There's a reason churches are struggling to maintain membership, and it has nothing to do with Neil deGrasse Tyson
BY VALERIE TARICO, ALTERNET

As we head into a new year, the guardians of traditional religion are ramping up efforts to keep their flocks—or, in crass economic terms, to retain market share. Some Christians have turned to soul searching while others have turned to marketing. Last fall, the LDS church spent millions on billboards, bus banners, and Facebook ads touting “I’m a Mormon.” In Canada, the Catholic Church has launched a “Come Home” marketing campaign. The Southern Baptists Convention voted to rebrand themselves. A hipster mega-church in Seattle combines smart advertising with sales force training for members and a strategy the Catholics have emphasized for centuries: competitive breeding.

In October of 2012 the Pew Research Center announced that for the first time ever Protestant Christians had fallen below 50 percent of the American population. Atheists cheered and evangelicals beat their breasts and lamented the end of the world as we know it. Historian of religion, Molly Worthen, has since offered big picture insights that may dampen the most extreme hopes and fears. Anthropologist Jennifer James, on the other hand, has called fundamentalism the “death rattle” of the Abrahamic traditions.

In all of the frenzy, few seem to give any recognition to the player that I see as the primary hero, or, if you prefer, culprit—and I’m not talking about science populizer and atheist superstar Neil deGrasse Tyson. Then again, maybe Iam talking about Tyson in a sense, because in his various viral guises—as a talk show host and tweeter and as the face on scores of smartass Facebook memes—Tyson is an incarnation of the biggest threat that organized religion has ever faced: the internet.

A traditional religion, one built on “right belief,” requires a closed information system. That is why the Catholic Church put an official seal of approval on some ancient texts and banned or burned others. It is why some Bible-believing Christians are forbidden to marry nonbelievers. It is why Quiverfull moms home school their kids from carefully screened text books. It is why, when you get sucked into conversations with your fundamentalist uncle George from Florida, you sometimes wonder if he has some superpower that allows him to magically close down all avenues into his mind. (He does!)

Religions have spent eons honing defenses that keep outside information away from insiders. The innermost ring wall is a set of certainties and associated emotions like anxiety and disgust and righteous indignation that block curiosity. The outer wall is a set of behaviors aimed at insulating believers from contradictory evidence and from heretics who are potential transmitters of dangerous ideas. These behaviors range from memorizing sacred texts to wearing distinctive undergarments to killing infidels. Such defenses worked beautifully during humanity’s infancy. But they weren’t really designed for the current information age.

Tech-savvy mega-churches may have twitter missionaries, and Calvinist cuties may make viral videos about how Jesus worship isn’t a religion, it’s a relationship, but that doesn’t change the facts: the free flow of information is really, really bad for the product they are selling. Here are five kinds of web content that are like, well, like electrolysis on religion’s hairy toes.

Radically cool science videos and articles. Religion evokes some of our most deeply satisfying emotions: joy, for example, and transcendence, and wonder. This is what Einstein was talking about when he said that “science without religion is lame.” If scientific inquiry doesn’t fill us at times with delight and even speechless awe at new discoveries or the mysteries that remain, then we are missing out on the richest part of the experience. Fortunately, science can provide all of the above, and certain masters of the trade and sectors of the internet are remarkably effective at evoking the wonder—the spirituality if you will—of the natural world unveiled. Some of my own favorites include Symphony of science, NOVA, TED, RSA Animate, and Birdnote.

It should be no surprise that so many fundamentalists are determined to take down the whole scientific endeavor. They see in science not only a critic of their outdated theories but a competitor for their very best product, a sense of transcendent exuberance. For millennia, each religion has made an exclusive claim, that it alone had the power to draw people into a grand vision worth a lifetime of devotion. Each offered the assurance that our brief lives matter and that, in some small way, we might live on. Now we are getting glimpses of a reality so beautiful and so intricate that it offers some of the same promise. Where will the old tribal religions be if, in words of Tracy Chapman, we all decide that Heaven’s here on earth?

Curated Collections of Ridiculous Beliefs. Religious beliefs that aren’t yours often sound silly, and the later in life you encounter them the more laughable they are likely to sound. Web writers are after eyeballs, which means that if there’s something ridiculous to showcase then one is guaranteed to write about it. It may be a nuanced exposé or a snarky list or a flaming meme, but the point, invariably, is to call attention to the stuff that makes you roll your eyes, shake your head in disbelief, laugh, and then hit Share.

The Kinky, Exploitative, Oppressive, Opportunistic and Violent Sides of Religion. Of course, the case against religion doesn’t stop at weird and wacky. It gets nasty, sometimes in ways that are titillating and sometimes in ways that are simply dark. The Bible is full of sex slavery, polygamy and incest, and these are catalogued at places like Evilbible.com. Alternately, a student writing about holidays can find a proclamation in which Puritans give thanks to God for the burning of Indian villages or an interview on the mythic origins of the Christmas story. And if the Catholic come home plea sounds a little desperate, it may well be because the sins of the bishops are getting hard to cover up. On the net, whatever the story may be, someone will be more than willing to expose it.

Supportive communities for people coming out of religion. With or without the net (but especially with it) believers sometimes find their worldview in pieces. Before the internet existed most people who lost their faith kept their doubts to themselves. There was no way to figure out who else might be thinking forbidden thoughts. In some sects, a doubting member may be shunned, excommunicated, or “disfellowshipped” to ensure that doubts don’t spread. So, doubters used keep silent and then disappear into the surrounding culture. Now they can create websites, and today there are as many communities of former believers as there are kinds of belief. These communities range from therapeutic to political, and they cover the range of sects: Evangelical, Mormon, Jehovah’s Witness, and Muslim. There’s even a web home for recovering clergy. Heaven help the unsuspecting believer who wanders into one of these sites and tries to tell members in recovery that they’re all bound for hell.

Lifestyles of the fine and faithless. When they emerge from the recovery process former Christians and Muslims and whatnot find that there’s a whole secular world waiting for them on the web. This can be a lifesaver, literally, for folks who are trapped in closed religious communities on the outside. On the web, they can explore lifestyles in which people stay surprisingly decent and kind without a sacred text or authority figures telling them what to do. In actuality, since so much of religion is about social support (and social control) lots of people skip the intellectual arguments and exposes, and go straight to building a new identity based in a new social network. Some web resources are specifically aimed creating alternatives to theism, for example, Good without God, Parenting Beyond Belief, or The Foundation Beyond Belief.

Interspiritual Okayness. This might sound odd, but one of the threats to traditional religion is interfaith communities that focus on shared spiritual values. Many religions make exclusive truth claims and see other religions as competitors. Without such claims, there is no need for evangelism, missionaries or a set of doctrines that I call donkey motivators (ie. carrots and sticks) like heaven and hell. The web showcases the fact that humanity’s bad and good qualities are universal, spread across cultures and regions, across both secular and religious wisdom traditions. It offers reassurance that we won’t lose the moral or spiritual dimension of life if we outgrow religion, while at the same time providing the means to glean what is truly timeless and wise from old traditions. In doing so, it inevitably reveals that the limitations of any single tradition alone. The Dalai Lama, who has lead interspiritual dialogue for many years made waves recently by saying as much: “All the world’s major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether.”

The power of interspiritual dialogue is analogous to the broader power of the web in that, at the very heart it is about people finding common ground, exchanging information, and breaking through walls to find a bigger community waiting outside. Last year, Jim Gilliam, founder of Nationbuilder, gave a talk titled, “The Internet is My Religion.” Gilliam is a former fundamentalist who has survived two bouts of cancer thanks to the power of science and the internet. His existence today has required a bone marrow transplant and a double lung transplant organized in part through social media. Looking back on the experience, he speaks with the same passion that drove him when he was on fire for Jesus:



The Vatican, and the Mormon Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Southern Baptist Convention should be very worried.

That all depends on how many free hours you have each day to tell people that they're wrong.

That's a really hurtful thing to say, KiwiChick1. I think sometimes you could do well to consider other peoples feelings before posting things like this.

I'm sorry, I didn't realise that would be hurtful to you, thank you for making me aware of it.

For future reference :P :lol:

You should of just replied with "OK" KC :lol:

-PB

This thread will not end well...



Can't help putting my 2c in anyway (:d )

If the flat earth society can survive the internet (http://theflatearthsociety.org/cms/), religion has nothing to worry about.

Surely they don't still believe that the Earth is flat though right?

The information age is seeing a spike in people being more "agnostic" and turning to the Nothing side, but as long as peopple fear the reaper and have no solid facts on 1, where they come from 2, why they are here and 3, what happens after they expire you will always have religion as it is the blanket that keeps you warm at night.

It also makes you feel better when a close friend or family member dies to know that their "soul" is resting in a happy place.

I'm sorry, I didn't realise that would be hurtful to you, thank you for making me aware of it.

I hope not

Yeah, it'd be a real tragedy if people continued to have differing life philosophies to yourself.

Your apology is sure to have been taken on board. I hope you have learnt your lesson, and please refrain from this calibre of comment in the future

Pretty much all of this. To quote Dylan Moran,
"All religion is, is a kind of ritualised, formal panic about death. Look! Death is coming, put on the fancy hat!"

And as long as people continue to fear it there will continue to be religion.

I don't fear death but I still have my beliefs.

What then?

-PB

I don't fear death but I still have my beliefs.

What then?

-PB

:lol: :lol:

I don't fear death but I still have my beliefs.

What then?

-PB

So how would the author cope with someone converted via internet resources?

His head would explode.
I wonder if he's just willfully ignoring the point that the internet aids those seeking to spread the word as much as it aids those who seek to deny it?

His head would explode.
I wonder if he's just willfully ignoring the point that the internet aids those seeking to spread the word as much as it aids those who seek to deny it?

There is no friendly way to respond to this :lol:

Given the internet has given rise to a number of colts and is used to attract more and more people to obscure religions (scientology comes to mind) then I would say that Religion is surviving just fine with the internet.

Best. Costume. Evar.

Well, I know what I'm wearing next halloween.

There will aways be stupid and gullible people around, the internet won't change that.

"religious people are stupid and gullible" - AfromanGT

What a perfect article to show the usefulness of the internet - for spouting out ideological rubbish.

It's practices on indulgences were challenged by a priest, Martin Luther, leading to the reformation.

It is simply laughable that this author thinks religion operates in a closed information system. Doesn't he know a Catholic priest first came up with the theory of the Big Bang?

So what? The internet gives another avenue for that dialogue to continue. The atheistic dream that religion will disappear is just that.

Why are there 3 cats?

Better than them having to hide in fear of being stoned to death, no?



Martin Luther was essentially the start of anti-Semitism within modern Germany, culminating in the rise to power of Hitler. Why mention just the good things he did?



Religion does operate in a closed information system. It's why people were burnt at the stake for reading the bible in English. It's why there is a hierarchy within every major religion where people command other people. It's why people like Christians say things like "the truth has been revealed to me" - Because the information is closed and hidden away. The very idea of an unseen god is the pinnacle of a closed system.

A Catholic priest came up with the big bang theory? Oh.. Well then, how many raped children on the same day?



Maybe in your lifetime. Ignorance is bliss though. I hope for a better world for your grandchildren.

Edited by Draupnir: 23/1/2013 12:24:07 AM

I think he just decided that willful ignorance was the best course of action :lol:

BIDDEFORD, Maine – When Sister Elaine Lachance devoted herself to a religious life straight out of high school in 1959, her religious order had more than a dozen convents in the U.S. with nearly 260 sisters.
Today, the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec, based in Canada, has just five convents in Maine and Massachusetts with 56 sisters. The youngest is 64 years old, and it's been more than 20 years since a new member joined.
Rather than leave the future of the convents to prayer and chance, Lachance has turned to the Internet. She's using social media and blogging to attract women who feel the calling to serve God and their community.
She says she had her awkward moments when she began using Facebook and writing blog posts.
"But I knew I had to go there, that I had to do it," said Lachance, who turned 70 on Sunday. "You have to go where the young people are. And that's where they are."
The number of nuns and sisters has plunged through the decades as more career opportunities for women opened, parochial schools closed and sisterhood became less visible. Generally, a nun lives a cloistered, contemplative life in a monastery, while sisters live and work within their communities.
In the U.S., the count has fallen from about 180,000 in 1965 to 55,000 last year, a drop of nearly 70 percent, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate. In 2009, their median age was 73, with 91 percent of them 60 and older.
At one time, women would join the sisterhood through word of mouth or their personal interactions with sisters, said Lachance, vocation director for the Good Shepherd Sisters. But now, many younger women aren't even aware it's a choice.
For years, Lachance has visited Catholic schools, placed ads in religious publications and attended job fairs to recruit sisters. She's still doing those things, but she has also turned to Facebook, her blog and YouTube. The order also updated its website and hired a public relations company.
It's hard to sell somebody on committing to a religious life, with its vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, in today's world of slick technology, fast cash and material goods, Sister Dorina Chasse said on a recent day at St. Joseph Convent, a home along the Saco River in Biddeford where elderly and sick sisters are taken care of.
"It's hard for them to leave that," Chasse said.
Still, there's been an uptick among women showing an interest in pursuing a religious life, said Patrice Tuohy of the National Religious Vocation Council, a Chicago-based group representing vocation directors for religious organizations.
The NRVC launched a website called VocationMatch.com seven years ago that links young people interested in leading religious lives to religious communities. The site gets about 6,000 inquiries a year.
The Internet is useful for such questions because it offers instant information and is anonymous, Tuohy said.
"For a 20-year-old to think about joining a religious community is an unusual decision, not to mention countercultural," she said. "Someone who's thinking about taking a vow of poverty and chastity goes counter to a culture that promotes sex and money and power."
The Internet has made a huge difference in how religious communities are recruiting, Tuohy said. Besides websites and Facebook pages, some are using podcasts, YouTube videos and chat rooms. According to a 2009 study commissioned by NRVC, 87 percent of religious institutes had used the Internet for vocation promotion in the past five years.
"Many of the religious communities are very savvy," Tuohy said. "I think people find this surprising, but in fact because they're working with young people, they're trying to stay in tune with young people — that's who their market is, young men and women."
Audra Turnbull, 23, turned to the Internet when she felt the calling in college. Inside the chapel at Quincy University in Quincy, Ill., she pulled out her laptop, Googled "nuns" and found a website called A Nun's Life. In time, she checked out dozens of other websites, YouTube videos and social media before getting touch with a motherhouse in Monroe, Mich., where she plans to join the ministry.
Those tools are invaluable for "nunnabes" — wannabe nuns — like her, she said.
"It's hard to find nuns these days to talk to them," she said. "So a sister being interviewed or giving ministry on YouTube has been huge because you put yourself in that place and visualize what you want to be doing."
Turnbull expects to become a sister in two to three years. She's also created a blog of her own called The Awkward Catholic, which takes readers through the process of entering religious life.
For Lachance, she's aiming to use the Internet to spread the word about religious opportunities and what religious life is like.
In the case of the Good Shepherd Sisters, the sisters work with women in distress, including women in prison or leaving it, pregnant single women, single mothers and women with substance abuse problems. They work at schools, food pantries and elsewhere in the community, recognizable through their white blouses, black skirts and vests, and black headdresses with veils.
But sisters also have interests and hobbies just like anybody else. Lachance is partial to Wii baseball and bowling video games, and she and her fellow sisters are big sports fans.
"On Super Bowl Sunday, we were watching with our pizza," she said.
Results have been slow, with only 10 people liking the Good Shepherd Sisters' Facebook page. But Lachance remains optimistic, as does Peggy Spino, her administrative assistant.
Some religious communities have just given up trying to attract new blood, said Spino.
"They say, 'We're not getting anybody. We'll pray,'" she said. "Prayer is great, but you also have to have some action."

I don't fear death but I still have my beliefs.

What then?

-PB

Of course you don't fear death, you have your sound beliefs in religion to give you hope of a life after death, to allow you to not have to worry that your conciesnece will not just fade away and your life to cease and become yet another anonymous footnote of history.

I'm not sure you guys got the point of the article.

As an aside though, how many people do you think have come to the same quoteunquote rational conclusion of Christianity (or any other religion) via internet sources compared to deconversions?

Religion cannot and should not be replaced by atheism. Religion needs to go away and not be replaced by anything. Atheism is not a religion. It’s the absence of religion, and that’s a wonderful thing.

Religion is not morality. Theists ask me, “If there’s no god, what would stop me from raping and killing everyone I want to.” My answer is always: “I, myself, have raped and killed everyone I want to ... and the number for both is zero.” Behaving morally because of a hope of reward or a fear of punishment is not morality. Morality is not bribery or threats. Religion is bribery and threats. Humans have morality. We don’t need religion.

Religion is faith. Faith is belief without evidence. Belief without evidence cannot be shared. Faith is a feeling. Love is also a feeling, but love makes no universal claims. Love is pure. The lover reports on his or her feelings and needs nothing more. Faith claims knowledge of a world we share but without evidence we can share. Feeling love is beautiful. Feeling the earth is 6,000 years old is stupid.

Religion is often just tribalism: pride in a group one was born into, a group that is often believed to have “God” on its side. We don’t need to replace tribalism with anything other than love for all humanity. Let’s do that, okay?

Religion also includes fellowship, joy, compassion, service and great music, and those can be replaced by ... fellowship, joy, compassion, service and great music.

Atheism is the absence of religion. We don’t really need atheism. We just need to get rid of religion.

A belief is a fervent hope that the universe will turn out to be thus and so despite all reasoning and evidence

A belief is accepting something as the truth or fact, without necessarily having seen physical evidence thereof.

Just like the article notor posted ;)

What a perfect article to show the usefulness of the internet - for spouting out ideological rubbish.

Where does this guy think religion has been hiding for thousands of years? The major religions and their beliefts exist in full view of the world. The Catholic Church has been challenged from within and from the outside since its inception about everything from the divinity of Christ to the carbon dating of the Shroud of Turin. It's practices on indulgences were challenged by a priest, Martin Luther, leading to the reformation. St Thomas Acquinas in his Summa Theologea directly addresses theological objections to matters of faith.

That says nothing about the internal dialogue that goes on inside a religious person when they test their faith against their reason and conscience.

It is simply laughable that this author thinks religion operates in a closed information system. Doesn't he know a Catholic priest first came up with the theory of the Big Bang?

So what? The internet gives another avenue for that dialogue to continue. The atheistic dream that religion will disappear is just that.

I'm not really an atheist just non religious

What is the difference?

Theist = Religious

Asexual, apolitical, etc = non-sexual, non-political, etc.