Reports of the Church's demise are exaggerated.

CNN's Belief Blog recently posted an entry entitled "My Take: How technology could bring down the Church." Lisa Miller argued new technologies like Bible apps, podcasts and streaming video will undermine the need to actually attend church. She wrote "With Scripture on iPhones and iPads, believers can bypass constraining religious structures - otherwise known as “church” - in favor of a more individual connection with God." She recalled how the printing press democratized the interpretation of the Bible furthering the growth of the protestant movement.

I'll admit that I also had concerns about the negative impact of new technologies on the Church. First, lets clarify something: the European/North American church may be in decline, but not so in Asia, Africa or South America. Many Christian groups (e.g. Catholic, Lutheran, Methodists) are reporting great growth! So at present this is a western church concern.

Second, research is simply not bearing that out that new technologies are bringing down the church. There have been other prophets of doom: van der Laan has argued that the "Internet shapes and alters how pastors and parishioners practice their religion" and he concludes that the use of online sources would undermine pulpit ministry. I rejected that argument because it assumes online resources are used uncritically by preachers and accepted uncritically by parishioners. I find those assumptions unsupported.

Heidi Campbell as discovered that blogs, rather than challenging traditional religious authority, may help solidify them. “Many Christian bloggers use their blogs to affirm traditional religious authorities that are in line with the religious beliefs and identities they seek to present online authority rather than simply using it to challenge....”

Chris Helland has explored how online worship can reconnect members of diaspora groups to their religious homelands and practices. Whether ritual by webcam or in virtual spaces, people are practicing their beliefs and connecting.

Paul Teusner has done interesting work on the Emerging Church movement in the blogosphere, a group that challenges traditional religious authorities and structures, yet then appears to create its own doctrinal authorities.

I could go on but you get the point. Is it Religion 2.0 or simply faith in a new wired context? Something new is happening, but to paraphrase Mark Twain the reports of the church's death are greatly exaggerated. Just sayin'.