As far back as I can remember there has always been the use of technology in the church (an organ, microphone etc.). Today’s preference for new technology can seem overwhelming and complicated. In this paper I take an in-depth look into the relationship between Christian spirituality and new media technology. I will do this by examining how the church can use technology as an instrument of papal technology, how using the media and technology implements social change, and lastly look at Cyber spirituality, a form of online worship.
While we ponder the effects of technology and the church. We can look at the facts regarding the use of new media and see some of the limitations or issues with it. Reasons for integrating technology include to keep the church community connected, to reach online worshipers, and to bring in new members. Some issues with implementing technology include inadequate budget, lack of help, lack of technology know-how, acceptance by members, and the avoidance of its use. The overall decision to use new media and technology depends on the needs and benefits of the church itself. The magisterium has even recognized the possibility of media to assist humanity in its calling to God. “In other words, it is understood that in this opus gloriae or work of glory, the modern media not only afford the Church an invaluable pastoral instrument of proclamation, but also function as an agency of social change.”().
The church is always looking for ways to bring in more members or spread the word of God. By using technologies there can be an easier and more direct path to Christianity. Social media is changing the church in this aspect. Faith is a full time activity and social media is part of our everyday lives. It helps us to open up and humanize the church. Even church leaders are seeing this as an opportunity to change their relationship with members. For example, Pope Francis has a twitter account in which he tweets gospels or bible verses. Overall it is seen as a way to keep members connected. New media has made things so people expect things immediately. No longer do people just expect that their communication and access to information is efficient, but that it is immediate. New media links the value of information to how quickly it is received and processed. Cell phones and tablets have an integral use in our generation making their use in spirituality almost necessary. Bringing in new members is also changed with new media. For example, a church website can be useful in registering and informing potential members of your church. Other services are being brought into focus such as communicating with the congregation electronically. This gives you the ability to be spiritually present in church when you aren’t available physically.
Cyber spirituality for the most part is an orthodox spirituality. Meaning it focuses on daily Christian living and worship. Also known as Christianity online, cyber spirituality incorporates and absorbs faith through the internet. Cyber spirituality is not an offline community, meaning there must still be connection to others making the experience authentic. Again, this brings up the topic of convenient spirituality. Ease of access and a positive view of personal convenience are new values in which people who practice cyber spirituality hold. Many do not have time for God and cyber spirituality is one way in which they can make time for God. Christian cyber spirituality is also self-directed. Meaning, that to participate, one must make an effort. One will get only as much as one puts into it. “An unclicked screen bears no fruit”. Thus, we can identify two integral characteristics that make online Christianity “real”: “Christian cyber spirituality is ought to be both responsive and complementary”(). Responsive in the fact that spirituality is needed in areas where people exist, hence the media. Complementary in the fact that a Christian cannot be fully immersed in online spirituality without the connection to real life. “We are not talking here about a loss of the ‘real’ but a communication and exchange of the ‘really real’ between the real world and the world of cyberspace”(). There is definitely an active and emerging spiritual community online that is unique and distinct to cyber spirituality.
Since the impact of computers and the internet is so vast, it is inferred that along with all these technological changes comes social changes. First, there is evidence that new media is affecting the perceptions of social reality. Alienating us from what makes us innately human. Technology has the ability to shape a society but actually does not have the capacity to change the way people live. For example, most Amish don’t use technology and conveniences in their daily lives. Although, technology and new media is still very prevalent in most people’s lives. For example, increasing numbers of adolescents and adults view their devices as an invaluable tool for communicating with others, not giving them the chance to participate in meaningful conversation. Preventing us from bringing forth an authentic reality and therefore disconnecting us from God’s dream for us. The need for technologies in people’s lives is illustrated by their “emptiness” or “naked” feeling without these devices. Using these points, the internet seems to pose a threat to the spiritual community. New digital media invites people to always be connected. Research shows that this constant connectivity fundamentally changes the brain. Increasing evidence that new digital media is connected with inability to focus one’s attention for a long time. This presents problems to Christian spirituality, in which one’s full self and concentration is needed for periods of time. Some say that social media presents an important spiritual challenge. With the internet, people tend not to act like themselves taking on different identities. These identities “leave behind all the richness of physical presence and embodied communication.”(GCC, 62). A better way to look at this is to look at how people of faith are using the internet. As the internet consumes American life, its influence has carried over to the areas of faith and religion. “More than three million people a day get religious or spiritual information from the internet” (). There is small doubt that computers and the internet have opened up great opportunities for finding information, but is the information that we are receiving benefitting or harming us?
Ultimately, Technology transforms things. Which, in reality, isn’t always easy to accept for some people. Just like how technology has changed people, it is changing the church. By examining how the church can use technology as an instrument of papal technology you understand that there are many positives to the integration of technology into the church. This is seen in cyber spirituality, in which worship communities are formed through the cyberspace. New digital media has affected our perceptions of social reality; some say that it brings us further away rather than closer to God. Like any technology, there are positives and negatives associated with new media’s integration into our lives.