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]

In my non-expert opinion there isn't a clear-cut answer but some simplification can be made by looking at claimed membership and recognition of that claimed membership.

For instance (I'm pulling this out of my ass btw) let's say there is an organized group of people who worship a supernatural entity called The Great Turnip. The Great Turnip dictates that its followers eat turnips daily and attend services in a garden weekly.

For simplicity sake, well call that The Turnip Religion and its members Turnipists.

Someone who follows the tenets and calls themselves a Turnipist will be considered by themselves and the Turnip Religion (and likely outsiders) to be a Turnipist.

Someone who follows the tenets and *doesn't* call themselves a Turnipist may not consider themselves a Turnipist but the Turnipist Religion (and likely outsiders) would likely call them a Turnipist and act accordingly.

Someone who eats turnips and guardens but who has never heard of the Great Turnip would *not* be considered a Turnipist by either themselves or the Turnip Religion (outsiders may have mixed reactions). The Turnip Religion will likely try to recruit such a heathen.

Someone who was born into a family of Turnipists but who doesn't call themselves a Turnipist (whether or not they eat turnips or garden) might be considered a Cultural Turnipist.

Someone who tears up the guarden and gets banned, likely would not be considered a member by the Turnipist Religion but might still consider themself a Turnipist (and outsiders might too).

So basically, it comes down to the question of claimed membership...

Did the individual claim to be a Turnipist?
Did the Turnip Religion recognize that person as a Turnipist?
Do outsiders label the person as a Turnipist by their actions and claims?

That venn diagram is not 100% overlapping.

Which is why it is so hard to answer your question. The answer, as far as I can tell, is "it depends on the involved parties (person/church/outsiders)".

Toss into that the fact that the First True and Righteous Church of Turnip which splintered off from the Turnip Religion doesn't recognize any of the Turnipists of TR as true Turnipists and doesn't recognize the Parsnip Religion as a religion at all.

Re: Hmmm

[sdemory.livejournal.com]

Here's my point, though... as far as I can see, someone who eats turnips and gardens weekly with a group of people is pretty much just like someone who eats rutabagas and gardens alone every ten days. They're all herbivorously growing and eating plants, and declaring one a "gardener" and one a "farmer" seems a little disingenuous.

Metaphor: I'll run with it!

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.

Re: Hmmm

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

Aside: This is likely to be VERY useful to you in understanding religion.

Re: Hmmm

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

That is perhaps the best description of "member of a religious sect" I've ever heard. Excellent illustration!

Re: Hmmm

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

Thanks.