SPIRITUALITY: The "Infinite" Internet

Online religious material is more in demand than online banking, stock-trading, or e-Bay auctions. About 25 percent of Web users regularly look for religious or spiritual information and the Internet is being used by congregations of all types to strengthen the faith and spiritual growth of their members. In late 2001, Pope John Paul II himself opted for the Web instead of a trip across several time zones.

Congregational use of e-mail has become a binding element for many faithful. In 90 percent of "wired" churches, religious leaders use e-mail to communicate with members who also exchange e-mail among themselves for fellowship purposes.

Just as the printing press drove the Renaissance and the Reformation, the Web will lead to a transfiguration of belief. With the printed word, the need to hear scripture read or preached about was called into question. Holy book in hand, literate people no longer had to rely on Rome to tell them what the scripture meant. They made up their own minds. Today, we can almost become a church unto ourselves and customize our belief. The Web is becoming hallowed ground; it offers people the best-connected place where they can explore and satisfy their spiritual needs.

The "always-on" Web will become a cosmic cathedral of communion and community congregation. In turn, the home will again become the main spiritual hearth, providing comfort and meaning in a vastly-changed outside world.