The Pew Research Center’s Religion and Public Life project is out with a new report on religion and electronic media. Here are some of the key findings:
In an average week, one-in-five Americans share their religious faith online, about the same percentage that tune in to religious talk radio, watch religious TV programs or listen to Christian rock music. And nearly half of U.S. adults see someone else share their religious faith online in a typical week….
Fully 20% of Americans said they had shared their religious faith on social networking websites or apps (such as Facebook and Twitter) in the past week, and 46% said they had seen someone else share “something about their religious faith” online. The percentage of Americans who shared their own faith online is similar to the proportions who said they watched a religious TV program (23%), listened to religious talk radio (20%) or listened to Christian rock music (19%). Even more (40%) said they shared something about their religious faith “offline, in a real-life setting.” By way of comparison, in Pew Research telephone surveys conducted in 2014, 35% of Americans have reported attending religious services at least once a week.
The survey suggests that religious engagement through TV, radio, music and the internet generally complements – rather than replaces – traditional kinds of religious participation, such as going to church.
According to the survey, white mainline Protestants are the least likely to talk about their faith online (tied with Catholics at 15 percent.)
Also: “The survey … finds that young adults (ages 18-29) are about twice as likely as Americans ages 50 and older to see people sharing their faith online.”
How are Episcopal churches doing when it comes to sharing their faith experiences online?