May 13, 2010
Written by Andy Lang

Churches are among the few institutions in American life where different generations meet, says the Rev. Deirdre Hainsworth of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. In a society increasingly Balkanized by technology, faith communities may have a unique contribution to make when building community on the Internet.

Hainsworth, an ordained UCC minister, spoke April 30 at the 2010 Ecumenical Roundtable on Faith, Science and Technology at the UCC's Church House in Cleveland. Her paper focused on the value of "inquiry" as a method both for science and the church as it tackles social and scientific issues.

"Inquiry is basic to Christian understandings of human life in relationship with God," she said.

As more and more people become dependent on search engines for self-education, news gathering and academic research, members of congregations can help each other learn the tools they need to evaluate critically whatever they encounter in cyberspace.

"Information technologies have immense potential to connect us with others, with new ideas, and with the fruit of human exploration and thought," Hainsworth said. But technology itself does not provide an interpretive framework that allows the user to judge the quality of information. Search engines tends to flatten out results, providing easy access to websites that appear to be relevant to the search, but ignoring the ideological presuppositions that may control the owner's perspective – especially on controversial issues like evolution, abortion, euthanasia and stem-cell research.

Faith communities can help guide their members through the thicket of truth-claims on the Internet, said Hainsworth. "We can help our members consider critically what they encounter online and help them identify reliable resources on the Internet. Without imposing our own perspective, we need to take the initiative to explain why and how faithful people can differ on issues."

Many congregations have members who are experienced users of information technologies, and can draw on their expertise to help the community develop critical skills. Churches can make an important contribution because they are among "the few remaining ‘public spaces' that have potential cross-generational interaction."

More than a tool

While most churches have developed an Internet presence, Hainsworth said, faith communities still approach the technology as a "tool" rather than a formative experience of relationship, especially for youth and young adults.

"We have largely viewed these technologies as isolated tools – either as threats to virtue or as mechanisms for continued relevance," she said. "Yet the streams of information technology have become increasingly intertwined and formative for how we describe and analyze the world around us."

And while social networks tend to isolate users into communities separated by age, class or belief, churches can find in Facebook and other media a place where real ministry is possible.

"Research by the Rev. Doodle Harris, a Presbyterian youth minister, shows that social networks are becoming places where youth can share grief and experience solace in times of tragedy," she said. "Especially for youth, the death of a friend is a shattering experience.

"Harris took a close look at ‘memorial pages' on Facebook created by friends when a classmate dies, where they can work through the sense of loss that will last longer than a few days or weeks," Hainsworth said.

The study showed that memorial pages helped "when feelings of grief were repeatedly triggered every time members of that class reached a milestone: a sports victory, college entrance test, senior prom, graduation." It isn't unusual, Hainsworth said, for classmates to post messages on the memorial page to the friend who had died as a way of preserving a sense of connection. "These pages have become a means of faith expression, and even a place where the parents of a deceased child could find comfort."

The Ecumenical Roundtable on Faith, Science and Technology included representatives from the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the UCC. The UCC's Science and Technology Network hosted this year's meeting. More information is available at http://ucc.org/science/.

United Church of Christ News Service