Living in and with Web 2.0

The changes we have lived through in the last thirty years are astounding, in terms of how rapidly one innovation has been adopted and has led to another. The most important development, however, may not be the idea of Web 2.0 but what Campbell called the "embeddedness" of technology in everyday life.

"Ten years ago, not everyone had e-mail accounts. Now most of us find it almost impossible to function without the Internet, whether it comes to banking or doing business or keeping up with friends." Religion is no exception, she argued.

Although congregations increasingly rely on online tools to function day-to-day, they generally are not moving as fast as individuals, who are increasingly going online to deepen and enrich their spiritual lives. Campbell finds that religious congregations continue to plan communications "based on a written culture when we're in a digital age." The result is a culture clash in which religious congregations are having debates—Should we be online? What is social networking?—that individuals in the wider society have already resolved.

The capabilities are new and constantly changing, and even those who consider themselves tech-friendly can feel snowed under by new developments. But as we see from our quick trip through the origins of the Internet, many of these developments have been driven by a familiar and easily understandable human impulse: to connect with other people, especially those with whom you have something in common.

Religious congregations are also based around bringing people together for a shared purpose. Because of this close overlap, religious congregations can be both threatened and energized by these developments, and maybe sometimes both. In the next section, we will look at how congregations are already using Web 2.0 and how these technologies present both promises and challenges for religious congregations.