Surprise! It's not the internet's fault!

The dictionary definition of faith is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It is also defined as a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion. I like the first definition better because it suggests something more than an intellectual assent. One of the Bible's most notable chapters about faith states "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

But let's go back to the second definition: the belief in the doctrines of the church. Last Thursday I submitted an extended abstract for the Canadian Association for Information Science meetings during the 2010 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences. When I started my research planning over eighteen months ago, I expected to find that new communication technologies were undermining religious authority and confusing doctrine. The average parishioner doesn't need to turn to the "expert" (pastor or priest) any longer for theological information; they now have access to significant resources online. The question is whether they have the skills to effectively evaluate and integrate what they find. I thought this would be disruptive to the local church's ability to equip their members. Recently however, I've begun to question that assumption in part due to some recent work by Heidi Campbell (2007, 2010 Forthcoming) on authority online, and a rethink of some of Reg Bibby's work on the the endurance of religious traditions in Canada (2002, 2004). I've lots more thinking (and analyzing) to do but here is where I'm at now.

Maybe online seeking isn't really undermining the teachings of your church. People are trying to make sense of their world the best way they can, looking for answers for faith questions that to that point their church hasn't provided them. I've seen evidence that people are open a better answer from their church, if one was offered. But in the meantime they need something to help make sense of a life situation and find it online. So I guess the ball is in the local church's court: who is teaching your parishioners? They need answers and they might not wait for you to get around to it. Just saying. ;-)