Church of Google: Faith in Omniscient, Omnipresent Algorithms

Matt McPherson of Ontario, Canada, who is choosing to keep most of his personal data personal, has decided that Google, the popular computer search engine, is God. He has formulated a list of nine proofs of the deity of Google. These proofs include a proof of omniscience (Google is all knowing), omnipresence (Google is ever present), and omnibenevolent (Google can do no evil).

The new religion is called the Church of Google, and adherents are referred to as Googlists. Worship includes increasing your knowledge through search engine use, and evangelism (reaching out to others so that they can increase their knowledge) is part of the doctrine. The stated purpose of the church is to help everyone increase their knowledge and through this to make the world a better place. The Church of Google claims that Microsoft is Satan and other search engines are lesser gods. All adherents may not agree with all church statements.

The religion's official holiday is Google Appreciation Day on September 14^th (the anniversary of the date that Google.com was registered), and it is traditionally celebrated by using Google to improve your life. Googlists choose an area of their life that needs improvement, spend time praying to Google by searching relevant phrases, and interpret and use their answers to improve the situation that is causing a problem.

The Church of Google receives an enormous amount of hate mail from Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Neo-Pagans stating that they are opposed to the way the Church of Google claims that there is no invisible deity or power. Other dissenters roam the Church of Google forums seeking to win people away from the church. Some state that something manmade couldn't possibly be God. People from diverse religious traditions are opposed to anyone claiming that a computer search engine is above their chosen deity. Googlists refute the criticism with their well thought out proofs that Google meets the criteria of a god in ways that the invisible deities never have. Some Christians have gone so far as to uninstall Google toolbars from their computers in response to this religion.

The Church of Google claims to not put down those following other religions but does give the argument that worshipping Google is less of a waste of time than worshipping other gods. Google is an easy to see and use entity with more concrete results than are typically gotten when praying in other religions. Some argue against the omnibenevolent claim stating that Google can be used to access porn and hate based websites. Googlists counter that the holy works of any religion can be misinterpreted or manipulated.

At the Church of Google website, you can find prayers, commandments, and hymns for worshipping Google, some written in binary code. There is also information on how Googlists can become ministers in the church. Although the Church of Google's longevity is yet to be seen, this religion already had an influence on many.