Belief Systems on the Internet

Since its birth, the internet has served to put all sorts of information at our fingertips. You no longer have to go to the library to read about the history of ancient Mesopotamia. You no longer have to pick up a newspaper to find out which celebrity has insulted someone. You no longer have to know someone to find out what sort of things they like. You no longer have to study explosives to learn how to make a bomb. Obviously, some of these things are good while others are not so good. The internet provides us with information we might not have access to otherwise and it provides this information in a very convenient manner. However there is no control over what is available.

Because of the internet, you no longer have to seek out members of a religious community to learn about their beliefs and practices. Anyone can sit down and type the name of the religion they are curious about into a search engine and get literally thousands of hits returned. Anything you might want to know is at your fingertips, which is good if you're looking for that information simply to become a better educated, better-rounded person. Unfortunately, this is not everyone's goal. Some people choose to follow a religion simply for its uniqueness or its shock value without truly learning about it or understanding it. The internet allows these people to find enough information about the religion they choose to pass themselves off as a follower while doing nothing to prevent them reflecting poorly on the religion as a whole through both their attitudes and actions which may not actually be endorsed by the religion. Someone could also, having discovered a religion on the internet, misinterpret parts of the belief system. Depending on the religion, the person might never meet someone else who follows it. This person could influence other people's views of the religion without ever really understanding it themselves.

Another major problem with the vast amount of information about belief systems on the internet is that it is impossible to know who actually wrote most of it. There are a fair number of people who know a fair amount about computers, so it is possible that even the best looking sites could have been put up two nights by a bored high school student in some little bump on the wall town with the spiritual knowledge of a small pebble. Maybe the author is an expert on their topic or at least did some research before launching his or her website, but there's no way to know. You could try to confirm the validity of the information given by comparing it to information on other websites, but when so many websites cite other websites for their content, just how reliable a form of verification is this? Even if the author of the website meant well and only intended to provide true, unbiased information about the belief system, there is no guarantee that they have not misunderstood or misrepresented key concepts. Even if it is an honest mistake, inaccurate information can create and perpetuate stereotypes, making it harder for other people to accept the correct information about the belief system when they encounter it or affecting the way they think of and act toward proponents of that religion.

Finally, having instant access to all sorts of information about all sorts of religions allows people to take any aspects of different religions and put them together to make their own personal belief systems. People actually do this. This serves to undermine the value of the teachings of each individual religion. By mixing religious doctrines, a person does have to accept any one of them as completely valid. With the melding of belief systems, as with the mixing of cultures, we approach a more unified culture, perhaps even one day a global culture. The issue is that by mixing cultures or beliefs, we all lose our identity, becoming indistinct members of a common society. The massive exchange of beliefs on the internet enables this.

However, the exchange of beliefs on the internet did not create this phenomenon. It has only served to magnify by making vast amounts of information easily accessible to the average person. I think, were you to decide you wanted to learn about various belief systems, that you would find that the information is readily available offline as well as online. There are plenty of books about the spiritual beliefs and practices of different cultures. I would only take a trip to your local library to find a lot of the same information the internet so casually provides. Even without books, information about belief systems is not hard to get, at least not if you know someone who follows the religion you wish to learn about. In my experience, most people are more than willing to share their ideas and beliefs, sometimes even if you don't ask for them. The internet, then, cannot be blamed for causing the melding of belief systems by providing such massive quantities of information. The same information is available elsewhere.

Furthermore, I am not convinced that sharing beliefs or even mixing them is necessarily a bad thing. Does combining ideals really cause us to lose our identities, or does it perhaps help us find our identities? By taking aspects from different belief systems, a person can develop the system that means the most to them as an individual. They don't have to force their personal beliefs into the mold of one of the major established religions. Certainly there are many religions one could choose from, but the number of established religions dwarfs in comparison to the number of different interpretations of life held by all members of humanity.

By learning about belief systems over the internet, one may never actually have to interact with the people who hold or follow those beliefs. Depending on the religion and where one lives, the chance may never be available. Therefore there is a good chance that, should you chose to follow such a less-common path, you will be doing so without the input of teachers, community leaders, or peers. On one hand, a lot can be learned through interactions with others in a faith community. A person can receive unique insight from community leaders or may simply learn where to go to find a nice color of candle. Leaders or elders are undoubtedly helpful in both these regards. This is one aspect in which the internet can be quite helpful, especially to followers of less prevalent religions. Internet groups can substitute for a nonexistent religious community in a person's local area. Internet groups can only go so far, but I do not think there is a problem with practicing a religion without a community, either. Throughout history multiple societies have actually viewed seclusion as a way to get closer to the divine. Seclusion need not be an impediment to one's spirituality.

Although followers of less common belief systems are not literally secluded - they are still members of society - they are religiously secluded. This, I believe, can actually be beneficial. It allows one to reflect on moral and spiritual issues independently and come to conclusions without being told that there is a right or wrong answer. In spiritual matters, who is to say for certain what may or may not be correct? A person's independent conclusions will completely be true to that person's beliefs rather than being a reflection of the preexisting ideals of a spiritual community. This, may lead to a more unique and personal system of beliefs for that person, but I don't think this is a bad thing either. So long as the beliefs fill the role that nearly all religions were intended to fill, I don't think it matters what you believe.

Religions are meant to do something good for their followers. Maybe one's religion makes them feel like life has a purpose. Maybe it offers hope of an afterlife, thus easing the pain of loss when loved ones pass on. Maybe religion helps one to be a better person, or maybe it just makes them feel good. There are countless things belief systems can do for people. Religion also serves to better the community. In most cases, applying one's beliefs to interactions with others requires you to treat them with respect and understanding. Many religions also encourage giving to those less fortunate than yourself, either by physically giving provisions or by providing emotional support. In either case, the application of beliefs serves to better the community as a whole. Which belief system one chooses to follow shouldn't matter nearly as much as how one applies his or her beliefs to everyday life. Exactly what one believes is so much less important than how one applies those beliefs.

Using the internet, people can bring together beliefs and traditions from various cultures and time periods and combine pieces of them into their own belief systems. While this does blur the lines between religions, it allows everyone to be an individual. As long as that belief system works for that person and as long as they apply that belief system to better themselves and others, it is no less valid a choice than any other religion would be. The growing amount of spiritual information on the internet enables the creation of individual systems of belief. If that allows more people to find something to believe in, regardless of how unusual or unique that something may be, I think that is a good thing.