Creating immersion and engagement: studies in religion in Second Life

This presentation seeks to address some of the issues and explore the benefits associated with teaching tertiary-level studies in religion in Second Life. This popular virtual world provides an unparalleled opportunity for people to interact with each other and their environment in unfamiliar and innovative ways. Though originally applied to the acquisition of language skills, immersive learning has been found to be equally useful in other disciplines. For students of studies in religion, successful role identification would enable them to view a variety of belief systems through fresh eyes, helping them to acquire desirable graduate attributes. These would include the acquisition of knowledge about other cultures and times, or the fostering of intercultural communication and an appreciation of cultural diversity, historical consciousness and a global perspective. A number of elaborately and carefully designed religious spaces already exist within Second Life, their creators encouraging participation in rituals and worship. Every Sunday on Epiphany Island an avatar can take communion and hear the sermon delivered by Anglican minister Arkin Ariantho. But just as Second Life enables followers of many faiths to worship and engage with their religious communities, it also provides the opportunity for students to fully participate in a ritual or role-play in a way that is not feasible in real life for legal, financial and ethical reasons, even if appropriate spaces did exist within their geographical location. The possibilities for using these already extant spaces and the creation of purpose-built ‘religious spaces’ to creative immersive learning opportunities for use in the studies in religion curriculum will be discussed