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The terms internet church, online church, cyberchurch, and digital church refer to a wide variety of ways that Christian religious groups can use the internet to facilitate their religious activities, particularly prayer, discussion, preaching and worship services. The
internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
has become a site for religious experience which has raised questions related to
ecclesiology In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of th ...
. Some
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...
s insist that an online gathering is not a real substitute for meeting in person, for example, the Roman Catholic
Pontifical Council for Social Communications The Pontifical Council for Social Communications () was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communication (now the Dicastery for Communication). According to '' Pastor bonus'', Po ...
declared in 2002 that "the virtual reality of cyberspace cannot substitute for real interpersonal community, the incarnational reality of the sacraments and the liturgy, or the immediate and direct proclamation of the gospel", while acknowledging that the internet can still "enrich the religious lives of users".


History

Internet-based Christian communities, better known as "online churches" or "internet churches", began gaining popularity in the early 2000s. Since then, they have prospered dramatically in response to institutional investment, the rise of more sophisticated social media and the emergence of free-access virtual worlds. As online communication became more popular and home computers became less expensive, computer-meditated communication expanded, causing religion to flourish on the Internet. In the beginning of the internet, many ministries began posting informational and sermon-like messages to visitors. Through the years this method of teaching has evolved in the form of video, audio podcasts and blogs. A 1996 study recommended that church organizations quickly establish their presence in cyberspace, or they would lose touch with many of their parishioners and risk losing the ability to advise them in an era of technological growth. They were essentially urged to establish an electronic presence before it was too late. Had they not made their presence known, the influence of the Church could have been lost to unofficial religious groups. Many of today's internet churches are descendants of brick-and-mortar churches, offering members an alternative to the traditional physical meetings within a church building. Some, such as the Church of Fools, offer church experiences through entirely 3D virtual reality environments. Internet churches now exist all around the world; however, they are still criticized for their lack of "human connection". The Methodist Church in the UK affirmed at its 2023 Conference "the possibility of predominantly online churches", subject to further discernment "in respect of online communion".


Overview

Internet church is a gathering of religious believers facilitated through the use of online video stream, audio stream and/or written messages whose primary purpose is to allow the meeting of a church body of parishioners using the internet. It includes different aspects of Christian community online, especially by those who view this phenomenon as a subset of
emerging church The emerging church, sometimes wrongly equated with the "emergent movement" or "emergent conversation", is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century. Emerging churches can be found around the globe, predominantly in North Ameri ...
, the developing expressions of the faith in relation to culture change. A cyberchurch is a ministry that exists primarily as a private website, an interactive space on a public website or social networking site. An internet church describes an institution that has all or a majority of its members meet, connect or congregate, and teaches and practices its religious beliefs, entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are hundreds of churches which have live broadcasts (and/or rebroadcasts) online (including nearly all megachurches), most would not be classified as internet churches as they also meet in a physical location, and generally use online services as a supplement, primarily to benefit 1) members who due to health or other reasons cannot attend actual services, 2) people living in areas where a church of their denomination or preference does not exist or is too far away to attend, or 3) to introduce prospective members to the church (i.e. a family moving to a new location and wanting to check out churches nearby). Internet church campuses are the same thing as a traditional church campus, except online. An online churchgoer can attend a Bible study, donate, attend live services, and watch past services, attend conferences, and more. Members keep in contact with pastors and ministers and collaborate with other believers through web communication tools provided. In some cases members communicate by phone with ministers. As Internet usage continues to thrive, Christians are using
websites A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education ...
,
blogs A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
,
social network A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...
ing sites, media services,
chatrooms The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from r ...
,
discussion boards Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focus ...
, and other electronic means to provide social connection, education, and enrichment of their faith. Online church can also offer convenience to those who are too isolated or unable to attend an in-person church service.


Online churches

The word ''cyberchurch'' was used by web-developer Tim Bednar's paper "We Know More Than Our Pastors" which detailed the blogging movement's influence on the experience of faith.Tim Bednar,
We Know More Than Our Pastors: Why Bloggers Are the Vanguard of the Participatory Church
PDF (Accessed September 5, 2007)
Religious pollster and author George Barna used the term in his book Revolution to describe "the range of spiritual experiences delivered through the Internet".George Barna, "Revolution" (Tyndale House, 2005, ) Barna sees Cyberchurch as one of the future "macro-expressions" (large scale forms) of church in the future; one that will soon account for one-third of American spirituality, together with other "revolutionary" forms of church.


Social networking sites

Christians, like many Internet users, are increasingly using social networking sites like
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
. These sites incorporate much of the technology of blogging but forge more concrete connections between users, allowing them to "message" each other within the system, connect officially as "friends", rate and rank each other, etc. These connections may or may not materialize in the real world, but many people now consider on-line relationships a significant part of their lives, increasing the potential influence of a Christian presence in these environments. Criticism of Christian use of these sites has grown, however, due to prevalence of questionable content and issues of safety. As a result, several Christian alternatives for social networking have been developed. On the other hand, some advocate a missional stance, using social networking sites and networking components of other Internet mediums like blogging, chat, and instant messaging to proselytize new converts and spread the Gospel. There has been some speculation and experimentation with the idea of starting churches within such "virtual environments". LifeChurch.tv is at the forefront of developing a platform to support the Online "Church Online" Campus offering their platform to other churches. For instance, a quick google search will reveal their platform is being utilized a
East Lake Church
in Chula Vista, CA
The Ridge Community Church
in Milwaukee, WI an
Seacoast Church
in Charleston, South Carolina. True, LifeChurch does not limit themselves and has also used other platforms to plant a cyberchurch within the Facebook community using an "Internet Campus" technology. Likewise, churches are beginning to appear in the
Second Life ''Second Life'' is a multiplayer virtual world that allows people to create an Avatar (computing), avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online environment. Developed for person ...
virtual world A virtual world (also called a virtual space or spaces) is a Computer simulation, computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many simultaneous users who can create a personal Avatar (computing), avatar and independently explore th ...
where people can attend as avatars and worship together. Many of these churches retain elements that can be found in traditional churchgoing, such as sermons (e.g., Internet Chapel). However, they also attempt to adapt to the unique social norms of digital media; users attending these churches are often referred to by their online usernames and there are sometimes chat sessions before, after, and even during services.


On-line multimedia

Podcasting A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...
, streaming audio and video, media downloads, and self-broadcasting websites have made it possible to share the sights and sounds of belief. While religious recordings of different types have certainly existed before, it is the Internet's ability to make these files public for millions of users that has led to the growth and influence of this component of cyberchurch. Now there are millions of audio sermons, conference and seminar recordings, home videos, documentaries, faith-themed films and more accessible on the World Wide Web. Tech-savvy bloggers can use multimedia to create audioblogs and videoblogs that present experiences, opinions, dialogs, stories, and teachings, creating a more live feel to the blogging experience. Many prominent thinkers, authors, and leaders have blogs that present a podcast or streaming audio of speeches, lectures, or sermons. Video sharing sites like
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
and
Google Video Google Video was a free video hosting service, originally launched by Google on January 25, 2005. Initially focused on searching TV program transcripts, it soon evolved to allow hosting video clips on Google servers and embedding onto other ...
allow anyone with a web camera to post video alongside professional religious movie producers and make it available to millions of users. This allows believers to share ideas about faith in new and creative ways. One example is a church in
Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
, where you can share prayers via a web forum before even having met another person. Most of these sites allow people to embed video hosted remotely onto their blog or website, powering video-based communication across the Internet. Christian-specific sites have also recently sprung up to provide faith-based video sharing services. In more recent years, internet church has taken yet another step forward with the creation of applications. In 2018, celebrity pastor Judah Smith created what is essentially church via an app. This app included forums and the ability to pray for others.


Impact of internet church

The communication revolution and the rise of online church has effected the perceptions of the Church, as well as had an impact on their structures and modes of functioning. The constant availability of images and ideas, and their rapid transmission across the world, have profound consequences, both positive and negative. This can effect perception and transmission of values, world views, ideologies, and religious beliefs. One problem in particular is the digital divide. The digital divide creates two groups, the rich and the poor, on the basis of access, or lack of access, to new information and communication technology. Another concern is the idea that the wide range of choices available on the Internet may encourage a "consumer approach" to matters of faith. Data suggests that some visitors to religious websites pick and choose elements of customized religions to suit their personal tastes, which is recognized as a problem in the Church. There is also the concern that many churches believe the Internet can not replace in-person worship among a community. Critics believe that virtual worship separates followers from spiritual essentials found in brick-and-mortar Christian churches.


Other religions

All major and most minor Christian denominations are presented through online churches. However, most Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions are as well. In each case, unofficial expressions of these religions as well as individuals wanting to communicate their personal religious and spiritual beliefs have appeared on the medium. The trend has become even more prominent as individuals can now create their own sites much easier than in the past.


See also

* Digital theology *
Religion and the Internet Religions are represented on the Internet in many ways. There are sites which attempt to cover all religions, traditions, and faiths, such as Patheos (which also provides a forum for atheism and Humanism), Religious Tolerance, and Beliefnet. There ...


References


Sources

* ''Cyberchurch'' by Patrick Dixon (Kingsway Publications, 1997, )''Cyberchurch'', a 1997 book by the well-known
Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...
Patrick Dixon, explored ways in which churches and individual believers were embracing web-based technologies, and correctly anticipated rapid developments over the following decade, including widespread use of video and community forums, especially by larger traditional churches who have developed global influence as a result.
* ''The internet church'' by Walter P. Wilson (Word Publications, 2000) * ''Exploring religious community online: we are one in the network'' by Heidi Campbell (Peter Lang Publications, 2005) * ''The Blogging Church'' by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch (Jossey Bass, 2007) * ''The Wired Church 2.0'' by Len Wilson (Abingdon Press, 2008) * ''Church of Facebook: How the Hyperconnected Are Redefining Community'' by Jesse Rice (David C. Cook, 2009) * ''SimChurch: Being the Church in the Virtual World'' by Douglas Estes (Author) Zondervan, 2009) * ''Under The Radar: Learning From Risk Taking Churches'' by Bill Easum and Bill Tenny-Brittian (Authors) Abingdon Press, 2005) , a book citing Alpha Church for sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion on the internet, p. 33. {{Blog topics Virtual communities Christianity and society