The last generation for church buildings?

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The last generation for church buildings?

OXNARD, Calif. (EP) -- Someday you may explain to your grandchildren that in the old days people who wanted a religious experience would attend a church building. A new study suggests that your grandchildren may be shocked by that revelation.

A recent survey of American teenagers by the Barna Research Group underscores the increasing use of the Internet for religious purposes among young people. Currently, 4% use the Internet for religious or spiritual experiences. Although that represents only a modest gain from a year earlier, a more revealing insight concerned teen expectations for the future. One out of six teens (16%) say that within the next five years they expect to use the Internet as a substitute for their current
church-based religious experience.

Significantly, this notion is most common among teenagers who currently attend church regularly. African-American teens are four times more likely than white teens to expect to rely on the Internet for their future religious experience (31% vs. 8%, respectively).

While that may seem outrageous, a recent Barna Research survey of adults finds that 12% of the adult population is already using the Internet for religious purposes. The most common of those purposes is to interact with others through chat rooms or e-mail about religious ideas, beliefs or experiences. That use represents about 25 million adults who rely upon the Internet for religious expression at least monthly.

Not surprisingly, there's a clear generational bias in "cyberfaith."

Younger adults are more likely to turn to the Internet for religion.

Overall, 17% of Baby Busters (ages 18 to 32) use the Net this way,

compared to 11% of Boomers (ages 33 to 51),

8% of Builders (ages 52 to 70) and

just 4% of Seniors (71 or older).

An unexpected outcome is the finding that

nonwhite adults are 60% more likely to use the Internet for faith matters than white adults (16% versus 10%, respectively).

Also, non-Christians are nearly as likely as Christians to seek spiritual input through the Internet (10% versus 14%).

The survey of teens showed that 60% use the Internet, although that usage is irregular. Only 9% of American teens use the Internet every day; and just one-third use it every week.

The teenage segments most likely to use the Internet are

boys;

the youngest teens (13 and 14 years old);

whites;

"A" students;

those who are perceived by their peers to be leaders; and

born-again Christians.

Religion is currently one of the least common uses of the Internet by teenagers. The most common uses include

finding information (93% use the Internet for this purpose);

checking out new music or video releases (56%);

participating in a chat room or other online discussion (51%);

making new friends (34%);

playing video games (33%); and

keeping up existing relationships (28%).

Comparatively few teens use the Internet to buy products (7%).

George Barna, president of the company conducting the surveys, explains, "Our research indicates that by 2010 we will probably have 10% to 20% of the population relying primarily or exclusively upon the Internet for its religious input. Those people will never set foot on a church campus because their religious and spiritual needs will be met through other means -- including the Internet. Whether or not the cyberchurch is a 'true' church may not be as pressing an issue as what current church leaders will do about the inevitable gravitation of tens of millions of people away from the existing church and how they can help to shape this emerging church form."

Barna continues, "The discomfort of today's church leaders with the cyberchurch is not surprising. When Willow Creek Community Church popularized the "seeker church" format in the late '70s and early '80s, the mainstream of the church community rejected the approach as an invalid and nonviable form of church, an inauthentic expression of biblical faith. The cyberchurch will receive the same treatment from today's church leaders."

Barna also points out that the proportion of young people currently using the Internet for faith purposes is underestimated. "A large proportion of teenagers use the Internet for conversation with others. A substantial number of cyber-chatters engage in dialogue related to faith, spirituality, religion, meaning and truth -- the very types of conversations that are often initiated or fostered by churches. Teens don't think of those conversations as religious expression, but the sense of community and the spiritual beliefs fostered by such dialogue on spiritual matters is identical to what the traditional church seeks to create within its congregation."

The survey shows that teenage groups use the Internet for various purposes.

The teenagers least likely to use the Internet to get information are students with the lowest grades.

Those most likely to participate in chat rooms include

13 and 14-year olds;

teens in the Northeast;

students with a "C" or "D" grade average;

political liberals;

non-Christians;

those perceived by their peers to be leaders; and

kids involved in at-risk behaviors
(e.g.

	getting drunk,
	using drugs,
	sexual intercourse,
	stealing).

Using the Internet to make new friends is most common
among

	girls;
	non-whites;
	teens in the Northeast;
	those who do not describe themselves as "religious";
	those who say they are "physically attractive"; and
	those perceived to be leaders.

Religious experiences are sought on-line most often by

	teenagers in the Northeast;
	blacks; and
	born again Christians.

Barna notes, "This new research supports our contention that the structure of the American church is already undergoing radical change. If you add up the proportion of people who will call the cyberchurch their 'church home,' those who will align with an independent house church and individuals who will be steadfastly unchurched, within the next 15 years a majority of Americans will be completely isolated from the traditional church format."

Barna concludes, "Some of the new forms of the church allow for greater diversity of audience and faith expression. However, because of their independence from any forms of spiritual accountability, they also open the door for rampant theological heresy.

The biggest question facing current Christian leaders is not how to stop the development of the new forms of the church; such efforts would not succeed and could merely ignite the growth of those forms. Rather, the challenge is to determine how to ensure that those forms are tuned in to the foundational theology and principles that reflect the basis of the existing church."

The study is based on data collected in two national telephone surveys: one of 620 teens, the other of 1006 adults. Sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points for the teen survey and plus or minus three percentage points for the adult survey, at the 95% confidence level.

(Source: Evangelical Press News Service; for subscription information,
call 612-941-1605, fax 612-941-3010 or E-mail: editor@epnews.com)

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