Trend Story
By Kim Kirschenbaum

Jonathan Sigworth, 20, was on a school trip in India last year when his life changed forever. During a bike ride down one of Suri’s most dangerous roads, he hit a cluster of rocks and veered off a 50-foot cliff. Sigworth plunged headfirst, severing his spinal cord and suffering paralysis from his armpits down. But rather than allow his near-decapitation to ruin his life, he turned to online religion. He lamented the accident on Christian forums. He searched the internet for inspirational psalms.

“Since it was hard to get to and from Church, religious websites were a great alternative,” Sigworth said. “I was really able to express myself. I’m really glad I was able to use the Internet in this way during such a difficult period in my life.”

Sigworth is not alone. Many teens nationwide are increasingly using the Internet for religious purposes. Teen use of the Internet for spiritual or religious experience grew by 200 percent between 1998 and 2004, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion. The first findings from their survey indicate that the Web has become a key place of religious connection for a significant portion of U.S. adolescents.

Researchers have been trying to understand the trend. Andrew Careaga, author of “eMinistry: Connecting with the Net Generation,” said that teens are growing up in a world powered by the Internet. As the Internet continues to develop, teens can access information through new mediums, including online religious organizations, chat rooms and discussion boards. In this way, teens have modernized traditional religious institutions.

“All aspects of our lives revolve around the Internet,” Careaga said. “In this era, teens use the Web for every purpose, so it was only a matter of time before teens started using it for religious reasons. We’ve definitely gotten to that point, and I can only imagine that this trend will continue to grow.”

According to Dr. Christian Smith, NYSR principal investigator, 17 percent of teens visit religious websites several times each month or more often. Forty percent of those teens who say their faith is extremely important to them report using the Internet for religious purposes. Another 20 percent who describe their faith as very important also say they visit religious websites a few times each month.

Religious websites that target teens are steadily getting more visitors and participants. For example, Harvest.org, the Harvest Christian Fellowship’s Website, has seen a 20 percent increase in visitors each month during the past four years. Church officials estimate that half are young people.

Religious leaders such as youth pastors are heading this trend as they embrace the Internet movement. They chat with students over AOL Instant Messenger and create MySpace profiles, according to the Barna Research Group. ZJAM Youth Ministries started out as a radio network. ZJAM.com is now a site for troubled teens. The site has helped many Christian youth build their spirituality with interactive online Bible courses, said Bill Scott, president of ZJAM Youth Ministries.

“I am truly blessed by the fact that so many teens are getting in touch with religion in this way,” said Dick Helms, co-founder and senior pastor of ChristRing Ministries. He says it is the oldest online church ministry on the Internet. “Teens who were once reluctant to make the trip to church now don’t necessarily have to do that. They can just log onto the Web. It’s a great outlet for this generation.”

Christianity is not the only religion associated with the Internet. Judaism has joined this growing movement. Recognizing the Internet’s potential, United Jewish Communities recently established FedWeb, a site that links 189 member federations and 400 independent communities. Joelle Berman, senior editor for Jewish Family and Life! magazine, said that the Internet allows Jewish teens to become more well-read on matters of faith.

“I think that the Internet is a great resource, if used properly,” said Tammy Ween, youth director of Temple Emanu-El in Closter, New Jersey. “It can definitely be used to enhance teens’ understanding of their religion.”

Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam has gathered influence on the Internet. The website organization Sound Vision has a teen webpage that mainly serves to inform teens about Islamic ideals. Among numerous topics, it covers prom discussions, career planning and parental guidance.

“We started this website about 18 years ago, but it’s still growing as the Internet develops,” said Malik Mujahid, president and director of Sound Vision. “We’re trying to teach teens how to connect with their heritage and express themselves.”

Not everyone is a proponent of Internet-based religion. Some believe that the Internet’s vast resources make it difficult to differentiate fact from fiction. According to the NYSR, teens are likely to encounter faulty information when learning about religion online. When the word “G-D” is typed at Alta Vista, for example, the search engine lists 4,538,970 pages. The problem is finding those manageable, quality links.

“There is a lot of information on the Web and one of the hardest things is for students to be able to sift through the abundance of information and decide what is legitimate versus what is a hoax,” said Beth Knobbe, campus minister at the Sheil Catholic Center in Evanston.

Critics also argue that the Internet is a poor surrogate for physical attendance at a place of worship. They believe that it is a sign of indolence and irreverence to religion. According to the NSYR, 16 percent of teens say that the Internet will substitute for their current church-based religious experience in the next five years.

“The point of going to church is that you’re taking time off from other things in order to pray,” said John Rhee, 17, of Tenafly, New Jersey. “I’m against using the Internet for that reason. I don’t think the Internet is a good substitute.”

Erica L. Brown, assistant university chaplain of the Alice Millar Chapel, agrees. “The feeling of community is not the same on the Internet as when you walk into a church and physically worship together.”

But according to a study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University researchers, the Internet has not made teens less involved in their offline religious lives. More than 65 percent of teens said they are just as involved in church and other religious activities since engaging in Web-based religion. More than half of respondents in a Carnegie Mellon University study said that the Internet has made them more confident in their beliefs.

“I was going through a really difficult period in my life when I was making the transition from the Catholic Church to the United Methodist Church,” said Justin Mann, 17, of Tenafly, NJ. “But I met some really great people online who made me feel confident about my decision.”

Sigworth and his mother, Vicky, who is Connecticut’s former Youth for Christ director, will become active contributors to the growing trend. They will be designing an online ministry where people of all faiths can converse.

“Because of Jonathan’s accident, we discovered that all evil can be transformed into good,” said Vicky. “We’re going to use the Internet to send that message to people. Through the Internet, there’s so much that teens can learn from each other.