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JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

Abstract

Drawing on an online meditation community mentored by Samanera Abhisarano in Indonesia, this study explores how the members use digital media to engage in religious practices and teachings. The data were collected through multisited digital ethnographic fieldwork conducted from December 2021 to July 2022. During this period, we immersed ourselves in the WhatsApp group and the Zoom virtual room of the community. In addition to participating in their online activities and interviewing five community members remotely, we conducted on-site fieldwork at the temple where the mentor lives and organized a face-to-face in-depth interview with him. Employing Hjarvard’s theory of mediatization of religion, we analyzed how Buddhist teaching and practices were mediatised through the intensive use of digital media in religious environments. We argue that digital media have, to some extent, transformed the routine of this community in terms of performing religious activities. The finding supports Hjarvard’s argument that mediatization of religion is a process in which the media have taken over some roles of religious authority and transformed the way society interacts with religion.

Bahasa Abstract

Beranjak dari komunitas meditasi daring yang dibimbing oleh Samanera Abhisarano di Indonesia, penelitian ini mengeksplorasi bagaimana anggotanya menggunakan media digital untuk terlibat dalam praktik dan ajaran keagamaan. Data diperoleh melalui multi-sited digital ethnographic fieldwork yang dilakukan pada Desember 2021 hingga Juli 2022. Selama periode tersebut, kami masuk ke dalam grup WhatsApp dan ruang virtual Zoom komunitas tersebut. Selain berpartisipasi dalam aktivitas daring dan mewawancarai lima anggota komunitas dari jarak jauh, kami melakukan fieldwork di wihara tempat mentor meditasi menetap serta mengatur wawancara mendalam tatap muka dengannya. Dengan menggunakan teori mediatisasi agama Hjarvard, kami menganalisis bagaimana ajaran dan praktik Buddhis termediatisasi melalui penggunaan media digital secara intensif di lingkungan keagamaan. Kami berpendapat bahwa media digital, sampai batas tertentu, telah mentransformasi rutinitas komunitas ini dalam melakukan kegiatan keagamaan. Temuan ini mendukung argumen Hjarvard bahwa mediatisasi agama adalah sebuah proses yang memungkinkan media mengambil alih beberapa peran otoritas agama dan mengubah cara masyarakat berinteraksi dengan agama.

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