Religion as a cyber society
The exponential growth of the Cyber society and Cyber culture within the Internet has not gone unnoticed by the "religious community." As I write, church web sites are being published and electronic prayer groups zip by in modems and wire networks across the globe. Even isolated monasteries like the Monastery of the Christ in the Desert (see sidebar) are able to send their Benedictine messages from their cloister in New Mexico. New age religions also use the [virtual] soil of the Internet as the center of their "virtual church" (see end of the Cyber society Observation for links on religious web pages). With these in mind, it is safe to write that Religion has seamlessly incorporated itself within the realm of Cyber society. The presence of Religion in Net Culture is not an unforeseen trend. Although Religion and Modernity does not have the best relationship, Religion has learned that they need to conform with the current trends of technology to survive. Religion sees Modernity (in hand with secularization) as a threat to spiritual well-being and existence of its churches. Today for example, membership in Christian denominations is decreasing and the number of priests is on the downward slope as well. The dec
The religious organizations recognize the decline in membership and religious passivity of the general populace. Instead of going condemning the technology, they adapted to it and used it to perform their evangelical work. Evangelicalism originally means "personal commitment to Christ and the authority of the Bible (Encarta "Religion")." Evangelicalism can also mean the spreading of God's word. History witnessed the churches' efforts to "convert" people with the help of discovery and innovation. For example, the invention of the movable press type by Johann Guttenberg in Germany changed the painstaking effort of copying the bible by hand. Anyone can now access a bible anywhere they need it. With the invention of the television and radio came the TV and radio evangelists, spreading the "word of their God" and converting the masses. Many churches actually own stations and record studios that would help establish the stability of their religion. The birth of the Internet, however is a whole new platform altogether. As a cyber deacon in one the new-age religions puts it (with exaggerated confidence and modulated voice), "The Internet has the potential of evolving into the greatest communication tool of all time (Busch 1)." prayer groups through emails, chat, and web postings for people who need spiritual need, the physically sick who need spiritual advice. He believes that in this Internet society, people are getting more concerned with their private space. He added that he has been trying to get his group together but has never successfully done so until he tried doing it the "Internet Way." For Reverend Mark Cyr of the Episcopal Church in Warwick, people who are not affiliated to a religion may stumble to a religious web page by accident or serendipity. The chances are good that these people may get interested and go through the information in the web pages. People who experience difficulty going to church may suddenly find themselves praying with their church/congregation online as well. Furthermore, he asserts, ther
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Approximate Word count = 1377
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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