Tuesday, February 23, 2010
"Thou Shalt Blog"
While I was looking at madison.com tonight I found the article, "Thou Shalt Blog: Madison-area religious leaders go high-tech." It is about local religious leaders who are using blogs to reach out to their followers. The article highlights those who use and don't use blogs. I found the different points of view interesting.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think it's a great idea for religious leaders to blog. I'm not a very religious person, but in past church services that I've attended I've often wondered what spurs certain sermons, and I've never felt comfortable enough to go up to the pastor after the service to ask. I think that a blog would be a great place to ask these type of questions as well as any other religious inquiries and to get feedback from religious leaders as well as anyone else who wants to comment and give advice. Religion can be intimidating and a blog gives off a laid back, open vibe that would invite anyone who has the desire to become religiously engaged.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dana. I've never really thought of blogs being a tool for pastors and other religious figures, but it makes sense. For the most part, blogs are anonymous and are a great space for people who questions their faith to ask uncomfortable questions and receive direct feedback from religious leaders. This was a great article and, for the first time, it really got me thinking about the impact of social media on religion.
ReplyDeleteA couple years ago, members of the Mormon church were asked by religious leaders to create blogs as a way to spread their beliefs, and, more generally, write about their lives (pardon my excessive knowledge on Mormon blogs -- my cousins are Mormon and thus I know more than I ever should about this!). Almost overnight, the number of Mormons with blogs EXPLODED.
ReplyDeleteWhile these blogs aren't run by religious leaders, they do create a place for people to post about their religious beliefs, favorite religious articles, particularly motivating talks, etc, etc. Overall, blogging has had a great affect on the (oftentimes poor) perception of the Mormon church. I definitely agree that blogs run by religious leaders would have a positive affect, perhaps similar to the impression that Mormon blogs have had.