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Important Statistics from the Pew Internet and American Life Project My June, 2002 column on Jesuit Priest and Paleontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin ("The Real Patron Saint of the Internet") featured a fraction of the information that I compiled while researching and writing an independent study project for the Chicago Theological Seminary entitled "Spirituality and the Internet: Theological and Ethical Implications." At that time, I promised to share more from that study. Here is some of that information. In order to frame my study, I had to ground my research in statistics. One of the best sites for compiling statistics on the Internet and spirituality (religion in particular) is the Pew Internet and American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org). Click on "Our Reports," scroll down to "CyberFaith: How Americans Pursue Religion Online" (December 23, 2001), and click on "read the report." Here are some highlights from the report's Executive Summary: 28 million Americans have used the Internet to get religious and spiritual information and connect with others on their faith journeys. Pew calls them "Religion Surfers." • 25% of Internet users have gotten religious or spiritual information online at one point or another. This is an increase from the Pew survey findings in late 2000, which showed that 21% of Internet users -- or between 19 million and 20 million people — had gone online to get religious or spiritual material. • More than 3 million people a day get religious or spiritual material, up from 2 million that Pew reported in the year 2000. • For comparison's sake, it is interesting to note that more people have gotten religious or spiritual information online than have gambled online, used Web auction sites, traded stocks online, placed phone calls on the Internet, done online banking, or used Internet-based dating services. The September 11 terror attacks compelled millions of Internet users to turn to religious issues and concerns online. • 41% of Internet users, many of whom had never considered themselves online spiritual seekers, said they sent or received email prayer requests. • 23% of Internet users turned to online sources to get information about Islam. Presumably, most of them considered this to be information-gathering activity rather than spiritual activity. The most popular online religious activities are solitary ones. Most Religion Surfers treat the Net as a vast ecclesiastical library and they hunt for general spiritual information online. However, they also interact with friends and strangers as they swap advice and prayer support. • 67% of Religion Surfers have accessed information on their own faith. • 50% have sought information on other faiths. The most active online Religion Surfers (those who go online at least several times a week for spiritual material) are also the most active offline participants in their faiths. •Those who have converted from the religion in which they were raised are more likely than those who have not to be active Religion Surfers (33% vs. 24%). • Religious outsiders are particularly interested in using the Internet to meet others of their own faith and share items of religious interest. Outsiders are those who see themselves as a minority, who say they have few people of the same religion in their local communities, or who say they have faced discrimination due to their beliefs. For Religion Surfers, the Internet is a useful supplemental tool that enhances their already-deep commitment to their beliefs and their churches, synagogues, or mosques. Use of the Internet also seems to be especially helpful to those who feel they are not part of mainstream religious groups. • 15% of Religion Surfers say their use of the Internet has made them feel more committed to their faith, and 27% say it has improved their spiritual life to at least a modest degree. • 35% believe that the Internet has a "mostly positive" effect on the religious life of others. And 62% of Religion Surfers say that the availability of material on the Internet encourages religious tolerance. • 53% of Religion Surfers fear that the Internet makes it too easy for fringe groups to promote themselves in ways that can harm people. Religion Surfers are distinguished from other Americans by their religious devotion, rather than conventional demographics. They take their faith seriously in the offline world and use online tools to enrich their knowledge of their faith and to practice their devotions. • 81% of Religion Surfers describe their religious faith as "very strong," compared to 61% of the general public who said in a March 2000 Gallup poll that religion was "very important" in their life. • 86% of Religion Surfers pray or meditate at least once a day. By comparison, 54% of all Americans say they pray that often, and 23% say they meditate every day. Many Religion Surfers think key spiritual resources are more easily available online than offline • 64% of Religion Surfers believe that the Internet provides easier access to religious study and educational materials than they can otherwise find offline. • Nearly half (44%) believe that the Internet provides easier access to prayer and other devotional materials than they can otherwise find offline. The complete Executive Summary as well as an in-depth analysis of the report under headings like "Defining the Religion Surfers" and "What Religion Surfers do online" can be found at the Pew Internet and American Life Project web site. It was statistics like these that convinced me that the pursuit of further study on Spirituality and the Internet was, indeed, valuable. By the way, the Pew Internet and American Life Project site is chock full of interesting surveys that may be of interest to The Monthly Aspectarian readers. A tiny sampling of available reports includes: "One year later: September 11 and the Internet" (September 5, 2002), "Vital Decisions: How Internet users decide what information to trust when they or their loved ones are sick" (May 22, 2002), and "Use of the Internet at Major Life Moments" (May 8, 2002). Mary Montgomery-Clifford is a certified web author and developer. Her company, Montgomery Media Enterprises ("Freelancing with Finesse!"), specializes in public relations, events, promotions, writing project and web authoring, development and publicity. Ms. Montgomery-Clifford is currently studying for a Master's Degree with an emphasis on inter-religious studies at the Chicago Theological Seminary and is in the process of completing the Morris Pratt Institute Course on Modern Spiritualism. Contact her via e-mail at Monty764@aol.com, by phone at 773-235-8821 or at her web site at www.montymedia.com Next Article |
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