wfn.org | Extent, nature of religion on Internet surveyed

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Extent, nature of religion on Internet surveyed

June 9, 1998	Contact: Thomas S. McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn.     {354}

By United Methodist News Service

Mainline denominations need to think carefully about the leadership
needs of their churches in today's growing Internet culture, in which
online communications play an important role in people's lives.

That's the counsel of the Rev. Ken Bedell, director of a 10-month study
on the extent and nature of religion on the Internet. The study was
commissioned by United Methodist Communications with a grant from the
Louisville Institute. Bedell is a United Methodist clergyman and
visiting scholar at the Center for the Study of Communication and
Culture in St. Louis.

Internet users who responded to the survey are looking for leadership at
the denominational level that provides them with information so they can
participate more fully in determining, planning and carrying out
ministry as individuals, Bedell said.

Among his recommendations in the survey report, he suggested that the
Internet itself might be used for training and certifying leadership for
ministry to Internet users.

"Since this group already includes almost 100 percent of
college-attending people and may very soon include the majority of
Americans, it is not too soon to begin developing and supporting church
leadership that can minister effectively to this population," he said.

Although trained as a social scientist, Bedell said his  approach to the
study was subjective and personal, more anthropological than
sociological.  

"I saw myself  as a visitor to the electronic world of the Internet
where I wanted to try to understand not only what people are currently
experimenting with, but what the potential is and where the promise
lies," he explained. "So this is a report on a visit. As I wandered
around in the environment of the Internet, I counted things, took
extensive notes, coded and analyzed, made tentative conclusions and
asked for feedback."

One assumption on which the study was based is that the Internet is
increasingly being integrated by people and organizations into daily
life and work processes.  

A Web site was created for the project, and two questionnaires were
posted in both English and Spanish. More than 600 people filled out
questionnaires, and more than 350 people registered with the project on
a guest book that was provided.

A search of the Internet was also conducted to find Web sites that
related to religion. Bedell developed a database of more than 350 sites
that were not sponsored by local congregations or denominations. He sent
e-mail messages to people responsible for the sites, asking them to
respond to the questionnaire and recruit responses from others.

The survey report is organized around general statements that paint a
picture of the emerging religious Internet user who wants:

*	to obtain information and enter into dialogue with others to
decide how they will take individual action;

*	to enhance their participation in collective action and
fellowship, not to replace associations or organizations; and

*	a friendly environment for sharing spiritual stories and
engaging in discussion across boundaries that are sometimes difficult to
cross.  

For more information on the study, visit
http://www.religion-research.org on the Internet.

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