Missionaries to the metaverse: 30 sources on religion and Web 3.0

By EditorUpdated on . Posted on
Man with outstretched arms stands in front of digital light display.
Image from MĒRCER LABS, Church Street, New York, NY, USA, via Mason C on Unsplash.

Pastors launching non fungible tokens (NFTs) to fund their ministry. A decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) soliciting Bitcoin for a digital mosque. A Buddhist collective experimenting with AI-guided meditation stored on the blockchain.

Such trends may be easy to dismiss as novelties or quirky intersections of religion and emerging tech. But taken together, and as ReligionLink has been tracking in recent years, they point to how religion is adapting to the world of Web 3.0.

Web 3.0, the loosely defined ecosystem built around blockchain technologies, token economies and user-owned networks, is often covered as a business or innovation beat. But its implications extend far beyond finance or disruption in Silicon Valley.

At stake are questions about religious authority, what constitutes spiritual community, how trust is established and maintained and what gives religious practices — or the people who lead them — legitimacy in an era of mistrust and digital distance? 

This guide offers background, sources and reporting strategies to help journalists cover this emerging space with balance, clarity and nuance — moving beyond coverage of artificial intelligence (AI) to examine how the broader implications of how religion and Web 3.0 are reshaping our experience of the sacred. 

Background

Religious traditions have long shown capacity to adapt to new and evolving media environments. From oral transmission to manuscript culture, and from print to broadcast to digital platforms, changes in technology have consistently reshaped how religion is practiced, organized and understood — while at the same time religion has influenced the development and deployment of these technologies.

The printing press, for example, helped standardize scripture and expand access to religious texts during the Reformation, enabling new forms of lay engagement and theological debate. Centuries later, radio and television amplified charismatic authority in the U.S., allowing preachers and religious leaders like Aimee Semple McPherson, Fulton Sheen, Walter A. Maier, Charles E. Coughlin, Pat Robertson, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes or Joel Osteen to reach mass audiences far beyond local congregations. The rise of social media further disrupted religious hierarchies, fragmenting influence while enabling new forms of visibility, connection and the continuing rise of “influencer” religion.

Web 3.0 (or Web3 when focused on blockchain technologies in particular), represents the latest of these changing digital landscapes. Blockchain technologies and decentralized networks introduce systems where authority, community belonging and value can be encoded into digital infrastructures.

In the world of religion, authority may be mediated through decentralized autonomous organizations rather than traditional clergy; community can take shape through tokenized forms of belonging such as ownable digital assets on a blockchain rather than physical congregations; and economic practices — from  charitable giving to fundraising — are being reimagined through cryptocurrencies, NFTs and decentralized finance. Even what is considered ritual space is changing, with experiments in metaverse worship, virtual pilgrimage and digitally mediated spiritual practices such as Hindu darshan or visio divina (divine seeing) in Christianity.

Despite these developments, the intersection of religion and Web 3.0 remains underreported. In most mainstream reporting, religion is treated as peripheral to technological innovation or reduced to novelty stories about “NFT churches” or virtual rituals. And yet, many faith communities are experimenting with these tools and the society-wide debates around artificial intelligence, digital identity and the nature of value in a digital age echo deeply religious concerns from time immemorial.

Web 3.0 also brings new risks of misinformation, financial exploitation and speculative bubbles that can intersect with vulnerable communities. Questions of access and exclusion also arise, with divides shaped by digital literacy, language and economic resources likely to persist or even deepen. At the same time, these technologies may enable transnational, non-institutional religious networks to operate further outside traditional, institutional boundaries, reshaping what counts as a religious “community” in the first place.

Tips & Suggestions

Similar to previous media revolutions, the question of religion and Web 3.0 is not simply whether religious individuals and institutions will use these technologies — there will almost certainly be widespread adoption, with pockets of resistance — but how they will reshape religious life itself. Web 3.0 may decentralize authority or it may re-centralize it in new, less visible ways. Likewise, how might engagement with Web 3.0 by religious adherents shape the technology and its influence in society writ large? 

For reporters, the challenge is to move past the rhetoric of innovation and ask what is actually changing, for whom, and with what consequences.

  • Platforms and power –  Don’t assume “decentralization” equals democratization. Ask who holds authority, how decisions are made and where influence concentrates behind the rhetoric of many  Web 3.0 promoters.
  • Define what counts as “religion” – As is often needed on our beat, we have to probe how participants and traditions evaluate authenticity in virtual or tokenized settings. What makes a ritual, leader or community legitimate in these environments? What makes what is happening here religious (or not)?
  • Ethical stakes – Examine who may be excluded or exploited, especially across lines of access, literacy and capital. Ask how different traditions interpret these technologies morally, not just functionally. How is religious language being used, or not, to justify, advance or draft legislation to put in place proper guardrails to protect against the worst of Web 3.0?
  • What about the “newness” of it all? – Avoid hype or dismissal by comparing Web 3.0 to earlier tech. Is this a genuine transformation or a remix of familiar patterns in new technical form? How have the lessons religious groups have learned with past technological shifts shaping their responses today?
  • Follow the money – It’s an old adage in investigative journalism and has helped numerous journalists uncover important stories when covering megachurches, religious groups and faith-based organizations. It’s equally important here to understand how individuals and institutions are raking in the cash, often at the expense of investors and those they purport to support and champion. Crypto schemes can often be, to borrow a biblical phrase, wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing. So, track funding flows, token ownership and incentives. Clarify whether a project functions as ministry, community or business — and whether participants understand the risks.
  • Who is Web3? – Go past founders and Web 3.0 evangelists to include theologians, anthropologists, critics and everyday people engaging with, embracing or eschewing the technologies.
  • Explainify everything – Avoid vague buzzwords and explain how systems actually work. Use immersive or narrative approaches — e.g., ethnographic reporting, “day in the life” stories — to show what is changing, for whom and with what consequences.

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Relevant Sources

  • AI and Faith

    AI and Faith is a cross-spectrum consortium of faith communities and academic institutions. Its mission is to bring the fundamental values of the world’s major religions into the emerging debate on the ethical development of artificial intelligence and related technologies. Contact through the website.

  • Barna Group

    The Barna Group is a leading research organization focused on the intersection of faith and culture. It provides primary research, communications tools, printed resources, leadership development for young people, and church facilitation and enhancement in order to “partner with Christian ministries and individuals to be a catalyst in moral and spiritual transformation in the United States.”

  • Nichol Bradford

    Nichol Bradford is CEO and founder of the Willow Group and executive director and co-founder of the Transformative Technology Lab and Conference in California.

  • Heidi Campbell

    Heidi Campbell is a professor of communication at Texas A&M University. She has researched a variety of topics, including online faith communities, new media ethics and the relationship between digital culture and religion. She has studied questions related to the nature of community, identity, authority and authenticity online through ethnography, case studies, interviews and textual analysis.

  • Center for Religion and Media

    Based at New York University, the Center for Religion and Media supports research and public scholarship on religion, media and culture. It connects academics, journalists and the public through events and publications.

  • Pauline Hope Cheong

    Pauline Hope Cheong is a professor at Arizona State University. Her research interests are in the complex interactions between communication technologies and different cultural communities around the world — including the socio-cultural implications of artificial intelligence, robotics and big data.

  • Andrew Davison

    Andrew Davison is Regius Professor of Divinity at Christ Church College at the University of Oxford. His work spans Christian doctrine, natural science and philosophy. Recently, that has taken in life elsewhere in the universe, but also an application of medieval accounts of analogy to help think about what we mean when we attribute humanlike capacities to machine learning or artificial intelligence.

  • Primavera De Filippi

    De Filippi is a legal scholar and researcher working on blockchain governance and decentralized systems. Her work examines how code structures social organization and authority in emerging digital networks.

  • Episcopal Network for Science, Technology & Faith

    The Episcopal Network for Science, Technology & Faith is open to all Episcopalians interested in the intersection of science, technology, medicine and faith.

  • Greg Epstein

    Greg Epstein serves as the humanist chaplain at Harvard University and is the author of Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe (2009). He holds master’s degrees in Judaic studies and theological studies and has been ordained as a humanist rabbi. The Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard is “dedicated to building, educating, and nurturing a diverse community of Humanists, agnostics, atheists, and the non-religious at Harvard and beyond.”

  • Jaroslav Franc

    Jaroslav Franc is a Czech academic whose teaching and research focus on religion in digital culture. His work addresses how religious practice and education adapt to technological change.

  • Gloo

    Gloo is a U.S.-based technology company that develops digital tools and data platforms for churches and faith-based organizations. Its work focuses on engagement, analytics, and infrastructure for religious communities.

  • Gregory Price Grieve

    Gregory Price Grieve studies religion in virtual worlds, gaming and digital Buddhism. His research explores ritual, embodiment and authenticity in online and immersive environments. He has written extensively on religion and digital culture.

  • Samer Hassan

    Samer Hassan researches decentralized online communities, digital commons and blockchain governance. He is also affiliated with the Berkman Klein Center and works on technologies that enable collective coordination online.

  • Ben Haupt

    Ben Haupt is a technologist and Christian thinker who co-hosts the Bitcoin Reformation Podcast, where he discusses cryptocurrency, theology and digital culture. His work engages questions of faith, fundraising, leadership and decentralization.

  • Noreen Herzfeld

    Noreen Herzfeld is a professor of theology and computer science at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville, Minnesota.

  • Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology

    The Institute for Theological Encounter with Science and Technology in St. Louis is an interfaith organization of Christians working to foster a “community of scientists and technologists who are dedicated both to the advancement of scientific understanding AND to the growth of Christianity.” Sister Marianne Postiglione is director of communications.

  • Mujahidul Islam

    Mujahidul Islam is an ed tech specialist at Azim Premji University in Bengaluru, India. He works at the crossroads of technology, media and education with a special emphasis on the digital ways of learning and the theological underpinnings of mediated and perceptual learning.

  • David Zvi Kalman

    David Zvi Kalman is scholar-in-residence and director of new media at Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where he was also a member of the inaugural cohort of North American David Hartman Center Fellows. He leads the Kogod Research Center’s research seminar on Judaism and the natural world.

  • Patricia Karpas

    Patricia Karpas is co-founder of Meditation Studio, a mindfulness meditation app. She is also the host of Untangle, Meditation Studio’s original podcast that shares stories from experts and thought leaders about how mindfulness practices change us. She is a former media executive at CNBC, NBC and AOL.

  • Lausanne Movement

    The Lausanne Movement is an international network focused on Christian mission and collaboration. It convenes leaders and produces research on evangelism, including initiatives related to digital media and technology.

  • Fiona Murphy

    Fiona Murphy is a New York-based multimedia journalist and national reporter at Religion News Service. Murphy covers local stories as well as national trends, with a focus on how faith intersects with digital life, identity, and community. In addition to reporting, she produces videos and photography for RNS’s website and social media platforms.

  • Diana Walsh Pasulka

    Diana Walsh Pasulka is a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her areas of specialization include Catholic studies, religion and new media, digital culture and gender.

  • Joshua Ruben

    Joshua Ruben is a technology professional, security engineer and coordinator for Technology Awareness Group, Chicago (TAG Chicago). TAG is an international organization dedicated to meeting the Orthodox Jewish communities’ technological needs by offering educational and training sessions, developing technology policies and providing filtering solutions.

     

     

  • Science, Reason and Faith Group

    The Science, Reason and Faith Group is an interdisciplinary center at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain studies the relationship between science, philosophy, and religion. Its work addresses contemporary questions about technology, ethics and belief.

  • Beth Singler

    Beth Singler is a research associate at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmund’s College at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England, where she works on the Human Identity in an Age of Nearly-Human Machines Project. The project, which also involves professors John Wyatt and Peter Robinson, explores the social and religious implications of technological advances in AI and robotics. Singler is also an expert on Jediism, Scientology and the New Age idea of “indigo children.”

     

  • Kate Stockly

    Kate Stockly researches affective neuroscience, cognitive science and evolutionary biology to construct biocultural theories of embodied religious ritual at Boston University.

  • A. Trevor Sutton

    Trevor Sutton is pastor at St. Luke Lutheran Church in Haslett, Michigan. He has written extensively about the intersections between Christianity, worship and technology.

  • Synchronicity

    Synchronicity is a foundation and retreat center founded by M.C. Cannon (aka Swami Vivekananda Saraswati) that developed High-Tech Meditation and the Holistic Lifestyle as a modernization of the ancient wisdom traditions it believes empower the journey to enlightenment.

  • Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

    Hava Tirosh-Samuelson is a professor of modern Judaism and history at Arizona State University in Tempe, where she studies Judaism and ecology, bioethics, and religion and science.

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