W2 Reading

Rethinking Cyberreligion?

Teens, Religion and the Internet in Sweden

By: Mia Lovheim

The author, Mia Lovheim, discusses the significance of Internet in religion. Sweden has seen a decrease in church attendance and increase in online accessibility. As a result, Lovheim has decided to study the impact that broadband internet accessibility for over 90% of youth has on their religious beliefs, values, and desire to be religious. The study showed that most individuals did not use the internet for religious purposes, but those that did used search sites to find the information they were looking for rather than specific religious sites. It also showed that individuals who were not already plugged into a religious group outside of the Internet were very unlikely to view religious sites. The study concluded that the Internet was more likely to be another resource for those already involved in religious activities rather than another avenue for non-religious individuals to find a religious group to belong to.

What Difference Does Youth Group Make? A Longitudinal Analysis of Religious Youth Group Participation Outcomes

By: Patricia Snell

Patricia Snell examines data taken from two different phone surveys of youth to determine the effect of youth group participation on moral obligations. She stated that most youth organizations have similar mission statements that include improved moral decision making and relationships with God after leaving the youth group. Upon examining the longitudinal data, Snell determined that many of the positive factors such as morality, desire to continue attending church, and interest in church services, increased upon attending youth group. Her data analysis included consideration of demographics, denomination, culture, race, and economic status. Two negative factors seemed to increase upon attending youth group: lying to parents and keeping secrets from parents.

TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION AND LEARNING IN ON-LINE THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION. PART I: CONCEPTS AND CONCERNS

By: MARK H. HEINEMANN

Heinemann looks into the student-teacher relationship and how it is affected by online education. In his research he discovered that many online students are adults that are already self-directed learners. As a result, the comparison between online learning and face-to-face learning is somewhat compromised. He noted that one of the greatest reasons individuals choose online learning is for convenience and that asynchronous learning tends to allow for greater higher order thinking due to the ability to self-control and self-pace one’s own learning. With regards to social interactions, Heinemann noted that interpersonal issues were more common due to lack of social cues but that some interpersonal relationships could be strengthened via online interactions more so than face-to-face interactions. Heinemann’s research concluded that the one thing that seemed to enhance learning and communication the most in online classes was instructor participation and feedback.

A Question of Capacity: Can Adolescents Practice Discernment?

By: Sharon G. Ketcham

Sharon Ketham presented a very deep and rather complex argument on the ability of youth to be able to gain actual understanding of theological ideas. She utilized resources from author David White and Robert Kegan’s theory of development. In her analysis of the aforementioned experts, she determined that adolescents are often being asked to use higher order thinking skills they have not yet acquired. Youth programs are being developed with the goal of transformation in mind yet they are not adequately allowing students to be one with God where they currently are. The result of this is the placement of youth in the Christian adulthood waiting room. Youth programs work to help these youth transform into adult Christians but do not use questioning and transformative experiences that are appropriate for adolescent capacity. She concluded that youth ministers needed to be trained to better understand where youth discernment levels are so they can better work with young adults in Christian ministry.

picture by: David Paul Ohmer, "San Francisco's Washington Square - St. Peter and Paul Cross", June 28, 2008 via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution