Ritual Loss and Digital Loneliness: Religion, Community, and Identity in Postmodern British Society
Ritual Loss and Digital Loneliness: Religion, Community, and Identity in Postmodern British Society

Summary/Abstract: This article is a detailed examination of how ritual loss, digital loneliness, and changing religion and community ultimately affect postmodern Britain. It situates itself within the context of a decline in the traditionally observed religious practices alongside an upsurge in digitally mediated interactions and goes on to investigate how a society that is vastly secular and fragmented still manages to negotiate identity and belonging.The research, through the lens of sociological theories, identifies the contradictions permeating the core of community and presence when, on one hand, people are turning to ritual to renew their contact with the sacred and, on the other hand, community and presence are being subsumed by the logic of the secular. The theoretical framework employed blends ritual studies, sociology, and digital culture to recognize that, while virtual spaces may perform the role of communal ritual, they may also complicate them.Through the method of interdisciplinary research, this article attempts to present the new arrangements of faith, identity, and ritual that have emerged in a period when the need for spiritual nourishment is as strong as ever but is being challenged by the use of technology as a means of mediation and individualization. Thus, it contributes to the conference theme “Timeless Truths and Modern Dilemmas: Bridging Sacred and Secular” by reflecting on the enduring spiritual challenge/experience nexus in technologically-mediated and individualized contexts.

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