Religion and Technology Divide

Paul Lamb
Principal, Man on a Mission Consulting

religion technology divide Faith-based groups (meaning the full range of formal and informal religious communities) are among the most active social sector organizations in many parts of the world. If religious orgs are serious about building and enhancing community, why are they so behind in leveraging the latest and greatest technology tools to do so? And if nonprofit and do-gooder techies are serious about social change, why aren’t they tapping into some of the largest and most effective community-based organizations out there – which are faith-based? It’s a missed opportunity IMHO [Note: social media jargon for In My Humble Opinion].

Fortunately there are some murmurings. A couple of weeks ago, Time magazine ran a story on U.S. churches using Twitter during their regular services. And the online virtual world of Second Life is fertile ground for a whole range of active faith based communities from across the religious spectrum. You may want to check out this Guided Tour of Spirituality in Second Life.

There are a few great postings on Church 2.0 offering an overview of some of the most cutting edge and technology-relevant happenings that involve faith-based communities in the United States. But they are an exception to the rule. Many traditional religious institutions are experiencing a decline in membership among youth – perhaps in part because they don’t fully understand how to communicate in a changed world? Take a look at the official website of the Catholic Church, representing one of the largest religions in the world, and you’ll know what I mean.

I sense a lot of fear among traditional religious institutions around embracing and leveraging technology change. And the silence is deafening from the technology community on how new tools and technologies can be leveraged to support the rich and important spiritual practices of people all over the world – not to mention to support the incredible social action work of religious communities on the ground.

So in an attempt to walk the talk I am launching a "Technology & Spiritual Practice" program, designed to help faith-based communities make the leap into the brave new world of technology and social media, and to start a dialogue between spiritual leaders and technologists. But we need your help…

1. Do you agree that there is a clear divide between the worlds of religion and technology?
2. If so, why is it the case and what should we do about it?
3. What are some examples of cutting edge technology practices among faith based communities from around the world?
4. Assuming a dialogue could be established between spiritual leaders and technologists, what meaningful and impactful work might come out of such conversations?

Join Paul Lamb, a Man on a Mission, in the conversation.

Jan Janzen

Religion and Technology Divide

I believe that many religious organizations have a subconscious programming that technology is part of a world that is driven by Satan the Devil. Growing up in a staunch religious household, everything had to go through the filter of God or Satan. I´m sure that many religions still look at the internet, see the pornography or the amount of time that people spend on the internet surfing and deem it all as bad.

Education is usually the answer with most things and it probably is here also. As they see technology used for good and an ability to do things quickly around the world and cause change faster than can be done without technology, they may be more apt to embrace it.

Thanks for the great article.

Jan Janzen

http://www.janjanzenministries.com
- PaulLamb
  
  Religion and Technology Divide
  
  Jan: You make a good point about how many in faith based communities may only see the negative sides of technology and social media. I attribute that in part to how such tools are portrayed in the media (cyber porn, phishing scams,etc.). Second, in my opinion there is a fundamental conservatism among traditional churches that does not lend itself easily to experimentation with new ideas and approaches. I also think that many current technologies have not been designed with the religious/spiritual user in mind and therefore lack appeal. Finally, spirituality is often a very personal offline experience or a face-to-face communal experience which in many ways does not appear to be compatible with the once removed approach of the online world. that said social networks and other community building tools are perfect complements for religious groups to evangelize to new (especially younger) audiences and to connect with previously unreachable communities.
- Sonia Smith
  
  Religion and Technology Divide
  
  I think Jan is on point when she speaks of the programming that technology is apart of a a world that is driven by satan. It seems most dedicated Christians would feel that spending hours on the computer is a complete waste of time and energy. The gap will close once there is knowledge and education about the possibilities for the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  
  If we look historically, we see that most technological advances are embraced by the Christian community once there is a better understanding of the positive uses. When television and video games came about, there was a campaign against them. Now, we have televangelists and Christian gamers.
  - Darren Lancaster
    
    Religion and Technology Divide
    
    Jumping in a bit late on this thread…but I do agree with the perceived and real barriers to social media adoption within religious organizations as you mention Paul. It’s probably going to take at least a couple phases for real adoption to happen in our opinion. Phase 1 is all about unlocking the full benefit of the local level community. On a daily basis these organizations are trying to maximize awareness and participation, but have yet to adopt the right technology platforms to do it effectively.
    
    Raising awareness outside the walls of the religious org is phase 2 but probably happens as an extension of their existing local community efforts. Just as in the non-profit sector, social media is used to great benefit when seen as a megaphone for spreading the word on the REAL things that your org does daily, the difference it makes in REAL lives, etc. We’re all suckers for soppy and encouraging stories where we can see a picture of the person(s) who benefited!
    
    At the groupery (www.thegroupery.com) we focus on helping these organizations achieve phase 1 via our free web platform. But dropping a technology platform in folks doesn’t work by itself. Providing a community of like-minded leaders who can leverage each other’s successes to avoid re-inventing the wheel, and to increase confidence goes a long way.
    - PaulLamb
      
      Religion and Technology Divide
      
      Darren: I think your mention of the megaphone effect (as Seth Godin and others argue) is a really important one. It’s not just about adopting technology because everyone else is doing it, it’s about leveraging technology to do things that faith based communities are already doing or wanting to do – only better. Things like community-building, evangelizing, and sharing stories about the power of spirituality to lift people up and change lives.
      
      Sounds like you are doing some really cool, and important stuff at the Groupery!
      - Darren Lancaster
        
        Religion and Technology Divide
        
        Paul, thanks for your kind words. We’d be honored to appear in your list of tech resources. We’re barely scratching the surface on the potential for our community of like-minded volunteer leaders, but our goal was to allow for these stories to be shared AND allow leaders to directly leverage the work being done in other communities because they have a common platform. Just to expand your comment on doing existing tasks better…we see the role of any technology platform for volunteer-driven and faith-based communities as an enabler to allow people to spend less time on grunt work like spreadsheets, phone trees, email lists, and fundraising so they can spend more time on the "human" tasks that can’t be replaced by technology.
        
        We welcome any leaders to our "Leaders" community at http://www.thegroupery.com/leaders/@@newuser
- David S. Battle
  
  Religion and Technology Divide
  
  Jan,
  
  Your point is well taken. However, many religious organizations may want to seriously pray through this passage in Isaiah 55:8,9 KJV, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
  
  Proverbs 3:5 connects with Isaiah 55:8,9, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding."
  
  "Repentance" (as in a change of mind) is sorely needed to bridge this unfortunate divide.
Maynard S. Clark

They’re just not talking with us/you

I think the speculation comes from the outside.

My observation is that Evangelical Christians are way ahead in technology.

Though I’m an ethical vegan and don’t take seriously as worthy of MY spiritual dedication if it’s NOT 100% ethically vegan, I have noted a very positive presence making Bible study tools available. Perhaps social medias is trivial (and thus a waste of time). Many folks think that.

Handhelds? Nearly ubiquitous. Tweets? For what purpose? Facebook? Wheaton is there! Is this social (community fellowship), evangelism, or education. ?Is Twitter the optimal educational or outreach tool? Show me how that’s the case.
- PaulLamb
  
  They’re just not talking with us/you
  
  From what I have seen the evangelical – so called celebration churches – are way ahead when it comes to broadcast and digital technnologies in the Christian community. Here’s a good posting on what some of them are up to:
  
  http://www.pbs.org/mediashi…hrough-social-media155.html
  
  Indeed many folks (spiritual or otherwise) think that social media and the tools of the trade are a waste of time. Indeed they can be. Regardless of what one thinks of social media and new communication technologies, the important thing to realize is that a fundamental shift is occurring and a "head in the sand" approach cannot change that. Instead of lamenting about the bad stuff, I believe the smart spiritual leaders and communities will view this as a tremendous opportunity to re-think how they do business in a changed world. One example…in most mainstream churches there is no back and forth between the pastor/rabbi/imam and the congregation during services. It is a one way conversation. For the churches/temples that have introduced a Twitter stream during service changes the dynamic to a 2-way conversation where the congregation can interact directly with their spiritual leaders in real time. this, in and of itself is a revolutionary shift, and representative of the conversational, open source approach that younger audiences (in particular) have come to accept and demand.
  
  No, Twitter may not be the right tool for education and outreach, but the new communication approach it represents is what many have yet to grasp and leverage for the benefit of their spiritual community.
jo davidson

in dialogue

Hi Paul, as fear only leads to separation- whether spiritual, with individual to individual or technical, with systems to users – faith is the magic power of the universe, able to unite the two. IMHO.
- PaulLamb
  
  in dialogue
  
  Amen to that Jo! That’s one of the reasons I think it is so important that we create a dialogue between spiritual leaders and technologists. So that fear can be overcome and new opportunities born…as you say we need to have faith in (and an openness to)new ideas and new ways of thinking/believing.
  - jo davidson
    
    rewiring dialogue
    
    Paul, you make a good point using the example of the technology of the printing press (that along with Martin Luther’s contribution) contributed to the revolution in Christianity – shifting the power away from the elitist Catholic Church of the middle ages, controlling access to spiritual truths, to giving information to the masses, through the advent of the bible. Martin Luther "changed the course of western civilization by initiating the Protestant Reformation" because he believed the Church shouldn’t control access to the 3-fold spiritual truths – love yourself, respect others and we’re all one. A lot of information in the bible comes through in metaphysical stories, which can create a confused message when taken literally, or put in the hands of fundamentalists, where it becomes an us vs them faith. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that fear can also imprison itself from within a belief system of faith, by living inside a prison of distrust.
    
    I have to confess I’m not a Christian, but I do know Jesus had said "we walk by faith, not by sight." I think he might have been referring to the necessity of learning new ways of thinking and believing. Jesus’s central message, that the essence of life is love and that god dwells in the heart, is the golden thread running through all religions, theologies and esoteric teachings – the source is the force- so let’s hope all faiths can get together through technology for a 21st century "conversational experience" that could unify a new message from religion. Amen to that.
    - jo davidson
      
      continuing
      
      …I mean a new message of greater understanding between faiths.
      - PaulLamb
        
        rewiring dialogue
        
        JO: I think you hit the nail on the head here. The power of technology and social media is not "the cool factor" and being hip relative to a new generation of worshipers. It’s really about the ability to create a conversation between and among people of faith in powerful ways. For example, if you do a search on Meetup.com you can find people of faith organizing meetings by the thousands outside the framework of traditional churches to discuss and engage directly around their spirituality. Clearly there is a hunger to engage, and religious communities are missing out on a tremendous opportunity to build communities like never before!
        
        As you point out, think about the power of taking such conversations global, and in bringing people of many faiths together to move beyond denominational or geographical boundaries. Futurist Paul Saffo has suggested that a new world religion comes onto the stage every 500 years, and that we are ripe for a new one to appear. If that is the case, maybe technology can help drive the formation of a more open, inclusive, gathering of people around the world that are not confined by dogma or hierarchy. Maybe we truly are on the verge of a spiritual transformation…or as Ken Wilbur suggests…an integration?
Ali Akbar

Exposure paves path

When loud speaker was introduced in Mosques, relious leaders opposed that by the time this had been adopted ….. positive & negative aspects are another story.

We have an experience of introducing solar PV systems in Thar Desert. As an NGO, we had top priority for storing life saving drugs and on on fifth choice was to install in relious places for lighting and turn on fans; this was tool to promote renewable energy in Thar Desert….. Philinthropists donated for religious places instead for hospitals and schools, whatever …… in initial phase we faced opposition from leligious people but within time of 03 years now, demand from relious leaders is high. so by practice, this has been proved that some one has to initiate and then by exposure/getting use too people will adopt. For acceptance of theory is little bit time taking but by practice/tangible things, easy to introduce, adopt and replicate

Ali Akbar
- PaulLamb
  
  Exposure paves path
  
  Ali: You make a really important point. As with most people, it takes time to become comfortable with new ideas and approaches – whether they be technologically enabled or otherwise. And we are still in the wild wild west of social media adoption and use. Why would we expect spiritual communities to jump on board immediately when things are happening so rapidly and with little proof of concept in the faith-based world?
  
  Interestingly enough, the religious community is no stranger to technology disruptions. One of the contributing factors to the formation of the Protestant Church, as I understand it, was the arrival of the printing press and the wider availability of the bible for people to begin reading and interpreting the Bible in their own way. this came as a direct threat to the Catholic church and those in a position of authority who saw themselves as being the interpreters of God’s word. Yes, the printed bible itself was a technology innovation that literally changed the face of Christianity.
- PaulLamb
  
  Exposure paves path
  
  Ali & Others: By the way, I haven’t read this book yet, but it looks fascinating…
  
  iMuslim: Rewiring the Muslim World, by Gary Bunt
  
  http://www.amazon.com/…/ref=pe_5050_11995760_snp_dp
Charles “Hipbone” Cameron

Religious diversity (and the Vatican two-step)

Hi Paul:

What a fascinating topic!

The variety of religious responses (it almost sounds like an updated version of William James’ book) to technology in general is pretty wide. By no means all religions, and not even all strands of Christianity, focus everything through the God or Devil lens – though sheer force of numbers and shrillness of voice in the US may sometimes make it appear so! And the more practical the intent – missionary work, for instance, is a highly pragmatic business – the greater the likelihood that net and web technology will be used.

There are various adoption lags, of course, as there are in academia and elsewhere, which may have more to do with the "membrane" of difficulty that must be pierced every time we come across a specific new piece of software or tool, before reaching that blissful stage where it is second nature to us, and seems so obvious that even our best friends should be able to pick it up!

And then there are other currents in play. You mention the Vatican website, which is obviously not designed to appeal to any recent mode of "hip" or "cool". But that brings in a whole other dimension, that of style, taste and generation. A great many Catholics, Pope Benedict XVI among them, seem to feel that the aesthetics of Catholicism has taken a very serious "hit" as a result of the substitution of folk, rock, metal, and other more recent styles of music for the more traditional chant and polyphony. And the real issue, it seems to me, is whether depth of spiritual experience can be predicted to a meaningful extent by the type of music played in worship…

If it can, and if Gregorian Chant is a more effective "technology of transcendence" than Christian rock, then the young people who flock to Lourdes and St Peter’s in Rome and other great cathedrals, basilicas and pilgrimage sites may turn out to prefer a solemn and uplifting church to a banal and self-conscious one.

Seen in that light, the Vatican website may turn out to be traditional rather than trendy for good reason.

But that brings up another point. I wrote above of music as a possible "technology of transcendence" – and the word technology has indeed been used in religious settings for some while now. Georg Feuerstein has a book titled "Yoga: the Technology of Ecstasy" – no doubt picking up on Mircea Eliade’s characterization of shamanism as constituted by "techniques of ecstasy".

So religion can itself be considered a technology – and other technologies allied to it.

All in all, a fascinating area to explore.
- PaulLamb
  
  Religious diversity (and the Vatican two-step)
  
  Hey Charles! Indeed, fascinating stuff. You make a good point that "the technology of transcendence" is different for different audiences. Older generations of the faithful are for the most part used to a more linear (left brain) and consistent approach to worship, while the "broadcast generation" seek a more dynamic, edutainment experience. In the digital era, all of these traditions – and including a much older aural/storytelling tradition – have merged. And one could even argue that the digital era has more in common with the earliest formation of religious communities, than with the current institutionalized approach. Meaning that before there were organized churches, etc. people came together to worship and dialogue in small groups. this kind of direct, conversational experience is what social media is enabling. Perhaps another reason why it is seen by the traditionalists as a disruptor and a threat?
  
  Yes, I think you are right that religion itself is a kind of technology – as the practical application of knowledge. Whether the old technology greets the new technology with open arms or suspicion, however, is another matter altogether…
- DanielBassill
  
  Religious diversity (and the Vatican two-step)
  
  I also think it’s a fascinating area to explore. I think we can learn a lot from what faith groups have been doing for the past few thousand years to build communities of people bound in common practices and beliefs. I model much of what I do after faith communities and on my web site I point to links that give me, and others, ideas that we might incorporate into our own work.
  
  Here’s a site that coaches faith communities on uses of web technology. I think there are great lessons here for all of us, and for any faith community: http://www.internetevangelismday.com/medium.php
  
  In my own case, I feel that faith groups have created a body of knowledge, and they spend every day trying to get people to read or learn from parts of that knowledge and apply what they learn in their own lives. In Christianity, this knowledge centers around the Bible, in other faiths there are similar core books.
  
  In many cases these have not changed in hundreds of years, although the interpretation and understanding is constantly changing, as evidenced by the many web sites that you can find where religion is being discussed.
  
  The information that I collect and host on the Tutor/Mentor Connection site is my "Bible" and it is also constantly changing. If I can learn from faith groups ways to get thousand of people to look at this information every day, and use it some place to help kids, I’d have a significant impact in making this a better world.
  
  What I hope is that faith groups begin to point their congregations beyond the scriptures to web libraries such as mine, using web technologies that they can learn from each other, and from the rest of us, so that when people gather together in groups of two or three or hundreds to talk of their faith, and service, they can be using the articles, maps, and other information to become more strategic about where they provide their service and resources and how long they stay engaged.
  
  If this begins to become a consistent form of leadership and community engagement from more faith communities I believe they will attract a lot more people to their web sites, and to their membership.
  
  Some of my blog articles reflect further on this: http://tutormentor.blogspot.com/search/label/faith%20groups
- Samantha Given-Dennis
  
  Religious diversity (and the Vatican two-step)
  
  To side step towards literal relationships between the Vatican and Technology, I would like to turn attention to the Catholic bastion’s solar stewardship. According to Good Magazine, the Vatican intends to build Europe’s largest solar plant.
  
  Check it out: http://www.good.is/…/
  
  Sam
Cathi Linch

religion and technology

Hi Paul,

I do not believe that there is a clear divide between the worlds of religion and technology, and in fact, I believe that there is already much fruitful dialogue occuring between spiritual leaders and technologists.

Some churches, such as the one I happen to serve, are absolutely committed to spreading the Christian message through technology. Our strategy encompasses giving away our digital ministry resources for free (www.lifechurch.tv/open), developing a free online bible (www.youversion.com) with over 40 versions/languages and mobile apps for blackberry, apple, & google android (coming soon), a free real-time chat translation tool which available to anyone regardless of whether they are connected with the church (www.babelwith.me), ongoing church online experiences attended by around 3000 participants each week (http://live.lifechurch.tv), a significant presence on Twitter and Facebook, and many other digital tools.

Not every church is called to focus on technology initiatives to the same extent that we are, but all churches are called to meet people where they are and share with them the Gospel message. And for growing millions of people in the world, technology is where they are.

Cathi M. Linch

Treasurer

http://www.LifeChurch.tv
- PaulLamb
  
  religion and technology
  
  Hi Cathy! Could you give examples of where a dialogue between spiritual leaders and technologists – particularly at a high level or among associations (i.e., National Council of Churches, etc)?
  
  Thanks for sharing the work of LifeChurch.tv etc. I have been following your work with interest, and in fact have listed it along with a whole range of other technology related activities among faith-based communities here:
  
  http://manonamission.webnode.com/resources/
  
  Indeed not every church of spiritual community is called to be active in the technology space, just as social media, etc. is not always the right choice for other social sector organizations. But the benefits, as you point out, are becoming increasingly clear. The real issue, in my mind, is whether the religious community is keeping up with the revolutionary shift in communications and able to integrate it into their work in a meaningful way.
  
  Keep up the great work!
Andrew Sears

Religion, Race, Class and the Digital Divide

I think the factor that most people addressing the digital divide miss is the relationship between race, class and religion. While there are many efforts to both address the digital divide, most of them are not very friendly toward religion.

TechMission has been targeting the faith-based nonprofit sector (with a particular focus on Christian social services), and we have seen this played out time and time again.

We held faith-based digital divide conferences that where more than 75% of those in attendance were Black and Latino. The attendees at our secular counterparts nonprofit technology conferences were more than 90% White.

Our Web 2.0 portal http://www.UrbanMinistry.org and http://www.ChristianVolunteering.org have twice the representation of people of color as compared to all major secular counterparts.

The problem is that there is a strong bias among social entrepreneurs and social philanthropists against faith-based organizations (see my presentation at http://www.urbanministry.org/fundingbias. The data I’ve compiled shows that funders that do not fund religious organizations will fund 50% fewer nonprofits that are led by people of color. This is a major issue because studies have shown that while people of color represent 52.4% of those in poverty in the USA are people of color, only 16.5% of nonprofits are led by people of color, and only 3% of foundation funding goes toward organizations that are led by people of color.

I studied systems theory while at MIT, and often you find that in complex systems you do one thing expecting a certain result, but you end up with the opposite result. My current assessment is that when social philanthropy involving technology excludes faith-based organizations, it may do more harm than good in addressing the digital divide by focusing all the resources on White-dominant organizations.

I’m a social entrepreneur at my core. TechMission have the largest library of faith-based creative commons content on the Web, and will have more than 3 million unique visitors in the next year. About 80% of the sites we support are Black and Latino led, so it is likely that we are the most visited Web portal by Black and Latino nonprofit leaders.

I previously founded a multimillion dollar research group at MIT and consultant to venture capitalists on Internet startups. As soon as I started working with faith-based organizations, I couldn’t get any social philanthropist to return my calls. The bias against religion becomes a bias against people of color.

Anyway, I’m in the process of writing a research paper on this topic, so once I get that done, I’ll post it here.
- PaulLamb
  
  Religion, Race, Class and the Digital Divide
  
  Andrew: Thanks for chiming in…and looking forward to your paper on the bias against religion and people of color in the technology/social philanthropy world.
  
  Couple of thoughts in response…
  
  First, there is no question that the arenas of technology, venture capital, and startups skew white (at least in the United States) and away from religion. And there is another, perhaps more subtle bias that occurs. In my world of technologists working with some of the best and impactful social sector organizations out there, you rarely hear anyone talking about religion and spiritual communities as catalysts for social change. In fact, it almost seems as if religion is a dirty word among "progressive" techies. This surprises me given the size of religious communities (cutting across all social strata), the number of high impact programs run by churches, etc., and the resources that religious communities have at their disposal in aggregate. The work being done on the ground by committed religious communities is often overlooked, and certainly not seen as worthy of support. I wonder if this is because of philisophical and political differences, or because the majority of techies are not spiritually oriented? Or perhaps because there is a misperception that organized religion is self sustaining and sufficiently endowed – so that they are not in need of support? My gut feeling is that many techies see faith-based communities as too conservative for their tastes…???
  
  On the flip side it appears that there is a bias among religious/spiritual communities against new technologies and social media. Is this because new technology – which has adopted an open source and bottom up approach – is viewed as a threat? Is it because faith based communities don’t grok the power of new technologies? Or is it because spiritual leaders and their "flocks" are too busy with the day-to-day work of their various programs and ministries?
  
  As I said in the intro I think this is a lost opportunity – for the religious, techie, poor, and everyone else. And we need to start a dialogue (to include the VC and philanthropic sectors) to deal with all these biases and to collaborate to do great things!
Nettrice Gaskins

Is America really on the cutting edge of technology anymore?

I really do have my doubts as many of the innovations I am currently using are coming from developments abroad. Do we even have the broadband infrastructure to promote technological innovation?

My mother got her degree in philosophy/theology and shortly after went to work as a computer programmer. She believed in binary code as much as she believed in religious doctrine as a platform for power and human destiny. In me she instilled a quest for innovation and spiritual transcendence. I often experience inspiration through my "life" as an online avatar.

It seems to me that many American institutions, including religious (and educational) ones are STUCK or stagnant, fearful of change and progress. What is their incentive to get unstuck? I’m not stuck, so I don’t really know but I’m interested in hearing other people’s ideas.
- PaulLamb
  
  Is America really on the cutting edge of technology anymore?
  
  Nettrice: Greate to hear from you! Sure, broadband is still a challenge in many parts of the world, as is the affordability and adoption of useful technologies. But at the same time incredible innovations are happening everywhere (i.e., mobile banking, mHealth,etc.). And I think its a good thing that innovations are coming from abroad and not just be exported from the United States (if that is what you are implying?). In my opinion the more smart and good innovation the better. IMHO the important thing is that those technologies are being leveraged for the greater good, and in this case helping spiritual and technology come together to do great work.
  
  I think you raise an important point that religious and other institutions are "stuck" when it comes to understanding and leveraging useful new technologies. My answer to this challenge is a simple one… cross sector dialogue. For example, every year the H. H. the Dalai Lama invites top scientists and researchers (many of whom are athiests and agnostics) from around the world to Dharamsala to talk about cutting edge science as well as spirituality. Some amazing collaborative projects have come out of these discussions – some of which have pushed fields like neuroscience to new heights. And many of the learnings from these conversations have been integrated into the training of young Tibetan Buddhist monks, and resulted in numerous new scientific-spiritual collaborations.Building off of that, it makes sense to me that we need a truly global conversation between spiritual leaders from all faiths and top technologists (and others). (full dislosure: this is something I am trying to make happen).
  
  Other thoughts on how we can become "unstuck"?
Mark Belinsky

Open Source Religion

Hi Paul,

Interesting post. It’s been great to see the comments filter in. Very fascinating subject.

I recently attended a conversation on the subject at Drupalcon down in Washington, DC where some religious programmers were describing how revolutionary Drupal had been for the community.

For those that don’t know, Drupal is an open source content management system (CMS). The people at Mustard Seed (mustardseedmedia.com) were explaining that because of the free and open source nature of the media, churches can more easily build sites that their constituents are looking for. This includes podcasting sermons, having photos, and generally building a network for any specific church. Moreover, the process of learning from one another encourages the type of brotherhood that they’re looking to develop at the same time.

It struck me as important to not only consider the role of technology for religion, but specifically of open source technology. Hope that helps!

Best,

Mark

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mark Belinsky

Co-Director

Digital Democracy

109 W 27 St, 6 Fl

New York, NY 10001 USA

http://www.dtwo.org
Yoav Kaufman

Jewish Point of View

This quote way help to explain why us Jewish people may lag a little behind in following trends,including new social media/technology applications…

"God calls the Jews a "stiff-necked people." Being stiff-necked is both good and bad. It’s bad because you are stubborn and unwilling to change. But it’s good because in the face of fads and trends, you stick to your guns. If the Jewish people were not stiff-necked, we’d never have survived till today."

http://www.jewishdonorblog.com
- PaulLamb
  
  Jewish Point of View
  
  Yoav: Thanks so much for chiming in on behalf of the Jewish tradition. Being "stiff necked" certainly has its merits. Many traditions, as you point out, would not have survived without it.
  
  To the author of the quote, however, I would be careful referring to technology as a fad. Social media may be faddish – things like Facebook and Twitter will come and go – but it’s important to put such fads in the context of larger cultural and social shifts. While we still in the wild, wild west of Web 2.0, and it’s important not to get too caught up in the tools, the world is changing dramatically due in large part to technology-driven innovations. I humbly submit that the way people are interacting and communicating will never be the same.
  
  There are some excellent books that help to explain these changes (i.e. ""Groundswell by Charlene Li and "Here Comes Everybody" by Clay Shirky. If you have 45 minutes be sure and watch "Us Now":
  
  http://www.vimeo.com/4489849
  
  And if you only have 5 minutes be sure to check out "We are the machine":
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE
  
  Out of curiosity do you know of any Jewish faith communities particularly active in the technology sphere? http://www.synagogue3000.org/ seems to be doing some interesting things…
  - Naava Frank
    
    Jewish Point of View
    
    I facilitate a community of practice that brings together Jewish professionals from many diverse institutions to learn about how to build community and use technology to serve their constituents. We have groups of Rabbis, Jewish educators from schools and other diverse community organizations (camps, congregational schools, pre-schools etc). The intiative is funded by the Covenant Foundation http://www.covenantfn.org/new and is called Kehilliyot which is Hebrew for intimate learning communities http://kehilliyotwelcome.wikispaces.com
    
    I have a very pragmatic perspective on this. My experience is that at this point in time the primary barrier is simply time, exposure, training. Senior Jewish professionals are of a different generation and have a steep learning curve. They need to be convinced of the return on the time required to invest in learning the new technology in order to be effective and have a hard time making decisions about where to invest their efforts. Young generation Rabbis or those who learn quickly are podcasting http://rabbijim.podbean.com/ blogging and on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=8B4A2A7C0CE8F010
    
    My colleagues Lisa Colton http://www.Darimonline.org and Caren Levine http://www.etheoreal.com specialize in working with synagogues and others on adopting technology.
    
    That said, there are more conservative and religiously isolationist groups within the Jewish community. They have been slow to embrace technology as they are slow to embrace all change. Yet once they are convinced of the value it brings and how to use it carefully, I see even the very isolated Jewish communities adopting technology to promote their own lifestyle.
    
    I look forward to hearing more from others.
    
    Naava
    
    wwww.knowledgecommunities.org
    - Naava Frank
      
      Jewish Point of View
      
      Links that did not come out above
      
      http://www.darimonline.org
      
      http://www.etheoreal.com
jo davidson

May the force be with you

The shift will come with cross sector dialogue (and open source, bottom up approaches) so good luck with your man on a mission project Paul.
- PaulLamb
  
  May the force be with you
  
  Thanks so much Jo! And many blessings back at ya…
Andy Healy

I’d never thought about it before…

This is an interesting topic because as marketing technology advances, religions have generally followed suit. For instance, there are televangilsts and radio programs. I assume the ‘Twitter-Revolution’ and everything alike will come as well. For instance, I just searched "Catholic" on YouTube and a ton of hits just came up. Soon, religions will figure a sound way of maximizing exposure through internet technologies.
- PaulLamb
  
  I’d never thought about it before…
  
  Andy: I hope you’re right. In most of my research, most major religions are still catching up to the Broadcast era. With the exception of youngish clergy and the so called "Celebration Churches" digital seems miles away.
  
  Yes, there are tons of videos on YouTube and tens of thousands of religious groups on Facebook, but how may of them are fully integrated into the work and practice of fath-based communities?
Chris Dattilo

Ministry & Social media – a lot out there.

I think you are correct, some of the most cutting edge social tech stuff is coming from evangelical churches. You link to an article that quotes John Saddington at North Point Community Church. He has been blogging ministry & tech since 2001 over at http://www.churchcrunch.com. This blog in my opinion is the go-to place for all things tech/socialmedia/church/ministry in the evangelical space.

As far as youth – I am way past the "youth" age and there is lots going on with social media and faith in the evangelical community that transcends just "celebration" churches. Examples would be Mars Hill, http://www.marshillchurch.org/ (conservative, reformed) in Seattle with their development of OntheCity (Facebook like) application and Desiring God http://www.desiringgod.org/ (Reformed, Calvinist, Baptist) who’s Pastor in his 60′s. He and followers (in a social media sense – they are not necessarily connected with the church or ministry) engage on all levels of Social Media with thousands of Twitter/FB fans, youtube videos, Flckr groups connecting everyday with encouragement, support, help or just friendships.

In addition, I am aware of missionaries in many countries you are using social media tools in Africa, China, India, etc. from SMS, twitter, country specific FB, Youtube to connect and support thousands of Christians.

Seminaries across the spectrum are now including seminars on church/tech/socialmedia issues. Young pastors are leading the way – but have mentored and taught some of the older pastors who desire to connect with their congregations where they are at.

Good discussion. I think you’ll find there is a lot out there. I joke that most of my followers on Twitter are Pastors, but honestly there is truth to my joke. On Twitter there is quite a community of Pastors and Priests connecting across denominational lines. Baptists tweet with Presbyterians, tweet with Catholics, tweet with Eastern Orthodox, Tweet with…. It’s been a good thing to see and opened up friendship and dialogs that pre-socialmedia would not have possible.
- PaulLamb
  
  Ministry & Social media – a lot out there.
  
  Chris: Thanks again for the excellent resources you point to, and glad to hear of the activity happening among a variety of churches and seminaries that you mention. Even more happy to learn about the cross denominational dialogue happening on Twitter. These are exactly the kind conversations that are made possible through social media – something that wasn’t possible before. Hopefully it will lead to true transformation not only in the way that religious groups communicate internally, but how they interact with people of different perspectives. That’s the potential and power of social media if used in the right way. Maybe these tools, and their successors could even lead to a new world religion and a new, global community of faith that brings people together in the way that nations and other traditional institutions are unable to do?
  
  So far this discussion has mostly centered around the Christian and Jewish communities. Would love to hear from other groups, both formal and informal groups about their experiences and aspirations relative to the application of technology?
Robin Mohr

Presbyterian and Quaker Technology users

(cross posted from Beth’s Blog)

I am a Quaker, and for us, the blogosphere has been a rich form of communication across broad geographic spread (Quakers tend to be few and far between) and across the theological and institutional divisions within the Religious Society of Friends (official name for Quakers). Facebook and Twitter are growing in popularity, but the most important thing in Quaker social media has been QuakerQuaker.org, originally a blog aggregator but now using Ning for the base platform. It’s administered by Martin Kelley, with a small committee of editors, of which I am one.

I know that the current Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Bruce Reyes-Chow, is a huge advocate of social media. His blogs (personal, official ModBlog, and on sfgate.com), podcasts, and Twitter feed (@breyeschow) all give a example of deep use of technology within a mainline denomination. I went to a discussion he facilitated at the Web 2.0 conference in SF called What Would Jesus Twitter?
- PaulLamb
  
  Presbyterian and Quaker Technology users
  
  Robin: Thanks so much for the great info and resources regarding Quaker activities in the digital space. Not surprisingly the Quakers are on the bleeding and progressive edge. (Full disclosure: I am a proud graduate of Earlham College).
  - Martin Kelley
    
    Presbyterian and Quaker Technology users
    
    I just tweeted a comment, but I’ll repeat here that I am ROTFL [Social media jargon for "rolling on the floor laughing"] at the idea that the Religious Society of Friends are on the forefront of anything tech. But maybe I’m just too close to it all. It’s a wonderful complement, thank you!
    
    If we are ahead of some curve, perhaps it’s a holdover from the Friends tradition of lay ministry. Most of the online Quaker social media is independent of formal sponsorship. The QuakerQuaker project has no underwriting and relies on volunteer labor and occasional $20 donations to the Paypal tip jar. I can’t think of any institutional body that would be able to take it under its wing (without problems for both) and I don’t see Quaker foundations giving money to tech-based initiatives.
    
    But Quakers are trained to see opportunities and follow leadings. Many of the online Quaker projects are independent initiatives. We’re all very embedded in various way (my resume lists years of work with major Quaker bodies and about a third of the clients in my independent web consultant business are Quaker-related). But by having this inside/outside duality, we’re able to explore and stretch some boundaries and move more quickly than an established organization would.
    
    Paul, I’ll try to think more seriously about the questions you pose in the main article and comment back. This is definitely an interest of mine, both ministerially and professionally.
Lynn Chakoian

One more perspective on Quakers

I am an administrator for Friends World Media website http://speakingtruth.org The experience is great when it pulls in the media of Friends from far and wide, but it is also true that many Friends are not interested in spending time with face to computer screen. The efforts of FWM cut across the grain to some extent, but also has the possibility to unite the various regional groups and theological perspectives. Well, these efforts to unite have not broken down yet, but I would not report that we are a website on fire either. I have tried to reach out to those on the Internet via twitter. @FriendsWMedia is how to connect. I would characterize it as a slow building project within the Quaker community–Luddites galore that can be persuaded.
- Jeff Mowatt
  
  Inspired by Quakers
  
  I have to say this. As an atheist I’ve always found that which early Quakers introduced to business to be most inspirational. These were the abolitionists, the social reformers who had an implicit understanding of business for the common good.
  
  Once one recognises that people are the main purpose of business and that economic development depends on information as a tool, then I see no conflict.
  
  Only a week ago Pope Benedict XVI called for a new world financial order guided by ethics, dignity and the search for the common good. That sentiment should find no argument with either Quaker or atheist.
Caitlin Goold

Some thoughts

Hi Paul,

So, I really don’t believe there is a clear divide between religious institutions and technology. When I think of these two worlds colliding I think of televangelism. It seems as though there is a strong push to use the benefits of technology in the younger evangelical movements. However, I do see more traditional religious organizations, like the Catholic church or traditional American churches steering away from technology. Perhaps this is because these traditional organizations don’t understand the value technology can give them. I agree with the statement of a previous commenter that religious organizations may view technology as an extension of "the devil". I believe with time religious organizations may be forced into accepting and utilizing technology in order to maintain membership. The use of technology can help religious organizations increase their positive social impact, not just reach more members to convert. Many of these organizations help to provide much needed services to the poor. Technology can only help them with this. I believe a dialog between religious organizations and technology groups will be extremely beneficial.
- PaulLamb
  
  Some thoughts
  
  Hi Caitlin! I couldn’t agree more with your point that a dialogue is needed. But that seems to contradict your first point that there isn’t a "clear divide between religious institutions and technology." My experience has been that there most certainly is…am I missing something or did you mean that because some communities of faith are leveraging technologies that I divide doesn’t artificially exist?
Andrew Sears

Are Google and Social Entrepreneurs Perpetuate the Digital Divide Among Nonprofits?

In my previous post, I mentioned I was writing a related article that I woudl post here, so here it is. The article is on on How Google and Social Entrepreneurs Perpetuate the Digital Divide Among Nonprofits (http://www.urbanministry.org/nonprofitdiversity). In the past 10 years, I have been working to address the digital divide.

Our research indicates that about two-thirds of Black and Latino-led nonprofits are in churches or other faith-based organizations. Comparatively, about two-thirds of White-led nonprofits are secular. This means that on average, faith-based organizations are about twice as likely to be Black or Latino-led. This means that faith-based organizations are more than twice as likely to be Black and Latino led. The problem is that most tech-focused nonprofits and groups addressing the digital divide are fairly hostile to faith-based organizations.

Our organization did some research on the board and staff demographics of the leading technology-focused nonprofits, and found that on average about 80% of their staff are White (and often from elite schools). These organizations develop strategies, policies and values that reflect their staffing and boards. Our staff have gone to several of these conferences led by these organizations, and the conference attendees are also more than 90% White. We have followed their grantmaking processes and seen that more than 80% of their grants go to White-led organizations. These demographics of technology focused nonprofits based on our research are shown in the diagram below. The significant factor is that in every category, there is dramatically lower percentage of people of color as compared to the demographics of the low-income communities they are serving. The result is that most technology focused nonprofits are more reflecting the digital divide rather than transforming it. To really transform the digital divide, it requires representation of those on the other side of the divide at every level in the organization.

The same pattern applies to much of the new social entrepreneurship movement. Most the emerging social entrepreneurs that are getting funded are led by White people from elite schools. They are establishing a culture and values in the social philanthropy sector that largely reflects White cultural values from elite business schools. The end result is that these social ventures get all the funding, squeezing out more grass-roots Black and Latino led organizations. This means that too often social ventures are perpetuating the same divides that they are supposedly addressing.

Anyway, I would love to hear others thoughts on this article.
Lisa Colton

Where We Take The Pulse

Paul and others — thanks for this rich discussion. In my work with Jewish organizations, I find that leaders (both staff and board) set their standards (of using technology, culture, customer service, etc.) by taking the pulse of what other Jewish organizations are doing. A reasonable strategy if one synagogue thinks they are "competing" with the other down the street, but particularly ineffective if we realize that the people we are trying to engage are using these tools and participating in this culture in every other nook and cranny of their lives, from their kid’s school to work to buying products online to using an iphone app.

I think those leading the strategy and programs of religious communities would do well to meet up with business leaders who are diving into social media with great success – the way Zappos has built such a successful culture, the way Dell turned around a reputation, the way that so many corporations are "personalizing" their brand successfully. Shel Israel’s new book, Twitterville, includes many such stories. I’d love to hear from religious leaders who are using the same part of their brain to apply these concepts to their communities.
Ashley Metz Cummings

How about an atheist’s point of view?

I’m a bit late, but I’d like to add another side:

1. Do you agree that there is a clear divide between the worlds of religion and technology? – Yes, there is quite a long history of this – from Galileo to stem cell research. As another example, the Hindu caste system has been linked to some of India’s development problems.

2. If so, why is it the case and what should we do about it?

The church is fundamentally insecure about scientific progress. (This is unfortunately very inconsistent. Religious people throughout time have been distrustful of scientific progress, yet happy to benefit from it – airline travel, heart surgery, etc.). The deeper one delves into scientific learning, one learns more about the universe and begins to question the likelihood of a God existing. When one does not know much about how the world works on a scientific basis, it’s easier to misunderstand the complexity and attempt to make sense of it by crediting it to religion.

4. Assuming a dialogue could be established between spiritual leaders and technologists, what meaningful and impactful work might come out of such conversations?

Organized religion does play an important role in mobilizing people and spreading fundamentally good ethics (though sometimes ideological differences still lead to religious wars!). In this sense, spiritual leaders can play an important role in connecting their followers to new technologies with social or environmental benefit. Spiritual leaders need to evaluate the benefits of technologies on their people and their world and put aside any ideological problems they have concerning scientific progress.
- Vidhi Parekh
  
  How about an atheist’s point of view?
  
  Starting a business is a challenging task. Need of the hour is to prepare yourself thoroughly before you jump on the entrepreneurship bandwagon. Check out this course which helps you prepare yourself for the journey, visit http://bit.ly/cedlFD .All the very best!