Religion and Social Networking

[mckitterick]

Over on Facebook, I got myself involved in a debate on religion. I know, I know; I should know better. But it's fun, y'know? Anyhow, what prompted the debate was this article on the BBC about how relgions go extinct. Good stuff.

Anyhow, it got me thinking about my interactions there and over here, and I'm curious about my friends' religious beliefs. Am I just living in an insulated bubble as described in that article, or are those national polls on religion just manipulated? So, a poll!

Here it is, a Google Docs poll so anyone can use it: Are you religious? What social networking tools do you use?

Thanks!
Chris

Comments

Re: Hmmm

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

Yes, it would. The key part of your comment is this: "as far as I can see".

In my metaphor, you are the outsider. What you see and what criteria you draw from your observations may or may not be everything that the Turnipist or Turnip Religion sees as important and defining.

Applying "objective" criteria to a subjective system... is messy at best. When approaching the topic you have to consider what values are used in determining the criteria (ie works vs faith) and what assumptions are being made, such as the assumption that there is one universally recognized set of criteria (ie "There is, and it's mine!").

Different groups come up with different ways to approach that determination. Census groups, for instance, have decided that self-identification is the defining characteristic (ie Did the individual claim to be a Turnipist?). This utterly ignores what the Turnip Religion thinks, what outsiders think, and what the self-proclaimed Turnipist does or believes.

Your comment here makes the assumption that people who do the same things (ie eat turnip and garden) are in the same group. They may or may not be. Depends on what criteria is used.

Perspective matters. It will heavily influence the answer you get and the criteria used. Religion is a heavily subjective system and not ISO complient.