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Does Your House of Worship 'Tweet'?

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    Is social media having an impact on religion?

  • Duration 6:11
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And welcome back well people around the world are adjusting to the greatest communication shift since that dawned on the printing breast.

Millions now communicate through FaceBook and YouTube blogs and Twitter and sure they're learning the -- must join the -- Even African depends on new media to get its message out other -- -- a vote is of mechanical engineer who also blogs and writes about theology technology and social justice.

Andy's written up her on.

The church and the new media and he joins me now from Orlando Florida with more welcome Brendan.

I Lauren thanks avenue -- and -- I really your last name there because I wanted to save weight but I said -- is that okay.

Both of Iran it's -- actually hit fifth at.

Well okay so -- -- I think every -- -- -- it's okay.

-- chemical engineer by day so why did you write this book about technology and the church.

Well the book kind of stemmed out of a few different things that converged on the course is that I'm 25 years -- Some right in the middle of this kind of young generation that's absorbed in -- new media tools.

And I've been blogging myself for about five years himself from first hand experience I saw how powerful these schools where.

The second thing was -- -- looked around the church and saw a number of other.

Individuals organizations groups that we're similarly using new media well to bring about great good.

-- the third thing I realized was only look at the church -- a hole especially institutionally.

We a lot of catching up to -- and so the point of the book was to take my own experience and experience of about a dozen other people and used that to help guide and lead the church on today's digital continent.

-- obviously what we we think that the new media would attract.

A lot of young people would you say it actually would attract all older or certain more mature people as well.

I think so I think so on FaceBook released this very intriguing statistic a few months ago they said the fastest growing demographic on FaceBook.

Is 55 to 65 year old win and which is precisely the opposite of what most of us think we think young people are predominantly using missiles.

-- so they're increasingly becoming adopted by.

Every single demographic.

Around the world which means for the church it's necessary to get in there because.

They clutch every aspect of the global population.

Thank you up I'm twelve contributors in the book and they're all church folk all all good at using the new media tell you -- -- -- their -- event.

Share what a favorite stories comes in the first contributor of the book -- a priest in Archdiocese of Chicago.

These little videos on YouTube may -- seven to eight minutes long little vignettes.

Forty commentary on an instance of popular culture so it might be talking about a book a new video a new movie -- true grit your avatar.

But he looks on it through a topic perspective and presents kind of where the theology and spirituality can be seen -- -- secular speeders.

And -- understand is that on -- to videos people can comments.

And so -- a comment boxes he's receiving hundreds and hundreds of responses and so this priest in the middle of America is now kept connecting and conversing with.

Atheists and secular it's a non Catholics and across the world simply.

Through this avenue love you -- so it's a great ladies new media to -- to open the doors of the church and -- the wider conversation.

You know let me get things you -- about was the church's self inflicted wounds is really trying to communicate in older religions come on a modern world.

And who doesn't always match up because you've got a lot of parts of -- trend.

Lot of parts of theology that simply have to be slowly ingested.

And so does new media work with.

I think it does I think there's certain levels of engagement certainly across the new media world there is a very shallow atmosphere in many places but.

And many others there's much deeper engagement -- one of my favorite sites is.

All to communion dot com and know you'll find articles that are very lengthy -- even -- footnotes which is quite anomaly in the blogging world.

Get these articles -- hundreds of comments in deep discussion.

So there are people who are hungry for a certain level of -- and I think the church is more than capable of providing it.

Have a lot of things about the Catholics are -- suffering from is a lack of pew sitters and they don't get people coming into Massa mean desist.

Take away from the other business out a new church and -- -- people feel it.

They don't have to go to mouse and after pictures and I have to be part of a community.

I don't think the danger and now lies so much in the Catholic Church is it doesn't a lot of other Christian traditions.

And the Catholic Church would -- the central focus on the eucharist the beating presence of our church which we believe is Jesus actually president.

And so therefore that cannot be substituted through new media avenues you cannot.

For instance receive the eucharist or any of the other sacraments -- a digital medium.

And so I don't think it's in conflict with drawing people into church I do you think you can be used as a stimulus -- do you think the church can reach Al particularly to young people.

Through FaceBook and YouTube and blogs and Twitter.

And encourage them to come back home to come back to the church that welcomes them with open arms.

-- you know what good things in the forward Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston by the foreign talking about.

How his experiences at the world youth day.

In 2008.

Or really transformed.

Because on the blogging.

So what actually works -- and what really is the strongest tools of the blogging isn't the in -- to be in the YouTube stuff the Twitter the FaceBook what really kind and kind of homes it and.

I think all those are important and you kind of need to contextualize here and atmosphere and figure out where are the people -- I'm trying to reach act you know many of them of course are on FaceBook and -- -- are reading blogs.

But when we're -- we're using any of these calls the key to keep that key day sale keep in mind is that they're all grounded on dialogue and so at their best of the church needs to use these -- to Begin a conversation.

To Begin a give and take that adds a more human and relatable face on what can often be a distant in human institution.

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