The Pew / Internet & American Life Project, a highly respected research organization located in Washington, D.C., produces data analyzing online trends. Pew research covers diverse topics including Internet penetration, broadband adoption, blogging and a variety of other online pursuits. Pew findings are designed to give us a better understanding of online activities (who is using the Internet, how often and for what). Often quoted by media institutions such as the New York Times, ABC tv, etc., Pew is an authoritive source on the evolution of the Internet.
Lee Rainie, the founding Director of the Pew / Internet & American Life Project, is considered an authoritive voice in Internet research. Recently, I asked Lee to summarize his observations about the impact of online technology on the practice of religion in the United States. He made these comments:
"We haven’t done a lot of work on this, but the research we have done suggests that the heaviest users of new technology for spiritual purposes are people who already have a rich spiritual life and strong connections to churches. So far, we don’t pick up a lot of evidence for some of the most interesting hypotheses about the possible impact of these technologies heading into the future: that they might increase the tendency of Americans to “privatize” their religious and spiritual activities; that they might encourage yet more “de-churching” of people of faith; that they might encourage people to develop ersatz spiritual lives, picking spiritual practices and beliefs as if from a menu of options. Those are all very important notions that are worth monitoring.
In addition, there are really interesting institutional and organizational issues worth probing in how churches are using new technologies to build congregations, evangelize, create new programs (especially for teens and young adults). Yet, our work suggests that most of those who use the internet for religious and spiritual purposes do so in the context of their already rich connections to their faiths and their churches. They are deepening their relationships with others and with their favorite institutions, rather than moving away from churches or cobbling together their own spiritual practices. They are somewhat "practical" in their use of the internet and email. They are likely to use these tools to plan meetings, do research for church school lesson plans, and stay in touch with fellow practitioners. Yes, there are people who do research about other faiths and there are certainly people who use the internet to seek and provide spiritual counseling, request prayers, and try to answer prayer requests."
Prior to launching the Pew Internet Project, Rainie was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report. He is a graduate of Harvard College and has a master’s degree in political science from Long Island University. His support of the 'Interviewing the Experts' series is greatly appreciated.
{ 3 trackbacks }
{ 0 comments… add one now }