#1 Masses on Roblox. Gamification of religion, deep mediatisation – what is behind the new phenomenon?

Masses organised by (and for) Roblox users have taken the Polish internet by storm. Such events are also taking place in other countries – the phenomenon started with the first masses organized with the support of the Anglican Church. The masses, whose records can be watched on YouTube, are excellent reconstructions not only of important places of worship, such as iconic cathedrals, but also of the liturgy itself, which includes all the key elements performed in the correct order. Are the masses on Roblox a way of imitating, reconstructing, or simply entertaining young users? Or are they something else entirely?

A new form of online spirituality gaining popularity on Roblox is the topic of the first DELab podcast with our renowned guest Prof. Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, a religious studies expert whose research focuses on the topics of religion in times of deep mediatization, religion, and gaming. The episode is hosted by Dr. Marta Kolodziejska, a sociologist of religion and the media and DELab analyst. The themes discussed in the podcast include:
– the boundary between role-playing – what Roblox users do – and actual forms of religious practice and meaning-making,
– participation in this type of practice, juxtaposed with research findings that concern mediatisation and secularization processes among young people,
– the phenomenon of individualisation in contrast to organised forms of religion,
– the popularity of religious practices mediated by the web,
– the process of ‘privatisation’ of religion,
– conclusions of expert research on the process of mediatisation and gamification of religion,
– the reasons why the Roblox mass phenomenon has been a success.

The podcast includes a short excerpt from a Roblox mass organized by the «Archdiocese of Gniezno» and transmitted on YouTube.