Mall Messiahs (Part 1)
The Effervescent But Shallow Religions of Online Life
“Jesus in a mall, painting” Stable Diffusion
This post was originally meant to be a comment on this great Matt Klein Substack but was way too long to even be one Substack post, let alone a comment. So TL;DR - he explores how online communities have filled the void that religion once filled. Now for my response:
You hate to see it. A Reddit atheist who is woefully confident that they have it all figured out. Ask them what takes the place of God in their minds and hearts and they say “Whatever I want it to be.” If only it were that simple. Companies, political movements, governments, even financial institutions (sorry DEfinancial institutions) are all vying to fill the God hole inside you - especially in this attention economy. And they are not asking for permission to be your Brand New God.
But this is not just coming down from the mountain. Many grassroots communities online are also vying for that coveted God slot. OK so what is the secret ingredient that turns a community, or movement, into a cult or religion? After all, Rotary clubs and PTA meetings seem to still be OK not drawing devoted, manic crowds? The magic all comes from what sociologist Emile Durkheim called “collective effervescence.”
All these online religions have collective effervescence. But it is a shallow collective effervescence. An effervescence that is trending. And as we’ve seen time and again, trends have shorter and shorter life spans. What’s more, unlike the more lasting Abrahamic religions, there is never a clear sense of sacrifice or even character building. A Muslim fasts for a month and is required to give to charity or they are not a Muslim anymore. What about Harry Potter fandom? Sure they have their rites, their shrines, but what sacrifices do they make? What moral code do they download and apply to their lives?
An obvious (and hacky, unfunny answer) would be that they sacrifice sex. Is this really a sacrifice though? It’s almost like Harry Potter fans don’t have sex because they are afraid of sacrificing comfort. Of lowering their shield and facing rejection. So yes, even for those few that are sacrificing sex, it’s no sacrifice at all.
Some will point to Potter fans taking on JK Rowling’s TERF stance. Is this directly related to Harry Potter though or is this a Hogwarts extracurricular? In other words, what would Harry do? Again, this is all shallow effervescence. Even if we talk about worldbuilding, we are ultimately talking about, at best, a profitable grassroots IP.
Um, SFW? BFD! So you walk around with Harry Potter in your godhole and it fails. OK? Just switch to Star Wars, Minecraft, and so forth. The issue with this digital phantasmogorium of false idols is that going through idols like they are teenage trends can ultimately lead to nihilism. And I happen to agree with Katherine Dee in her latest podcast appearance on Subversive when she says that nihilism fuels many mass shooters, especially the incels. Incels have become a subject of fascination lately because they are the extreme epitome of loneliness. Loneliness being arguably the problem of our time. During lockdown, even essential workers were urged to go outside only for work. Play and community was supposed to be on Zoom, Twitch, TikTok. This of course drove home how tenuous and superficial many online connections were.
But when we were allowed to play outside again, it was not - is not - effortless. As we seek new friends, we are increasingly using our online religions to filter them. Are they Animal Crossers? Are they woke?
Wokeness may be a new religion, but it is a step up from fandom. You can’t deny that there is a moral code that unites social justice worriers. The code keeps changing, but is this always a bad thing? Why be dogmatic? Why not respond to the times as they evolve? Does it seem to correspond to performative acts of virtue signalling? Often times yes. But this is not the central dilemma with this new religion.
The drawback with identifying so strongly with a special victim interest group is that it often becomes a substitute for finding your own identity. For finding your own individual purpose. Contrast this with a 12 step program. When you are a recovering alcoholic, you choose your own higher power. But after that you choose a sponsor and together, along with your immediate support network of other addicts, you see how the steps, traditions and principles can be applied in your everyday life. This helps build character and purpose.
As for the religion of wokeness, in its current incarnation, you follow the latest trend and, at best, get a retweet from on high and your Hot Take is validated by Buzzfeed, Better though it may be than fandom, it ultimately is a heightened fandom. Initially you are welcomed to the mental illness space online. You give your brave declaration and all the welcoming hosannahs come your way. Before you can even hit refresh, you are suddenly inundated with posts that seem to have less and less to do with improved mental health and more and more to do with scanning the digital jungle for friends and foes. Ye is not really mentally ill — he is giving the movement a bad name. Now here is a picture of me reading Sylvia Plath on the N train as a testament to my faith. My shallow, trending, effervescent faith.
Read Part 2 here