Abstract
This study examines the formation of e-spiritual identities in Türkiye, where traditional religious practices intersect with digitally mediated, individualized spiritualities. Rather than mapping practices, it interrogates how digital infrastructures stage spirituality as spectacle—faith as an image to be circulated, the self as a performance to be consumed, and belonging as algorithmic visibility. What appears as liberation through connectivity simultaneously tightens the grip of control, transforming transcendence into a managed script of profiles, feeds, and data traces. Parallels with global contexts are evident: online Sufi teachings and YouTube zikr lessons echo mindfulness practices; spiritual influencers on Instagram and TikTok mirror Western trends; and digital communities on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram function as new congregations. Yet Türkiye presents distinctive dynamics: New Age practices often merge with Islamic references, state and religious authorities struggle to effectively regulate digital spirituality, and actors engaged in commercialization within this sphere may at times face legal sanctions. Key research questions arise as critical inquiries: Is digitalization reshaping New Age movements or producing caricatures —simulacra of transcendence within algorithmic spectacle? Does individualization function as liberation or commodification, where spirituality becomes lifestyle branding? How do platforms create dependencies of “spiritual precarity”? And do privacy and security protections genuinely safeguard subjectivity, or deepen control under the guise of safety? By situating e-spirituality within debates on spectacle, surveillance, and digital culture, this paper illuminates how spiritual subjectivities are mediated, individualized, and contested in contemporary Türkiye.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Indigenous Spiritualities in Global Perspective
KEYWORDS
E-SPIRITUALITY, DIGITAL RELIGIOSITY, HYBRID SPIRITUALITIES, PLATFORM GOVERNANCE, ALGORITHMIC SPECTACLE, TURKIYE
