Robots, Ethics, and Digital Religion

Abstract

Abstract As robotic artifacts begin to appear in religious practice, they become compelling objects for digital religion studies. The authors explore current research on robotics in religion to develop conceptual and theoretical space for robots within digital religion. A brief history of automata in diverse religions provides important grounding for then reviewing foundational philosophical and culturally variable aspects of robots. The authors then introduce the most prominent religious robots employed in Buddhist and Christian contexts today. Within and beyond these religious contexts, robots pose unique opportunities and challenges: the authors catalogue and develop these within the frame of three central digital religion themes: identity, community, and authority. These endeavors set the stage for further analyses of robots in religion, starting with authenticity and ritual as additional themes in digital religion studies.