God 2.0 is now entertaining at a place near you.

This blog post is inspired by and a response to the blog post God or Google: Media Technology Modern Day Replacement for Religion? For the purpose of this blog-post when I refer to ‘religion’, I am referring to Christian beliefs and followers. I also agree that new media amongst many other factors, are increasingly replacing the need for religion to a certain extent. Instead of ultimately replacing religion, there is an apparent shift in numerous Evangelical or New Age Churches that attempt to adapt traditional rituals to contemporary society and new media technology. I recently went with a friend to her New Age Church to see what it was like and the ‘sermon’ had been transformed into an extravagant rock-concert. Much money and time had been spent on high-end production equipment and state-of-the-arc technology to create a multi-faceted media experience that ironically seems to defeat the entire purpose of helping those in need. From the elaborate venue with synchronized lighting and music, live professional video cameras and audio equipment, giant LCD and projector screens to free give-away DVDs for newcomers; it was a drastic change from the traditional notion of tediously attending the dreaded Sunday masses as a child. This is one of the introductory videos that we were shown at the service, which uncannily resembles a theatrical movie trailer.

Although web 2.0 media on the internet idealistically promotes a democratic forum of speech that encourages a sense of individualism, there co-exists the desire for belonging and communal activity. In one of the readings in another course, Cass Sunstein discusses in Republic.com 2.0 the notion of polarization and cyber-cascades in relation to group behavior within different forums on the internet. Shared group debates or discussions within online forums formulate, strengthen or reaffirm one’s current beliefs and values about a particular subject. For enthused Church-goers or the curious wanting to find answers, the World Wide Web is a haven away from haven providing one with like-minded individuals who may share the similar views and interests. By utilizing popular social media sites the Churches attempt to 'spread the good news' on a global scale that will appeal to anyone with access to the internet and specifically young people. The Church I visited had their own official website, Facebook page, YouTube Channel, Twitter account, Wikipedia and so on. The popularity of such sites, including God.com, GodTube and the endless number of other interactive religious related pages only reinforce how the entertaining and updated version of God is here to stay.