Sacred Reality, Digital Simulation: Ritual Form in Virtual Spaces
Enrico Beltramini
Jul 2025 · New Approaches to the Scientific Study of Religion Book 19 · Springer Nature
Ebook
180
Pages
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About this ebook
This study explores the relationship between the sacred and the virtual, emphasizing the sacred as a divinely dependent, consecrated space activated through ritual, mediating between the profane and the holy. The central argument is that the virtual is fundamentally incompatible with the ritual form—a concept developed by Romano Guardini and others, including Joseph Ratzinger—which holds that the sacred is not merely acknowledged but made present through ritualized actions that require tangible, participatory engagement. Even if the virtual realm were acknowledged as real and retained both the bodily presence of the faithful and the Divine Presence, the rite would still be ineffective. Virtuality prevents the proper enactment of the rite, rendering it ineffective. At its core, the ritual form is performative, embodied, and consecratory. It requires physical presence, material elements, and a structured sequence of gestures, symbols, and words that together make the divine encounter possible. Their absence in virtual spaces disrupts ritual form, compromising its sacramental function.
About the author
Enrico Beltramini is a theologian specializing in the theology of technology, drawing on the resources of Roman Catholicism. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and is the author of five monographs. His work has appeared in leading academic journals, including Theology and Science, European Journal of Science and Theology, Scientia et Fides, AI and Society, and Philosophy and Technology. He currently serves on the faculty of Notre Dame de Namur University in California.
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