Is online church good for your soul?

Can real fellowship be attained through virtual reality?

Amid a global pandemic, why has Wordle — yes, the online game — become a ritual for so many?

Compelling questions tied to faith and technology top this week’s religion headlines.

Check out these high-tech must-reads:

1. Streaming online has been a boon for churches, a godsend for isolated: “There’s been a lot of bad news about churches in recent years,” Religion News Service’s Bob Smietana reports. “Online church has been one bright spot.”

Smietana’s piece follows Anglican priest Tish Harrison Warren making the case in a viral New York Times column that churches should drop their online services.

“Online church, while it was necessary for a season, diminishes worship and us as people,” Warren argued, igniting debate on social media and drawing rebuttals from writers such as Religion Dispatches’ Daniel Schultz.

For more insight, see this Wall Street Journal column from last October, asking, “Are internet services as good as church?” Read a more in-depth version here at ReligionUnplugged.com.

2. Faith in the metaverse: A VR quest for community, fellowship: The Associated Press’ Luis Andres Henao writes about “many Americans — some traditionally religious, some religiously unaffiliated — who are increasingly communing spiritually through virtual reality, one of the many evolving spaces in the metaverse that have grown in popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Ranging from spiritual meditations in fantasy worlds to traditional Christian worship services with virtual sacraments in hyperrealistic, churchlike environments,” Henao reports, “their devotees say the experience offers a version of fellowship that’s just as genuine as what can be found at a brick-and-mortar temple.”

For more coverage, see Carla Hinton’s recent piece for The Oklahoman on an Oklahoma worship service that “wasn't confined to the four walls of a Life.Church … building” but also wasn’t “an online gathering in the traditional sense.”

3. Why our brain craves pattern-seeking rituals like Wordle: And now for something a little bit different …

The Washington Post’s Sarah Pullliam Bailey turns a seemingly mundane question about Wordle into a thought-provoking religion story.

“In recent weeks, the online game has become a kind of ritual for its players, who pilgrimage daily to a website to solve a five-letter puzzle,” Bailey explains. “After completing the game, many share their score with their friends, along with the grid of yellow and green squares that show how many tries it took them to solve the puzzle. The game, which was purchased by the New York Times, was created in late 2021 by Josh Wardle for his partner as a way to kill time during the pandemic.

“While rituals are often thought of in religious contexts such as prayer, a pilgrimage to Mecca, a Jewish Seder, baptism and communion, several scholars said there is no agreed-upon definition for a ritual. But many say ancient and modern rituals in both religious and secular contexts serve a powerful role in people’s lives, especially during uncertain times.”

CONTINUE READING, “Online Church And Virtual Spirituality In The Pandemic Age: Can We Please Have A Wordle?”, by Bobby Ross, Jr., at Religion Unplugged.