Brandon Vogt
Marshall McLuhan, a 1960s media prophet, was one of the first to predict how digital technology shapes culture. Decades before the Internet became mainstream, McLuhan warned of the unintended effects brought by each new communication tool. His still-famous phrase “the medium is the message” summarizes his thoughts by pointing out that a particular medium shapes a message more than the content it carries.
For example, McLuhan, a late convert to Catholicism, would affirm that a sermon delivered through radio, through television, through a blog, and through YouTube would be received in drastically different ways. The radio sermon would be listened to with sustained attention, the television sermon would be viewed as entertainment, the blog sermon would be shallowly skimmed, and the YouTube sermon would be gauged by its visual and emotional effects.
Many Christians operate out of the belief that we can “communicate the same message through new means.” They assume what McLuhan adamantly denied, that communication mediums can be neutral. For better or worse, however, new media conditions whatever the Church shares through these technologies; how we think, relate, speak, read, worship, and pray are all influenced by these tools and the culture they create.
What does the future hold for the Church and new media? There will certainly be many negative trends, but here are three positive ones to look out for in the coming years:
Springtime of Evangelization
No great evangelists of the past two millennia could have conceived that within minutes they could have their messages beamed to billions of people across the world, cheaply and easily. St. Paul, the early Church Fathers, St. Francis Xavier, and Archbishop Fulton Sheen each would have given their right arm for access to our new media.
This technical ability has, in many secular spheres, birthed a “springtime” of evangelization. People who would never consider setting foot in a church are dialoguing with priests on YouTube. Streaming videos and alluring websites encouraging inactive Catholics to return to the Church have already produced staggering results. And new media is connecting the Church with many difficult-to-reach groups: youth, young adults, the elderly and homebound, and those living in remote locations.
Young people, in particular, are often considered the most difficult demographic for the Church to evangelize. Yet over 96% of young adults have joined a social network, providing the perfect arena for the Church to meet them. Outside of new media, there has hardly been a more powerful evangelistic tool to reach young people.
Also, though many see the internet’s anonymity as a detriment, it can be beneficial. Back in the twentieth century, radio and television allowed Archbishop Fulton Sheen to reach a myriad of people who would never darken the doors of a church. The shows allowed these seekers to engage Catholicism in the privacy of their own homes, avoiding public embarrassment or critique.
Our modern new media provides this same dynamic of evangelizing through anonymity. People uneasy about religion feel comfortable exploring Christianity behind the safety of their computer screens.
The Church does advise, however, that true witness is always personal; that online evangelism should optimally lead to personal dialogue and relationship. Properly termed, then, this New media outreach is more “pre-evangelization” than “evangelization, “ but it does provide a monumental first step through doors — and screens — that have long been closed to religion.
Rise in Church Dialogue
Imagine a bishop responding to tweets from people in his diocese, or a priest using Facebook to discuss his Sunday homily. This type of online interaction between clergy and laypeople isn’t too much of a stretch. In fact, it is already happening in many places (follow @bishopcoyne [1] to see what I mean). New media is already breathing fresh life into communications between Church leaders and laypeople.
One major theme throughout the Church’s teachings on media is the value of dialogue. In recent centuries, numerous Church leaders have explained that the Church must be in constant conversation with the world, including both Catholics and non-Catholics. By its very nature, this conversation can’t be one-sided; it must be an authentic, two-way connection.
Traditionally, Church leaders have communicated through homilies, personal letters, and episcopal statements. Today, however, the digital world expects to respond and engage with those speaking with them. Instead of passively receiving information, online Catholics want to discuss it.
Admittedly, dialogue brings a couple of dangers. The first is that it potentially flattens structures of authority. It can promote an egalitarian state where the authority of ordained leaders is not always honored. For instance, if bishops, the legitimate shepherds of the Church, dialogue through new media, they run the risk of their voice becoming just “one of many.”
Also, online religious dialogue often evokes detractors. As Father Robert Barron attests through his many interactions on YouTube, the large majority of commenters and questioners are anti-authority, anti-religious, or anti-Catholic (or all three). Instead of worrying whether detractors will arise, however, Catholics should assume they will, and then prudently decide how to best engage them. What they shouldn’t do is let the fear of detraction prevent any type of discussion.
If dialogue is practiced in full awareness of these dangers, it can flourish. It’s at the heart of growth and community, both secular—see Socrates—and religious— see Jesus. Discussion gives the Church a human element, revealing her to be a living organism rather than a static institution.
Through prudent new media dialogue, leaders can help others develop a closer relationship to the Church, and therefore to Christ.
New media users will experience what two travelers found almost 2,000 years ago: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15).
Fresh Wave of Religious Vocations
Today, when someone researches a particular company, the first place they turn is the internet. Likewise, when a Catholic is trying to find a local parish, many look online, gauging a parish simply by its website.
So it should come as no surprise that for many people discerning religious vocations, the internet plays a big role. A recent survey revealed that over 90% of those discerning a religious vocation said their inquiries were aided by the internet. That same survey showed that a religious community’s website was more essential than vocation directors, parish priests, parents, or friends when gathering vocational information. Simply put, the first place many people turn in their discernment process is not to a spiritual director but to Google.
Why is this? One reason is new media’s anonymity, as mentioned before. It allows users to comfortably explore things they would normally be hesitant to approach. A young woman might be uneasy about visiting a convent or committing to a discernment retreat, but in the comfort of her home she feels free to explore the characteristics of different religious orders.
Vocation Match (www.vocationmatch.com [2]) is one example of this in action. The site asks visitors a set of questions regarding personality type, living conditions, prayer styles, and hobbies, and then uses the answers to suggest compatible religious organizations. Other sites, like For Your Vocation (www.foryourvocation.org [3]), similarly use new media to aid those discerning their vocation.
Dioceses wondering how to use technology in this regard can imitate the successes of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Since the diocese began a vocational outreach page on Facebook [4], its number of seminarians has doubled.
Finally, religious orders that have embraced new media can expect a rise in interest. For example, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Paulist Fathers, and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus are all examples of religious orders with a strong New media presence—and a growing number of vocations. Just as young people in the past were energized by the thrill of missionary work, so these orders offer the chance to reach the world, albeit through new media.
Vocations won’t increase solely because a diocese or religious order has an attractive website or is active on Facebook. But new media can act as a vocational catalyst.
Adapted from The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet [5] (Our Sunday Visitor, 2011)
For example, McLuhan, a late convert to Catholicism, would affirm that a sermon delivered through radio, through television, through a blog, and through YouTube would be received in drastically different ways. The radio sermon would be listened to with sustained attention, the television sermon would be viewed as entertainment, the blog sermon would be shallowly skimmed, and the YouTube sermon would be gauged by its visual and emotional effects.
Many Christians operate out of the belief that we can “communicate the same message through new means.” They assume what McLuhan adamantly denied, that communication mediums can be neutral. For better or worse, however, new media conditions whatever the Church shares through these technologies; how we think, relate, speak, read, worship, and pray are all influenced by these tools and the culture they create.
What does the future hold for the Church and new media? There will certainly be many negative trends, but here are three positive ones to look out for in the coming years:
Springtime of Evangelization
No great evangelists of the past two millennia could have conceived that within minutes they could have their messages beamed to billions of people across the world, cheaply and easily. St. Paul, the early Church Fathers, St. Francis Xavier, and Archbishop Fulton Sheen each would have given their right arm for access to our new media.
This technical ability has, in many secular spheres, birthed a “springtime” of evangelization. People who would never consider setting foot in a church are dialoguing with priests on YouTube. Streaming videos and alluring websites encouraging inactive Catholics to return to the Church have already produced staggering results. And new media is connecting the Church with many difficult-to-reach groups: youth, young adults, the elderly and homebound, and those living in remote locations.
Young people, in particular, are often considered the most difficult demographic for the Church to evangelize. Yet over 96% of young adults have joined a social network, providing the perfect arena for the Church to meet them. Outside of new media, there has hardly been a more powerful evangelistic tool to reach young people.
Also, though many see the internet’s anonymity as a detriment, it can be beneficial. Back in the twentieth century, radio and television allowed Archbishop Fulton Sheen to reach a myriad of people who would never darken the doors of a church. The shows allowed these seekers to engage Catholicism in the privacy of their own homes, avoiding public embarrassment or critique.
Our modern new media provides this same dynamic of evangelizing through anonymity. People uneasy about religion feel comfortable exploring Christianity behind the safety of their computer screens.
The Church does advise, however, that true witness is always personal; that online evangelism should optimally lead to personal dialogue and relationship. Properly termed, then, this New media outreach is more “pre-evangelization” than “evangelization, “ but it does provide a monumental first step through doors — and screens — that have long been closed to religion.
Rise in Church Dialogue
Imagine a bishop responding to tweets from people in his diocese, or a priest using Facebook to discuss his Sunday homily. This type of online interaction between clergy and laypeople isn’t too much of a stretch. In fact, it is already happening in many places (follow @bishopcoyne [1] to see what I mean). New media is already breathing fresh life into communications between Church leaders and laypeople.
One major theme throughout the Church’s teachings on media is the value of dialogue. In recent centuries, numerous Church leaders have explained that the Church must be in constant conversation with the world, including both Catholics and non-Catholics. By its very nature, this conversation can’t be one-sided; it must be an authentic, two-way connection.
Traditionally, Church leaders have communicated through homilies, personal letters, and episcopal statements. Today, however, the digital world expects to respond and engage with those speaking with them. Instead of passively receiving information, online Catholics want to discuss it.
Admittedly, dialogue brings a couple of dangers. The first is that it potentially flattens structures of authority. It can promote an egalitarian state where the authority of ordained leaders is not always honored. For instance, if bishops, the legitimate shepherds of the Church, dialogue through new media, they run the risk of their voice becoming just “one of many.”
Also, online religious dialogue often evokes detractors. As Father Robert Barron attests through his many interactions on YouTube, the large majority of commenters and questioners are anti-authority, anti-religious, or anti-Catholic (or all three). Instead of worrying whether detractors will arise, however, Catholics should assume they will, and then prudently decide how to best engage them. What they shouldn’t do is let the fear of detraction prevent any type of discussion.
If dialogue is practiced in full awareness of these dangers, it can flourish. It’s at the heart of growth and community, both secular—see Socrates—and religious— see Jesus. Discussion gives the Church a human element, revealing her to be a living organism rather than a static institution.
Through prudent new media dialogue, leaders can help others develop a closer relationship to the Church, and therefore to Christ.
New media users will experience what two travelers found almost 2,000 years ago: “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them” (Luke 24:15).
Fresh Wave of Religious Vocations
Today, when someone researches a particular company, the first place they turn is the internet. Likewise, when a Catholic is trying to find a local parish, many look online, gauging a parish simply by its website.
So it should come as no surprise that for many people discerning religious vocations, the internet plays a big role. A recent survey revealed that over 90% of those discerning a religious vocation said their inquiries were aided by the internet. That same survey showed that a religious community’s website was more essential than vocation directors, parish priests, parents, or friends when gathering vocational information. Simply put, the first place many people turn in their discernment process is not to a spiritual director but to Google.
Why is this? One reason is new media’s anonymity, as mentioned before. It allows users to comfortably explore things they would normally be hesitant to approach. A young woman might be uneasy about visiting a convent or committing to a discernment retreat, but in the comfort of her home she feels free to explore the characteristics of different religious orders.
Vocation Match (www.vocationmatch.com [2]) is one example of this in action. The site asks visitors a set of questions regarding personality type, living conditions, prayer styles, and hobbies, and then uses the answers to suggest compatible religious organizations. Other sites, like For Your Vocation (www.foryourvocation.org [3]), similarly use new media to aid those discerning their vocation.
Dioceses wondering how to use technology in this regard can imitate the successes of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Since the diocese began a vocational outreach page on Facebook [4], its number of seminarians has doubled.
Finally, religious orders that have embraced new media can expect a rise in interest. For example, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Paulist Fathers, and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus are all examples of religious orders with a strong New media presence—and a growing number of vocations. Just as young people in the past were energized by the thrill of missionary work, so these orders offer the chance to reach the world, albeit through new media.
Vocations won’t increase solely because a diocese or religious order has an attractive website or is active on Facebook. But new media can act as a vocational catalyst.
Adapted from The Church and New Media: Blogging Converts, Online Activists, and Bishops Who Tweet [5] (Our Sunday Visitor, 2011)
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