In an age where technological progress often overshadows faith, the Internet is emerging as a global pulpit for millions of believers. Buddhists seek enlightenment in online sanghas at BuddhaNet, asking for insight to the meaning of life. Jews turn to thewall.org to type out messages, which students of Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem print out and place in the Western Wall. Like the corporate world, the religious world has embraced the global network as a means of marketing its views and expanding its base. While the Internet is the most modern way to save souls, it also is accelerating a global trend that challenges traditional religious authority.
Interpretation becomes personal, and cyberspace a smorgasbord of rules and beliefs.
Some religious leaders say they must adapt to this reality or risk losing touch with their future flock. They note that a new generation of believers' attitudes is being molded by new media. A small but growing number of youngsters are turning to the Net for their religious input, according to a recent survey by Ventura-based Barna Research Group. By democratizing religion, our beliefs are being changed at a fundamental level. When the World Wide Web lured business entrepreneurs to the global medium in the early '90s, theological figures weren't far behind.