NOTE: It took me forever to figure out why this hadn't posted before class on Thursday. Turns out I put it on my personal blog by mistake.The Internet has, as cliche as it may sound, changed just about everything in modern life. From how we shop, to getting directions, to keeping in touch with friends and family, there is hardly a facet of our daily routine that isn't impacted by the ready access to information the Internet offers.
Strange though it may seem, that extends to worship as well. Faith, worship, and even plain ol' church services have always been part of Western life, but even churches have to acknowledge the paradigm shift caused by the Internet.
Just a few examples:
- The Vatican has it's own YouTube channel.
- Major protestant churches are active online, organizing, preaching, and ministering.
- The LDS Church has had a huge showing online, with LDS.org, mormon.org, and a host of other sites with specific purposes for those inside and outside the Church.
A more interesting aspect of how the Web has impacted religion may be how it has empowered previously unheard-of groups, organizations that couldn't have existed before.
The Long Tail refers to a concept of niche marketing brought about by the Internet. Where before, a demographic may have been too few or far between to organize or be noticed, the web has brought about a semantic space, where individuals with the same interests and beliefs, no matter how obscure, can "congregate" and be heard. This was applied to marketing initially, but clearly applies to religion as well. The Internet made possible not only some of the biggest conversations ever (i.e. Wikipedia) but amplifies what would otherwise be some of the smallest.- The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is not a-religious, it is anti-religion. The whole idea is to set up a mockery, a farce to ridicule faith. Disparate antagonistic atheists may have existed in generations past, but they've never made their voice louder than they have on the Net.
- Traditional religion has been either denominational or not recognized as an organized faith, but with the Web, the barrier to entry in some of faiths is so low that it only takes a quick visit to their website to become an ordained minister.
- Islamic extremists have used the Web for the same purposes as many churches, like indoctrination, training, mobilization, with the noted difference being that the extremists are mobilizing for a self-proclaimed war, Jihad. Extremism and Jihad aren't new, but the Web adds a new dimension to their effectiveness and prowess.
Questions:
Is the "Net" effect of the Web positive or negative for Faith in general?
Does "Faith" online bring people together or divide them into smaller and smaller tribes?
If Marshall McLuhan is right, then the medium is the message. What message does worship on the Web send that worship in a church or on television does not?
In what ways has the Internet interacted with your practice of worship?
The net effect of the web is by far a positive one. Who knows if I'm correct, but I've long believed that the more righteousness is found on the earth, the more advances in all fields will be had--science, art, and especially technology. Ever since the Restoration, great breakthroughs have been made with technology and continue to be made. The Internet was meant to be used as a way to spread the true gospel. And, as with all of God's tools to further the work, Satan tries to manipulate them to destroy it. Thus we see anti-Mormon sites and other anti-religious sites in general. However, my opinion is that the good outweighs and will continue to outweigh any negative effects of the web on faith.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that faith online has more so brought people together than ever. Although there may be anti literature and information that is many times false that may break people away from religions, overall it has been a tool that has been utilized to bring individuals together that normally wouldn’t ever be able to be brought together. As mentioned in class and in our readings, community is no longer based on geography but can now be based on mutual believes, values, ways of life, etc. The fact that people can go to worship online has brought people together that normally wouldn’t feel comfortable in that church environment. Individuals can communicate with one another, although not geographically close, and can form a relationship and community through the internet. So not only can you find religion online, but you can also find online religion. The way that some people meet for church may be seen as unconventional and possibly irreverent, but it is bringing web communities together. I don’t know if this is correct or not, but it would seem to me as though the people who would usually meet at church continue to do so and the fact that there are new ways of worship online isn’t breaking those groups apart but simply building more groups, just not physically.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the internet further separates people from one another. I'm typing this in the same room as my wife. We are not engaging in any sort of conversation. I am having a faceless digital interaction with the writer of this blog. I know I can find a "community" on here, but it is not the kind of enriching, strengthening interaction that humans really need. I can see the web being a good hook when trolling for converts, but it cannot replace brick and morter churches regardless of how much niche marketing takes place.
ReplyDeleteWhatever method people use to find religion is alright by me. I don't think that anyone is REPLACING in-church worship for online worship. I think the type of people who enjoy worshiping with others of their faith (in a traditional setting) will continue to do so. It seems that the internet merely augments their worship, AND can help them feel a sense of community.
ReplyDeleteI think generally the Web has been positive for Faith in general. I think we use the Web as great source for gathering information, and people are going to hold onto the information they were set out to seek, be it more religion or anti-religion.
ReplyDeleteFaith online promotes the online community, which is an interesting spin on a real community, but these members do feel bonded together and connected even if they’ve never seen one another. It still creates smaller tribes, but these small interest groups are united through the faith they’ve discovered online.
I think that worship on the Web offers individuals who may be really self-conscious about worship or about participating in a congregation feel included and validated online. It’s not necessarily helping them in anyway with people skills, but they feel that they have found a spiritual connection.
The Web helps me to go through archives of religious text, it’s a library of information to help me prepare for talks, answer questions, or just explore doctrine. It’s also been a source to learn about other religions. So I guess in regards to my practice of worship, it’s really just been a kind of study or meditation tool. I don’t click to raise my hand and accept Jesus, because I’m doing that offline.