Search Results (18)

In an age in which the post-secular condition and digital capitalism are increasingly interwoven, the question of what role religion ought to play in the public sphere—and how it might regain critical and constructive force amid deepening crises of meaning—has become urgent. Contemporary digital capitalism, characterized by the pseudo-sacralization of algorithmic logic, generates a persistent absorptive power marked by ecstatic effects. This elevates technological rationality and market logic to a level of pseudo-sacral authority, exercising a form of symbolic and spiritual domination. Returning to Paul Tillich’s thought, this article reconstructs his vision of religious socialism not as a historical artifact, but as a critical public theology capable of resisting this form of demonic domination. Tillich’s central insight is that the crisis of capitalism is not merely economic but ontological: its culture of “autonomy” severs itself from its religious ground, allowing finite forms—now amplified by digital technology—to elevate themselves into ultimate meaning and thereby consolidate into self-absolutizing, demonic structures. Against this background, the article argues that Tillich’s religious socialism is not a proposal for institutional replacement, but a public theological practice rooted in “ultimate concern.” Its task is to expose the structures of usurpation operative within digital capitalism and to reconfigure the order of meaning through the symbolic vision of theonomy. Through this symbolic practice, religion is recovered as a deep dimension of culture capable of critically piercing the regimes of meaning-occlusion. Moreover, it is precisely the unfinished and open-ended characteristic of religious socialism that enables it to regain theoretical and symbolic vitality in the post-secular present. Full article

Digitalization has transformed how young believers in East Asia encounter, interpret, and negotiate Christian teachings. Drawing on four years of ethnographic and digital fieldwork at a large Pentecostal megachurch in Singapore (2019–2022), this article develops the concept of theological tinkering to describe how youth engage diverse Christian ideas through algorithmic exposure, relational discernment, and institutional boundary-work. In an environment where spiritual content circulates through smartphones, social media, livestreams, and peer networks, theological meaning is increasingly assembled through movement rather than inherited through stable structures. The article situates the Singaporean case within broader scholarship on mediatization, hybridity, digital authority, and liquid modernity, showing how theological reasoning is shaped by digital infrastructures, affective-spiritual evaluation, and communal negotiation. Rather than signalling doctrinal instability, theological tinkering reflects a resilient mode of liquid faith: a capacity to remain rooted while navigating plurality. The findings invite a rethinking of theological formation, pastoral leadership, and digital discipleship in East Asia’s rapidly evolving religious landscape. Full article

This article explores Lebanese Christian digital presence within the framework of Sacred Algorithms: Religion in the Digital Age. In a society marked by economic collapse, migration, and religious plurality, digital platforms have become vital arenas for Christian witness, reshaping authority, belonging, and mission. The emergence of online clerical and lay initiatives shows how spiritual authority today is hybrid: rooted in sacramental legitimacy yet co-constructed through algorithmic visibility. The study develops four lines of analysis: the rise of digital spiritual authority in Lebanon and its negotiation within local and diaspora contexts; the ethical and theological challenges of surveillance and religious freedom in fragile environments; the successes and limitations of digital engagement, including the impact on parish life; and a theology of digital witness framed by proximity, synodality, solidarity, and mission in a multi-religious society. The Lebanese case highlights that algorithms are not neutral but powerful gatekeepers of religious presence. The central question is whether digital witness can remain faithful to the Gospel’s call to proximity, community, and transformation without being reduced to metrics of popularity and visibility. Full article

Amid evolving consumer demands, product design increasingly emphasizes the deeper needs for emotional resonance and cultural identity. Taking Liao–Jin dynasty silk as a case study, this study explores a digital regeneration pathway for traditional cultural colors, evolving from “form–color restoration” to “emotional awakening.” The study focuses on transforming the emotional imagery—such as “mighty” and “dignified”—embedded in the colors of Liao–Jin silk into perceptible, customizable color experiences for modern consumers. To achieve this, an emotional color customization system was constructed through the integration of Interactive Genetic Algorithms (IGA) with the PAD emotional model. Within this system, cultural emotional semantics (e.g., “Powerful,” “Victory”) were quantified as target anchor points in PAD space. The matching degree between color schemes and target emotions is calculated based on user feedback, and is utilized as a fitness function to drive evolution. An experiment was conducted with 48 volunteer evaluators using Liao–Jin silk. Results demonstrated that, compared to traditional IGA, this method achieved significant improvements in emotional matching accuracy: average fitness increased by 34.00%, maximum fitness rose by 10.76%, and the spiritual essence of Liao–Jin culture was more effectively translated into color schemes that evoke positive user emotions. This research offers an innovative solution for cultural heritage digitization, advancing from “form–color restoration” to “emotional and spiritual regeneration.” It also provides a viable approach for intelligent emotional design in fields such as apparel design, cultural creativity, and digital cultural heritage preservation. Full article

This study applied machine learning (ML) algorithms to predict health-related quality of life (HRQOL) using comprehensive social determinants of health (SDOH) features. Data from the All of Us dataset, comprising participants with complete HRQOL and SDOH records, were analyzed. The primary outcome was HRQOL, which encompassed physical and mental health components, while SDOH features included social, educational, economic, environmental, and healthcare access factors. Three ML algorithms, namely logistic regression, XGBoost, and Random Forest, were tested. The models achieved accuracy ranges of 0.73–0.77 for HRQOL, 0.70–0.71 for physical health, and 0.72–0.77 for mental health, with corresponding area under the curve ranges of 0.81–0.84, 0.74–0.76, and 0.83–0.85, respectively. Emotional stability, activity management, spiritual beliefs, and comorbidity were identified as key predictors. These findings underscore the critical role of SDOH in predicting HRQOL and suggests future research to focus on applying such models to diverse patient populations and specific clinical conditions. Full article

Caused by nonlinear vibration, ocean white noise exhibits complex dynamic characteristics and nonlinear perception characteristics. To explore the potential application of ocean white noise in engineering and health fields, novel methods based on deep learning algorithms are proposed to generate ocean white noise, contributing to marine environment simulation in ocean engineering. A comparative study, including spectrum analysis and auditory testing, proved the superiority of the generation method using deep learning networks over general mathematical or physical methods. To further study the nonlinear perception characteristics of ocean white noise, novel experimental research based on multi-modal perception research methods was carried out within a constructed multi-modal perception system environment, including the following two experiments. The first audiovisual comparative experiment thoroughly explores the system’s user multi-modal perception experience and influence factors, explicitly focusing on the impact of ocean white noise on human perception. The second sound intensity testing experiment is conducted to further explore human multi-sensory interaction and change patterns under white noise stimulation. The experimental results indicate that user visual perception ability and state reach a relatively high level when the sound intensity is close to 50 dB. Further numerical analysis based on the experimental results reveals the internal influence relationship between user perception of multiple senses, showing a fluctuating influence law to user visual concentration and a curvilinear influence law to user visual psychology from the sound intensity of ocean white noise. This study underscores ocean white noise’s positive effect on human perception enhancement and concentration improvement, providing a research basis for multiple field applications such as spiritual healing, perceptual learning, and artistic creation for human beings. Importantly, it provides valuable references and practical insights for professionals in related fields, contributing to the development and utilization of the marine environment. Full article

This paper investigates the possibility of developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems capable of exhibiting limited cognitive processes analogous to aspects of human religious belief. The literature review pertains to the most essential cognitive mechanisms of belief and the most relevant models for AI with belief. Accordingly, and as a result of the theoretical review, drawing inspiration from belief cognition to endow AI with enhanced cognitive capacities, the core objective is to try to build a theoretical model that simulates cognitive processes of belief, equipping AI agents with abilities to recognize subtle divine synchronistic patterns and form provisional convictions computationally modeled on belief cognitive mechanisms. The hypothesis is that this could hopefully unlock a higher level of cognitive function and could enhance capacities for nuanced, context-sensitive reasoning and prediction for these AI models. The method is a novel “Trans-Belief” theoretical model that will be considered, integrating fuzzy and doxastic logic models to trace synchronistic divine patterns, in the results section. Finally, in the discussion, additional moral aspects and the nature of the data set of the model will be examined, and directions for future research will be proposed. While not implying AI can or should fully replicate complex human spirituality, tentative artificial belief could impart beneficial qualities like contextual awareness. However, developing belief-inspired algorithms requires grappling with profound philosophical questions regarding singularity and implementing strong ethical safeguards on any AI-granted agency over human affairs. This represents an early exploration of belief’s implications for machine learning, necessitating future research and discussion. Full article

Deciding what to make of secular, religious, and spiritual speculations about AI and digital technologies can be overwhelming, and focusing on the extreme utopic or dystopic outcomes may be obscuring the larger facts. Is this technology a beautiful blessing or a damning curse? What can paying close attention to these technologies and the discourse surrounding them show? How founded are our anxieties? By following the apocalyptic throughline in this rhetoric across fields in recent years, this essay seeks to consider the effect of apocalyptic thought on recent developments in tech, and consider how this worldview orients our future. The deterministically utopic, dystopic, and apocalyptic rhetoric surrounding these technologies obscures their function and efficacy, giving agency to what is functionally still just a tool, the use for which depends on its designers and users. Full article

The social media app TikTok was launched in the US in 2017 with a very specific purpose: sharing 15-s clips of singing and dancing to popular songs. Seven years and several billion downloads later, it is now the go-to app for Gen Z Internet users and much better known for its ultra-personalized algorithm, AI-driven filters, and network of thriving subcultures. Among them, a growing community of magical and spiritual practitioners, frequently collectivized as Witchtok, who use the app not only share their craft and create community but consider the technology itself a powerful partner with which to conduct readings, channel deities, connect to a collective conscious, and transcend the communicative boundaries between the human and spirit realms—a practice that can be understood as algorithmic divination. In analyzing contemporary witchcraft on TikTok and contextualizing it within the larger history of technospirituality, this paper aims to explore algorithmic divination as an increasingly popular and powerful practice of technomancy open to practitioners of diverse creed and belief. Full article

We explore in this article how Evangelical and Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches (EPCCs) view Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how they use it, either intentionally or indirectly. Considering first the digital habitus in which EPCCs are immersed, we have documented and analyzed three sample cases showing how EPCCs use advanced AI tools to improve the sanctification process for believers; how the Bible can be translated, distributed, and its reading can be fostered around the world, using machine intelligence; and how a spiritual revival among EPCCs can spread rapidly through AI-mediated algorithms. We discuss the implications of these developments and conclude finally with some ideas about how EPCCs should engage AI applications in the future. Full article

Color design plays a pivotal role in determining whether marine urban landscapes meet the diverse needs of individuals, encompassing their visual, psychological, behavioral, and spiritual dimensions. In the contemporary urban environment, a host of practical challenges, including severe color pollution, the absence of regional cultural characteristics, and a lack of humanistic sensitivity in public spaces’ color schemes, necessitates a thorough exploration of the intricate relationship between color and human psychological needs within environmental contexts. This study leverages the potential of interactive genetic algorithms as a powerful tool for innovative color design solutions. Anchored in the nexus of the environment, human psychology, and color theory, this research delves into the intricate nuances of marine urban landscape color. Employing a comprehensive approach that combines questionnaires and extensive field surveys, we seek to elucidate the critical interplay between color and human well-being. Drawing upon the case study of Zhuhai Shijingshan Park, we harness the principles of interactive genetic algorithms to iteratively design marine urban color patterns. Through this experimentation, our study unveils novel design strategies that harmonize with the psychological idiosyncrasies of the human–environment interface. Specifically, the findings of our research highlight the profound impact of color selection on the emotional and behavioral responses of individuals within marine urban landscapes. Our study contributes vital insights into the art and science of marine urban color design, shedding light on the nuanced ways in which color choices can enhance the quality of urban spaces and promote human well-being. This research endeavors to bridge the gap between marine urban design and human psychology through a comprehensive exploration of color design in marine urban landscapes. By addressing the practical challenges and leveraging innovative design techniques, we strive to provide a holistic understanding of the symbiotic relationship between color and human experience, ultimately enriching the design practices that shape our urban environments. Full article

Once a niche part of the cyber community, video games today represent one of the major industries and “the combination of technology and spiritualist narratives”. In the cyberspace dedicated to video game trivia, we can find intimate reports of players who claim that video games impacted them spiritually or that they felt unity with the spirit of the universe. By analyzing three video games (Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Cyberpunk 2077, and Death Stranding), the author aims to explore how spirituality and cyberspace interact in narratives that follow the mentioned games and the interface that pulls the player deeper into the storyline. These games vary in styles and approaches and do not tend to support a view of one true God or any mainstream religion. Therefore, an intricate relationship between cyberspace, algorithmic patterns, and spirituality make these games different and exciting for examination. The author demonstrates the unique perception of spirituality and ideas that influenced the creation of these new spiritual cyberspaces within video games, especially New Age concepts of technopagans such as singularitarians and transhumanists. Full article

The space of possible human cultures is vast, but some cultural configurations are more consistent with cognitive and social constraints than others. This leads to a “landscape” of possibilities that our species has explored over millennia of cultural evolution. However, what does this fitness landscape, which constrains and guides cultural evolution, look like? The machine-learning algorithms that can answer these questions are typically developed for large-scale datasets. Applications to the sparse, inconsistent, and incomplete data found in the historical record have received less attention, and standard recommendations can lead to bias against marginalized, under-studied, or minority cultures. We show how to adapt the minimum probability flow algorithm and the Inverse Ising model, a physics-inspired workhorse of machine learning, to the challenge. A series of natural extensions—including dynamical estimation of missing data, and cross-validation with regularization—enables reliable reconstruction of the underlying constraints. We demonstrate our methods on a curated subset of the Database of Religious History: records from 407 religious groups throughout human history, ranging from the Bronze Age to the present day. This reveals a complex, rugged, landscape, with both sharp, well-defined peaks where state-endorsed religions tend to concentrate, and diffuse cultural floodplains where evangelical religions, non-state spiritual practices, and mystery religions can be found. Full article

The “Song of Life (SOL)” is a kind of music therapy in palliative care for addressing emotional and existential needs in terminally ill patients nearing the end of life. Few previous studies focus on objective data analysis methods to validate the effectiveness of psychotherapy therapy for patients’ overall state. This article combines the entropy weighting method (EWM) and the technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) method to evaluate the effectiveness of SOL music therapy and the treatment satisfaction of the patients and family members. Firstly, the collaborative filtering algorithm (CFA) machine learning algorithm is used to predict the missing ratings a patient might have given to a variable. Secondly, the EWM determines the weights of quality of life, spiritual well-being, ego-integrity, overall quality of life, and momentary distress. Thirdly, the EWM method is applied for the TOPSIS evaluation model to evaluate the patient’s state pre- and post-intervention. Finally, we obtain the state change in patients and recognition based on the feedback questionnaire. The multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) comprehensive evaluation method objectively validated the overall effectiveness of SOL music therapy. Based on MCDM method, we provide a new approach for judging the overall effect of psychological intervention and accurately recommend psychotherapy that fits the symptoms of psychological disorders. Full article

Forests are indispensable materials and spiritual foundations for promoting ecosystem circulation and human survival. Exploring the environmental impact mechanism on individual-tree growth is of great significance. In this study, the effects of biogeoclimate, competition, and topography on the growth of Betula spp. and Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook., two tree species with high importance value in China, were explored by gradient boosting regression tree (GBRT), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), and random forest (RF) machine learning (ML) algorithms. The results showed that the accuracy of RF was better than KNN, which was better than GBRT. All ML algorithms performed well for future diameter at breast height (DBH) predictions; the Willmott’s indexes of agreement (WIA) of each ML algorithm in predicting the future DBH were all higher than 0.97, and the R² was higher than 0.98 and 0.90, respectively. The individual tree annual growth rate is mainly affected by the single-tree size, and the external environment can promote or inhibit tree growth. Climate and stand structure variables were relatively more important for tree growth than the topographic factors. Lower temperature and precipitation, higher stand density, and canopy closure were more unfavorable for their growth. In afforestation, the following factors should be considered in order: geographic location, meteorological climate, stand structure, and topography. Full article