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OP23


Cyberhenge Revisited: Contemporary Paganism, Technology and the Internet 
Convenors:
Joanna Malita-Król (Jagiellonian University)
Matouš Vencálek (Masaryk University)
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Chairs:
Matouš Vencálek (Masaryk University)
Joanna Malita-Król (Jagiellonian University)
Format:
Panel
Location:
Zeta room
Sessions:
Monday 4 September, -, Tuesday 5 September, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Vilnius

Short Abstract:

This panel invites contributions on the topic of contemporary Paganism and technology and to reflect, among others, on online rituals and groups, forming and presenting Pagan identities on social media and the usage of technology (apps etc.) in Pagan context.

Long Abstract:

Since the 1990s, the Internet has played a significant role in the Pagan community worldwide. It brought rapid growth of Pagan movements and became a primary channel of spreading information and organizing events for many Pagan organisations (Strmiska 2005, Adler 2006). As Douglas Cowan observed almost twenty years ago, Paganism on the Internet demonstrates "how new information spaces (…) provide alternative, hitherto unavailable venues for the performance and instantiation of often marginalized religious identities" (Cowan 2004: x). This was accurate not only for forums back in the 1990s, but also for more recent kinds of online activity, namely social media, especially TikTok with WitchTok phenomenon (Miller 2022).

Furthermore, the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic transformed religious practices, shifting to virtual and home-based worship (Taragin-Zeller and Kessler 2021). As Baker et al. (2021) note, the pandemic resulted in an increased "demand" for religious rituals and support with a simultaneous decrease of the "available supply" of religion in its usual form. New forms of such supply were realized in various forms in contemporary Paganism, including meeting for rituals and various gatherings online and streaming important events (e.g., Rountree 2021).

In continuity with these studies, this panel invites contributions on the broader topic of contemporary Paganism and technology, and to reflect, among others, on the following questions:

Online rituals and online covens/other groups - do they actually happen, when, why?

Are the online rituals perceived as authentic - why or why not?

What is left after the COVID-19 induced shift to virtual worship?

How are Pagan identities formed and presented on social media?

How are modern technologies (e.g., apps for designing runic formulas etc.) used and reflected by contemporary Pagans?

Papers exploring case studies, theoretical and methodological issues in the area of contemporary Paganism and technology are also welcome.

Accepted papers:

Session 1 Monday 4 September, 2023, -
Session 2 Tuesday 5 September, 2023, -
Session 3 Tuesday 5 September, 2023, -