Przemysław Kantorski

God had become data. Experiencing the presence of the divine in the digital era

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During my presentation I would like to demonstrate that cognitive linguistics offers theoretical and methodological tools and concepts which can be succesfully used by digital religion scholars who are intersted in an issue of cognitive and ontological consequences of approaching divine through the digital means. To put it simply - I believe that the whole idea of mediatized liturgy (for example) requires digital participants of the event to "activate" cognitive divices such as conceptual metaphors and conceptual blending to make such an event successul. You can't simply adore the Eucharist through the digital lens without changing the concept of the Eucharist as such. Eucharist is, therefore, conceptualized differently, by the participants, altought they might not be aware of it. This "state of affairs" leads to certain ontological consequences. Therefore I believe that the whole idea of commonly accepted differentiation of sacred and profane is challenged and transformed during (post)digital encounters with the divine, at least in Catholicism.