Anthropological studies of religion have long emphasized the role of sacred space in community formation and religious identity. Scholars such as Mircea Eliade and Jonathan Z. Smith have argued that religious traditions rely on spatial differentiation to establish the sacred, often through physical worship sites. However, decentralized movements challenge these assumptions, particularly those without clergy, permanent religious structures, or institutional hierarchies. The Bahá’í Faith, a worldwide religious movement without designated places of worship in most locations, presents a compelling case study of how religious communities construct sacredness beyond traditional spatial boundaries.
Existing scholarship on digital religion has focused on how institutionalized faith traditions adapt to online spaces, particularly regarding religious authority and virtual ritual practice (Campbell & Tsuria, 2022). However, less attention has been given to how decentralized faiths sustain religious identity and community in digital environments. The Bahá’í Faith’s unique structure—lacking an ordained clergy and formalized worship spaces—necessitates alternative forms of community-building, many of which increasingly occur online. Given the movement’s emphasis on participatory governance, dispersed local gatherings, and transnational networks, the digital sphere has become crucial for sustaining Bahá’í communal life. This research investigates how digital platforms do not merely extend religious practice but serve as constitutive elements of sacred space, shaping authority, participation, and community relations.
This study employs multi-sited digital ethnography to analyze Bahá’í engagement across virtual devotional gatherings, study circles, interfaith meetings, and religious celebrations in Ireland and beyond. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Bahá’ís adapted their community practices to the online sphere, exemplifying the role of digital spaces in maintaining spiritual connections. Virtual study circles allowed members to continue engaging with Ruhi books, reinforcing collective learning. Online devotional meetings facilitated communal prayer, while digital feasts sustained consultative decision-making processes. Music concerts and film screenings enriched religious and cultural expression, while junior youth and children’s classes continued through digital platforms. The open nature of these online spaces also created opportunities for religious seekers and non-Bahá’ís to participate, reflecting the inclusive nature of digital sacred spaces.
The shift to online participation has transformed community relations, particularly by fostering unity and new tensions between local and transnational Bahá’í networks. While digital platforms enable global engagement, they may also reduce emphasis on local communities. Irish Bahá’ís living abroad, for instance, often reconnect with their Irish networks rather than their local Bahá’í communities, challenging the sustainability of geographically bounded religious identities. This phenomenon mirrors broader trends in digital religion, where online participation can strengthen global ties and complicate localized religious commitment.
The absence of clergy in the Bahá’í Faith further complicates how religious authority is mediated in digital environments. Unlike faith traditions that centralize authority in religious leaders, Bahá’í governance operates through consultative decision-making. When transposed to digital platforms, this model requires new forms of textual engagement, interpretive negotiation, and online participation in administrative processes. Studies on online religious authority have shown that digital spaces simultaneously challenge and reinforce traditional religious leadership structures (Campbell & Tsuria, 2022). In the Bahá’í context, digital governance mechanisms must balance decentralized participation with the Universal House of Justice's hierarchical structure, raising questions about decentralized authority's limits (Piff & Warburg, 2005).
Additionally, the digital religious experience itself necessitates adaptation. Virtual gatherings reshape traditional modes of ritual embodiment, requiring adjustments to sensory and communal aspects of practice. Similar shifts have been observed in online Jewish prayer services, where the transition to digital platforms has altered participation dynamics and the performative aspects of religious life (Ben-Lulu, 2021). In Bahá’í digital spaces, comparable transformations are evident as communities adapt prayers, study circles, and consultations to virtual environments, challenging conventional understandings of religious embodiment.
The presentation will incorporate multimedia elements. Video clips of online Bahá’í gatherings, screen captures from digital study sessions, and excerpts from Bahá’í YouTube channels and podcasts will be used to illustrate how digital platforms function as sacred spaces. These materials will provide ethnographic depth and offer a dynamic engagement with the audience, leveraging the online conference format to showcase digital religion in practice.
By examining transnational connections and virtual governance, this study contributes to broader conversations on how digital anthropology can document dispersed, networked communities. The paper also offers a critical intervention in studying decentralized religious movements, situating the Bahá’í case within broader anthropological discussions on digital mediation and religious authority.
Moreover, this research aligns with interdisciplinary conversations on media and religion, demonstrating how audio-visual platforms mediate spiritual authority and communal belonging. This study contributes to the anthropology of religion and provides insights for scholars of digital media and global religious movements.
The study of sacred space has traditionally centered on fixed, physical locations integral to religious experience. However, decentralized religious movements like the Bahá’í Faith—lacking clergy and permanent places of worship—challenge conventional models of sacredness and community formation. While digital religion scholarship has explored how hierarchical traditions adapt to online spaces, it has not sufficiently examined how decentralized faiths construct sacredness in deterritorialized, networked environments. This study employs multi-sited digital ethnography to analyze how Bahá’ís in Ireland engage with transnational digital networks to sustain religious identity, communal belonging, and governance. Through virtual study circles, devotional meetings, feasts, and interfaith dialogues, digital platforms constitute sacred space rather than merely extending religious practice. The shift to online participation alters community relations by increasing accessibility and global engagement, but it also generates tensions between local and transnational religious networks