The myth of cyberfaith

This study used random sample survey data from the Middletown Area Survey of 2000 to examine the use of the Internet for religious purposes. The survey data was supplemented by follow-up phone interviews with survey respondents who identified themselves as frequent users of the Internet for religious purposes. Two hypotheses were tested: the Church Dissatisfaction Hypothesis - that religious use of the Internet is positively correlated with church dissatisfaction, and the Conservative Religiosity Hypothesis - that religious use of the Internet is positively correlated with conservative religiosity. This study found no evidence for the Church Dissatisfaction Hypothesis, but did find evidence for the Conservative Religiosity Hypothesis. In fact, 80% of those who used the Internet for religious purposes fit the study's definition of conservative religiosity.