Identity Online

Within the past decade or so, the internet has become a mainstream entity. Most people know what the internet is, and the majority of the population (at least in America) have access to the internet. In Mia Lovheim’s article, Identity, an article on religious identity and the internet, we are told that identity is “the process where an individual develops the capacity to grasp the meaning of situations in everyday life and their own position in relation to them”, and that through this process the individual creates a “personal identity or self”. There is so much information on the internet, all catering to seekers of different identities, ranging from those who want to learn more about their faith all the way to those who want to learn more about the stock market. Information can be found on the internet about pretty much anything. What is a bit disturbing however, is that pretty much anyone can put anything on the internet. So how does this play out within the context of religious spheres, particularly Christianity? What happens when a young Christian, eager to know more about some doctrinal belief of Christianity, logs onto the internet and seeks out information? If he is a part of an offline Christian community, he will more than likely have already been indoctrinated to some degree, but what is to keep him from researching certain doctrines for himself and deciding what he will believe? In a sense his beliefs and his identity as a Christian could be constructed not by what the local clergy tells him, but by whatever he finds to be the most appealing and compelling beliefs that he finds online. One brief example of this is the use of Twitter as almost a small, online seminary. An individual can follow whomever they want on Twitter, pastor after pastor, even if their doctrines are completely misaligned. For example, here are links to two very well known pastors’ Twitter accounts: https://twitter.com/#!/JoelOsteen (Joel Olsteen) and https://twitter.com/#!/JohnPiper (John Piper). Both of these pastors are well known within the evangelical Christian circles of today, but they teach very different messages at times concerning what the gospel is and how a Christian should live. The danger in this for the Christian is that there are a lot of false doctrines floating around online, false meaning that they do not line up with the whole of Scripture and the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The clergy at the local offline church can do their best to “shepherd their flock” away from these false doctrine, but ultimately an individual can construct their own religious identity through the mass of information available on the internet. So, to answer the question “Does digital media strengthen or weaken individual's ability to construct or perform their religious identity?”: I would say digital media strengthens the individual’s ability to construct or perform their religious identity. Ultimately, this is seen in the offline context of churches, too. People pick and choose which doctrine they will belief in and thus identify themselves with. However, with the internet, there is a lot more information being offered that is quickly and easily accessible, and usually is displayed in a very convincing manner by an “expert” in that area.