According to DJ Soto, the future of churchgoing is in the metaverse because “it reaches people who can’t physically go to church.”
For religious denominations, the opportunity to offer their congregations an immersive 3D environment through virtual reality (VR) technology has been a boon during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A report by the New Zealand Herald states that Garret Bernal and his family were absent from a recent Sunday service during their quarantine for COVID-19 exposure. So, he donned a VR headset and tried praying in the metaverse.
He was instantly transported to a three-dimensional virtual realm of pastures, cliffs and rivers as the representative of a pastor guided him and others through computer-generated images of Biblical passages that came to life, stated:
“I couldn’t have had such an immersive church experience sitting in my pew. I was able to see the scriptures in a new way.”
Some religious leaders, like D.J. Soto, a pastor based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, have espoused the benefits of VR and consider it a step forward in human self-realization. The future of churchgoing, according to him, is in the metaverse because “it reaches people who can’t physically go to church” due to COVID-19 or other aspects, stating:
“We have people who attend due to COVID-19, or for lack of accessibility to their physical church. We are a Web3 church, a first-of-its-kind, that will lead Christianity into the brave world of cryptocurrency, DAOs, blockchain and other next-generation technologies. Conversations about technology and spirituality need to coexist. We are living in the best of times to experience innovation like this, and we are looking forward to the journey ahead.”
VR churches are based in the metaverse, and they aim to develop loving spiritual communities across the virtual realm, said Soto.
Soto frequently found himself preaching to a small group of individuals, most of whom were atheists and agnostics who were more interested in discussing religion. However, the document states that his group has since expanded to around 200 people.
The Rev. Jeremy Nickel, a Unitarian Universalist minister who lives in Colorado, says his idea for a VR community was to build a community and get away from the brick and mortar. But it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that the group’s membership grew from a few dozens to hundreds of people.
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