Should we be worried about these online religious activities?

Authors:

Inemesit Udodiong

June 29, 2017 7:58 PM

Social media is clearly changing how people worship God. Is this a good or negative thing?

Should we be worried that these online religious activities are replacing the traditional ones?

For many years, the church was the place people went to for fellowship, sermons and to simply be in Gods presence.

In those days, believers flocked to church faithfully every Sunday with their hard copy Bibles in their hands.

Over time, technology made its way into the House of God as mobiles, Ipads and other mobile devices slowly replaced those hard copy Bibles.

Then, some people stopped going to Sunday services, choosing to stream the programs instead.

ALSO READ: Am I going to hell if I don't go to church?

Now, we live in a world where digital apps may have completely replaced Bibles and religious activities have become social media challenges.

It started with the ongoing #Halleluyah challenge by Nathaniel Bassey. The gospel artist was inspired to start this 30-day challenge by Paul and Silas' praise session in prison (Acts 16:25-26).

The live session started with a little over 1,000 viewers. Eventually, this number skyrocketed to over 50, 000 viewers with active participants like D'banj, Tiwa Savage, and Uche Jombo.

Young & Catholic Nigeria has joined this trend with the rosary challenge. It started on June 23rd and is expected to end in October.

With this new trend and the increasing influence of social media on Christianity, it is safe to say that the medium of worshipping God and fellowshipping with other believers has changed.

This isn't just restricted to Nigeria. Studies are showing that the use of smart devices and social media is changing Christianity.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Centre, one in five Catholics and one in four Protestants rarely or never attend organised church services.

With this growing trend in Nigeria and across the world, should we be worried that technology may have ruined the sacredness of the religious activities?