5.5 Research
5.5.2 Discussion of the Research Findings
5.5.2.2 Section B: The Church and the Internet
In this section of the questionnaire I tried to ascertain what respondents thought of the Church's use of the internet.
Respondents were first asked whether or not they thought the Church used the internet successfully; 80% responded no. 17% said yes and 3% said that they did not know. When asked to give a reason for their response many commented that very often church-based websites were unprofessional and lacked some sort of appeal; some respondents commented that there are lots of pages available but often they are not user friendly, containing terminology and concepts that are difficult to understand. One respondent said that the Church is unable to use the internet successfully because poor communities and countries don't have the infrastructure and it is too expensive when there is the ability to access the internet. Another respondent said that good web administrators are rare and would need to be remunerated for their efforts, and given the fact that the Church is often perceived as 'wanting things for free', it would be difficult to get a good administrator.
Some commented that websites are expected to change and church websites are notorious for not being changed and updated. Another respondent felt that although the Church is on the internet to some degree, it never seems to use the latest technologies, there seems to be a 'phobia' to use what is new. One respondent was very critical of church websites that merely give information and afford the user no space to express opinions on a variety of faith-related issues. They pointed out that most churches are run by 'old' people who do not understand this technology and hence think that it is not important; they report a minister saying that this is a 'fashion' that will pass, and so getting the church on the web is a waste of time!
The 17% who thought the Church did use the internet well substantiated this by saying that there is much good theology, theological documents and related information online.
One commented that everything they have searched for they found. Another commented that there were many Christian groups on the web and groups even within churches therefore they thought that the internet was being used well by the Church.
Overwhelmingly, respondents seemed to think that the Church had not realised the potential of the internet and that the church was not using the internet well.
97% of respondents said that they had used the internet for gathering information about the Church and 3% said that they had not. When asked which sites were most useful or their favourite, there was a great variety of sites, from local church community sites to more universal sites. A great number of youth sites were often mentioned, and sites which were interactive by nature, requiring something of the user, rather than just giving information.
When the respondents were asked if they use the internet for upliftment or prayer, 85% of respondents said no; 15% said yes. One of the respondents thought that this was a rather odd suggestion! This is interesting, as later I will look at two websites which are specifically designed to help people to pray, and they seem to have achieved great success.
A number of interesting suggestions were made on how the Church could use the internet better. A number of respondents said that church-based websites should be interactive and allow user participation; sites should not only just transmit information. This included having discussion forums, blogs and communities similar to Facebook online.
Others suggested a place where people can go when they need help, a platform for people to seek guidance and even just discuss their faith with someone who is a 'faith professional'. Another respondent suggested that the internet could be used for advocacy work, fundraising and attempting to connect poor countries and communities with those who were richer and well resourced. A number or respondents said that there should be a safe place for people to chat about faith issues to other people of faith; this kind of site would have 'to be well administered and monitored though'. An overwhelming response to how the Church could better use the internet was that sites should be updated regularly and at relevant times, not just once a year. This is a criticism that surfaced in more than one question on the questionnaire. Another respondent said that the Church should find ways of using the internet for spiritual direction, helping people to combat loneliness and spreading information that would be 'relevant and useful to people's lives'. It is curious that in the first section of the questionnaire no respondent indicated that they went online
when feeling lonely, yet the assumption here is that people who are online are lonely and hence, they suggest, there needs to be a site that helps people deal with loneliness.
Most respondents who were involved in church work indicated that they did use the internet as a means of information, most saying that they found it useful and helpful for youth ministry.
60% of respondents felt that the internet could be used to establish a sense of community online; 40% said no. When asked why, a number said that interaction and frequency of interaction between community members would be increased if communities were able to communicate online. 60% of respondents felt that the internet could be used to enhance community life within the Church, while 30% said that they did not think it would. 10%
said that they did not know if this would be the case. 98% of respondents think that community is built on personal communication, especially in important issues, and this would best be done in person.
When asked if involvement in chat rooms makes conversation easier the response was:
10% yes, 60% no, 20% said they have never been into a chat room and were not sure what it was and 10% did not answer the question. Linked to this, 85% of respondents said that they would not find it easy to do any sort of self-disclosure online and therefore answered no to the question; 2% said they might but it was doubtful; 12% did not answer the question and 1% said that they were unsure of what self-disclosure meant. Reasons given for this were that you do not know who you are talking to or who else has access to the information you are passing on; others said that they would be suspicious of the authenticity of the receiver of the self-disclosure. Another said that it would be difficult because communication would be more than information, and to really tell someone something important they would need to see them and their body language. Another respondent said that true self-disclosure could only take place in person.
80% of respondents felt that there was a difference between physically attending a Sunday church service and being with others online. 10% said that they did not see an
important difference and in fact would probably be more focused and less inclined to the distraction of having people around them in a building; 5% suggested that being with God is being with God, and if you chose to do that on the internet with others, it was the same as going to church or being alone in your bedroom. 5% did not answer the question.
This suggests that people still see physical presence and community as best and prioritise this as the most fulfilling way to be in community.
At the end of the questionnaire one respondent made the following comment:
This is a powerful tool that the Church ignores at her peril. It would be useful to know if religious type chat rooms would be used by youth. Since the youth are the ones who are slipping away from the Church we urgently need to look at what gets them. I would suspect that the internet is a really good thing. The other aspect of the whole thing is that poorly educated priests are now targets for any one with a computer who can challenge them on any aspect of theology and they need to be taught more than ever not to be arrogant when faced by conflicting information. Something priests are not good at.