Abstract

The period characterized by restrictions due to Covid-19 represented a unique opportunity to study completely new social phenomena. In fact, what was previously a possibility, such as entertaining activities through online media, become a forced condition to satisfy one’s need for sociality and search for meaning. Starting from reflections about mediated interactions, social presence and online religiosity, this work focuses on a case study involving an evangelic religious community. In this context, the changing dynamics in the passage from «real» world to a «virtual» one, were analysed. The participants’ words – gained through interview and focus group discussions – enabled to reconstruct the phases of online activities, the ambivalence about «social presence» as well as the opportunities and limits of online worship. As a consequence, the uniqueness of the place of cult for an authentic religious experience emerged.