Social media and religion: faith and the web

Religion and the Internet have rung a bell into my curiosity. In fact, it is media and religion that have hit the first signs of inquiry due to the number of broadcasting material popping up — prayers sent via WhatsApp, motivational quotes, messages on Facebook, verses on Twitter, and religious services on YouTube. Borrowing from Daniel Stout’s book Media and Religion Foundations of an Emerging Field, the media and religion are an academic subject much like political communication or media ethics; its goal is not to advocate spirituality or any particular worldview. In my case, it is just to make a point on how information communication technology (ICT) has been taken up by traditional communities. It is premature to claim that technology has transformed the way people practice religion. However, it has created new opportunities for social change and religious worship. Virtual pilgrimages, online, cyber temples, religious blogs, religious radio programmes, and even faith-based video games are some of the media creation I came across. A religious ringtone on a mobile, or a picture, an inspirational screensaver, a proverb, a sermon are just some signs of the diffusion of religious ideas and practices through social networks. Interactive media have liberated worshipers to the physical presence of temples. Mobile phone applications allow worshippers to download, to read and practice their religion wherever they are. Religious organisations and religious leaders have adhered to the changes to have their podcasts, YouTube channels, websites, blogs and Twitter feeds. Meaning, technology has made an impact on religious practices. The use of radio and television have a long history in the mediatisation of religion — but with social media, it seems, the changes are happening faster. In Heidi Campbell’s book, When Religion Meets New Media, he takes us on a journey on how Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Jewish communities engage with the web. The author talks about cyber temples as new forms of religious gathering. He cites the first web-based 3D church in the UK that facilitated parishioners to attend the services as avatars; they could sing, pray and interact in a 3D multi-user environment. It is an interesting book. Cyber travel adds colour and offers a magical voyage to temples and places out of one’s faith. There are sites over the Internet that can contribute to the discovery and understanding of different religious practices and sanctuaries — in the same way, tourism sites do. The technology takes us inside and around places such as a virtual cleansing in the Ganges river in India. Other examples are the virtual tours of the Vatican, or a trip to The Cathedral of Chartres — the famous 12th century church in France; or to Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, or still a visit to the Hindu temple of 12th century Angkor Wat in Cambodia, or the holy cities in Saud Arabia. However, I am nearly three decades late with the topic. Asep Muhamad Iqbal, in his article ‘When Religion Meets the Internet’, throw us back to a special edition of Time magazine, dated December 1996, on a story titled “Finding God on the Web”. The author emphasised the emergence of Internet usage for religious purposes. Some of the pioneering studies on the religious use of the Internet include the works of Stephen O’Leary: “Cyberspace as Sacred Place” and “The Unknown God of the Internet”. The growth of new forms of media and their uptake by religious groups, including gathering and worship online, validate that ICT and social media have not only changed journalism and other aspects of our lives — it is also affecting the sense of identity of traditional values. It becomes important to explore how social media are modifying religious practices — and how deep the changes are. soniambrosio@gmail.com