act of copying is sacred 2020). They also consider the shortcuts CTRL+V and CTRL+C to be sacred symbols (see (Kopimistsamfundet 2020). They also consider the shortcuts CTRL+V and CTRL+C to be Figure2). This religious movement clearly articulates that for them, the digital itself is sacred symbols (see Figure 2). This religious movement clearly articulates that for them, the sacred. Other similar examples can be found in technopagans around the world, and digitalespecially itself those is sacred. who are Other a part similar of Silicon exampl Valley,es can such be asfound Mark in Pesce technopagans (Aupers 2010 around). the world,In and these especially cases, either those explicitlywho are a orpart implicitly, of Silicon the Valley, technology such as itselfMark is Pesce revered (Aupers and 2010).sanctified. This approach can be associated with a type of technological determinism (McLuhan 1964) in which the medium itself is the main focus, not the content. It can also be noted in Davis’(1998) concept of “techgnosis”—the idea that communication technologies have some mythological and mystical qualities. Religions 2021, 12, 110 3 of 12 Religions 2021, 12, x FOR PEER REVIEW 3 of 12 FigureFigure 2.2. Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V as as sacred sacred symbols. symbols. Available Available online: online: https://kopimistsamfundet.se/. https://kopimistsamfundet.se/ (ac- cessed on 31 August 2020). In these cases, either explicitly or implicitly, the technology itself is revered and sanc- tified.It This seems approach easy to understand can be associated why religious with a type institutions of technological and communities determinism will sanctify(McLu- ahan technology 1964) in which in order the to medium spread itself their is messages.
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