Ever since I was little, I have been active at my church, even though I am one of the few people my age who actually attend. Because of my age, I serve as the “social networker” for the church, running the church’s Facebook page. In her article Five Social Media Trends that are Reshaping Religion, Elizabeth Drescher, a teacher of religions studies and pastor at Santa Clara University, discusses how today’s technology is affecting religion. She focuses on 5 specific trends:
- Social Prayer: As Drescher points out, pages such as “Jesus Daily” and “Dios es Bueno” are becoming increasingly popular on Facebook, being listed in the top 10 most visited and “liked” Facebook pages. Religious hashtags such as #jesus and #spirituality are also frequently used on Twitter. According to Drescher, these social media presences are good for religion because they act as a way for followers and those who are curious to come together.
- Ministers-on-the-Go: Thanks to Foursquare and other “tracking” apps, ministers can now let their congregation know where they are. This makes ministers and church leaders much more available to the congregation, often informing people when they are available to talk or meet. Again, this is a positive trend for religion.
- O Holy App: As one might guess, there is an app for the Bible and there are hundreds of other religious apps, once again making religion available to anyone who has access to a smartphone.
- Curate as Curator: It is important for religious groups and churches to be effective in their social networking. Because there are so many useless things on the Internet, it is crucial for religious networkers to be able to maintain a strong online and offline connection with followers.
- A Few New Commandments: With this new trend of using social networking as a way of “spreading” religion, it comes as no surprise that there are several churches who have attempted to “define” what social networking should mean when it comes to religion. Some offer guidelines, while some think that certain standards must be met.
In all, I think that social networking, if used correctly, can be very good for religion. As in my case, churches are able to inform congregations and visitors about upcoming church events, while apps are helpful to those who may be curious about religion. So I am okay with all of this…unless people start to Skype worship services.
