On evangelizing an avatar : an empirical exploration of the expression of faith in virtual reality

Abstract

Mission is a central aspect of the Christian faith and much thought is given to the challenge of proclaiming the gospel in a new context or to a different people group (i.e. contextualization). In recent years, a new context has come to the forefront that has been and is being created through technology, namely virtual reality (VR). The purpose of this study is to explore how contextualization, with regards to evangelization, needs to be done in VR. The proposed thesis is that VR provides a new context in which the Christian faith is, or should be, shared in a contextualized way. Although much thought is given to the question of religion in VR, it mostly focuses on the nature of communities online. This study addresses the issue of online evangelization, which has so far received less attention. This doctoral thesis is structured after the empirical-theological praxis cycle of Faix (2007a), and the Policy Delphi Method (PDM) is the research technique used. Through the PDM, a panel of experts from different backgrounds (theologians, sociologists, and practitioners) discussed the various ways in which VR affects evangelization, the way people form their religious identity, and how contextualization could take place. The aim of this research is to contribute to the field of missiology by investigating VR as a new context in which to proclaim the Christian faith