Hong Kong gets its first metaverse churches, complete with avatars and virtual preachers. But are they for real?
- Preachers offer faithful a new way to gather, but some have their doubts about virtual churches
- Virtual reality headsets allow visitors to send avatars to sit in virtual pews, sing hymns, mingle
Hong Kong Baptist minister Reverend Enoch Lam Yee-lok has said he believes he has the answer for Christians who find going to church too inconvenient and the services to be boring.
In February, he started Me Church, where people show up as avatars – cartoon-like depictions of themselves – that sit in a stadium, sing hymns and listen to him preach. All virtually.
It is one of two Hong Kong churches that opened in the metaverse this year, geared towards a tech-savvy generation interested in the world of virtual reality and artificial intelligence.
The metaverse is an integrated network of 3D virtual worlds and users can enter it by using a number of available applications and platforms. Using a virtual reality headset, they can become so immersed that it can feel like they are actually there.
The metaverse has been described as a game-changer in a new era of social interactions over the internet. Tech giant Facebook created a global buzz when it announced last year that it would be renamed Meta to focus on the potential of the concept.
Lam, in his 60s, is well known for his unusual approach to promoting religion, including his popular So Gor (Brother Jesus) stand-up comedy shows with a religious twist.