Putting Your Faith in Social Media

Putting Your Faith in Social Media

How are faith-­‐sharing activities facilitated and enabled in a social media age?

David Giles

@FaithInSoclMedia

MA Media Communications University for the Creative Arts

Supervisor: Dr Yuwei Lin

Farnham, Surrey July 2016

Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 1: Introduction ............................................................................................ 5 1.1 The digital landscape ............................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Social theory ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.3 Contemporary context ............................................................................................................ 9 Figure 1: Easter greeting posted by Asad Shah on his Facebook wall ...................................... 9 1.4 Legal context ......................................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Trolling .................................................................................................................................. 11 CHAPTER 2: Methodology ........................................................................................ 13 2.1 Case study ............................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 Survey .................................................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Semi-­‐structured interviews ................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Freedom of Information Act requests ................................................................................... 14 2.5 Online data collection ........................................................................................................... 14 2.6 Broadcast media ................................................................................................................... 15 2.7 Print media ............................................................................................................................ 15 2.8 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 3: Pilot case study – ‘Boundless 2015’ ....................................................... 17 3.1 Analysis of emotions expressed in faith-­‐related Tweets ....................................................... 17 3.2 Online ‘community’ ............................................................................................................... 18 3.3 Symbolic interaction and spiritual interaction ...................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 4: Survey analysis ...................................................................................... 20 4.1 Demographics ....................................................................................................................... 20 Figure 2: Denominational breakdown of respondents to Faith in Social Media survey ......... 21 4.2 Sharing faith online/offline ................................................................................................... 22 4.3 ‘Comfort’ with sharing faith online ....................................................................................... 23 4.4 Online identity ....................................................................................................................... 24 Figure 3: Pie chart illustrating whether respondents felt it would be easy for an observer to identify them as a Christian based solely on their social media presence .............................. 25 4.4 Faith sharing with whom? ..................................................................................................... 25 Figure 4: Bar graph showing intended ‘audience’ of questionnaire respondents ................... 26 4.5 Key voices in the online faith community ............................................................................. 26 Figure 5: Word cloud showing density of words explaining the rationale of respondents’ preferred representatives of their faith on social media ......................................................... 28 4.6 Variety of faith-­‐related social media content ....................................................................... 28 Figure 6: Breakdown of respondents’ faith-­‐related social media activity ............................... 30 Figure 7: Faith in Social Media respondents’ faith-­‐related social media participation ........... 32 4.7 ‘Appropriateness’ of faith-­‐related content ........................................................................... 32 Figure 8: Chart showing ‘Appropriateness’ responses re sharing of faith-­‐related content ..... 33 4.8 Motivation ............................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 9: Word cloud of commonly-­‐occurring factors which motivate or dissuade respondents when considering sharing faith content via social media ....................................................... 34 4.9 Responses/reactions ............................................................................................................. 34 4.10 Faith leaders and social media ............................................................................................ 36 4.11 Incentives and disincentives ............................................................................................... 36

CHAPTER 5: Interview analysis ................................................................................. 40 5.1 Identity .................................................................................................................................. 40 Putting Your Faith in Social Media

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5.2 Acceptance and tension ........................................................................................................ 42 5.3 Inclusion and accessibility ..................................................................................................... 43 5.4 Ritual ..................................................................................................................................... 44 5.5 Connectedness ...................................................................................................................... 45 5.6 Ministry delivery ................................................................................................................... 46 5.7 Joys and woes ....................................................................................................................... 46 5.8 Effect of social media on offline relationships ...................................................................... 48

CHAPTER 6: Conflict and criminality ......................................................................... 50 6.1 Religious extremism .............................................................................................................. 50 6.2 The Referendum Effect ......................................................................................................... 51 Figure 10: Tweet from Muslim Council of Britain on 26 June 2016, accessible via https://twitter.com/MuslimCouncil/status/747160383773904896 ....................................... 51 6.3 Other online faith-­‐hate ......................................................................................................... 52 6.4 Faith-­‐hate crime data ............................................................................................................ 52 Figure 11: Graph showing increase in reported instances of faith-­‐related hate crime using social media (2016 figure extrapolated from half-­‐year figure) ............................................... 54 6.5 Better crime reporting .......................................................................................................... 54 6.6 Prayer baiting ........................................................................................................................ 54 6.7 Prayer shaming ...................................................................................................................... 55 Figure 12: Selective screengrab from Tweetdeck .................................................................... 56 6.8 Humour ................................................................................................................................. 57

CHAPTER 7: Conclusion ............................................................................................ 59 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 62 APPENDIX 1: Free-­‐text survey responses .................................................................. 66 APPENDIX 2: Freedom of Information Act data ........................................................ 84 APPENDIX 3: Transcript of interview with Sarah Ager ............................................... 86 APPENDIX 4: Transcript of interview with Ros Clarke and Dan Stork Banks .............. 93 APPENDIX 5: Transcript of interview with Estelle Blake ............................................ 99 APPENDIX 6: Transcript of interview with Anna Greathead .................................... 108 APPENDIX 7: Transcript of interview with David Lucas ........................................... 116 APPENDIX 8: Transcript of interview with Tash Oakes-­‐Monger ............................... 121 APPENDIX 9: Transcript of interview with Jeff Piepho ............................................ 129 APPENDIX 10: Transcript of interview with Nik Stevenson ...................................... 134

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank:

Majors Brad Halse and John Murray, current and former Communications Secretaries at The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters, for their support, transparency and invaluable input to this year-­‐long project.

Sarah Giles, for her unstinting support and excellent editing and proofreading. Any remaining errors are mine, not hers!

Dr Yuwei Lin, University for the Creative Arts, for supervising the project and providing many ideas for additional angles and investigation.

Dr Bex Lewis, Director of Digital Fingerprint, for inspiring and encouraging throughout.

Andrew Flynn, Head of Research and Data Analysis at Christian Vision, for providing access to unpublished data which has informed the development of this study.

The family of Amy Haskew for supporting and assisting with this research at a time of great personal tragedy.

Sara Ager, Dan Stork Banks, Estelle Blake, Ros Clarke, Anna Greathead, David Lucas, Tash Oakes-­‐Monger, Jeff Piepho and Nik Stevenson for sparing valuable time to discuss their own faith and social media practice in detail.

All the respondents to the Faith in Social Media questionnaire, for providing such a rich seam of intelligent, practical observations.

Kevin Sims and Hervé Cachelin for diligently checking through the final manuscript.

Editorial note

Quoted content from social media sources is rendered exactly as originally posted, including grammatical and typographical errors where present.

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CHAPTER 1: Introduction

From my professional perspective as the Web and Social Media Manager for The Salvation Army’s International Headquarters, it’s interesting to observe that many of the major world religions contain a direct imperative for believers to share their personal faith with others. For example, in the Christian faith, Jesus instructed his followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’1 – the Great Commission. Some years later, the apostle Paul posed members of the early Church a somewhat rhetorical question: ‘How can people have faith in the Lord and ask him to save them, if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear, unless someone tells them?’2 The Qur’an similarly commends Muslims to proselytise: ‘invite [mankind] to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best’3.

The ‘Global Digital Snapshot’ (Kemp, 2016) shows that an unprecedented number – 2.3 billion or nearly one-­‐third of the planet’s population – is now an ‘active social media user’. Furthermore, a very high proportion of this demographic is engaging in social media use through a mobile device. In the UK, there is a further trend towards ‘second-­‐ screening’, ie people who are multi-­‐tasking with an additional screened device – usually a smartphone or tablet – while nominally watching TV or a movie. This represented 20% of the viewing public in research undertaken for Ofcom by Klein et al (2014).

Much has been written – particularly in the Christian context – about how believers can use social media tools to disseminate faith-­‐related content. Notable examples include Ministry in the Digital Age (Bourgeois, 2013), which provides ‘an overview of how Christians can use technology and communication media wisely … [and] make the most of every opportunity to extend your ministry’s electronic reach and impact’. Wise (2014) describes the God that Christians worship as an ‘interactive God’ and argues that ‘our online lives should reflect these values … we can use online connection points to facilitate relational connections.’

This dissertation, therefore, is a timely exploration of how faith-­‐sharing activities are being facilitated and enabled in the ‘online lives’ of practitioners of different faiths, with a particular focus on social media use by Christians. It seeks to bring existing research up to date and, where relevant, recommend opportunities for changing and consolidating existing practice regarding expression of faith through social media.

1.1 The digital landscape

Christian researcher Douglas Groothius observed in his 2010 paper ‘Understanding Social Media’ that ‘[s]ocial media are growing explosively and are changing the way people around the globe think of friendship and community’. While he acknowledges that we ‘as image-­‐bearers of God, are social creatures’ he also highlights the ‘real dangers’ of the milieu. ‘Not all forms of culture are advantageous to human flourishing,’ he contends before recommending his ‘principles of engagement’.

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Matthew 28:19 Romans 10:14 3 Surah An-­‐Nahl 16:125 2

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A July 2012 study by the Public Religion Research Institute showed relatively low levels of use of social media technology among American Christians. Although focused primarily on broadcast media, Redden (2008) observes that some denominations are ‘ambivalent about mediated public spheres that may favour particular modes of representation (such as entertainment and critique) and that may be subject to governmental regulation, commercial power and a range of other voices’.

In the same year, a ComRes survey was commissioned by Christian Vision but was never published. The author gratefully acknowledges Christian Vision’s cooperation in providing access to that report, which essentially found that the intersection of those keen to undertake evangelism and use social media was enthusiastic but rather small.

However, little research has been undertaken to date to evaluate the effectiveness of social media either as a means to convey faith messages or to share faith experiences with other like-­‐minded groups and individuals. As social media use by different religious groups has increasingly come under the spotlight of the mainstream media, it is judicious to explore these factors in detail.

This dissertation assesses the current situation, with a focus on the digital landscape in the UK, but with contributions and comparisons from elsewhere as appropriate. In light of the data, conclusions and recommendations are drawn that should help people of faith, faith group leaders and faith-­‐based organisations to use social media more effectively to convey engaging and shareable content.

1.2 Social theory

Max Weber, the doyen of social theorists, described by Swatos (1991) as a ‘Christian sociologist’, is considered to be the originator of the symbolic interactionism premise that individuals act according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world. He argues in his seminal 1930 work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism that ‘[R]eligious reformers … were not the founders of societies for ethical culture nor the proponents of humanitarian projects for social reform or cultural ideals. The salvation of the soul and that alone was the centre of their life and work.’

More recently, Lim and Putnam (2010) found that while a strong sense of religious identity among believers had a notable relationship to a measure of ‘life satisfaction’, they also observed that a collective experience of shared faith (for example, being a member of a congregation) had a stronger effect than did personal faith practices (such as reading the Bible to oneself or praying alone). The ‘social networks’ in Lim and Putnam’s study do not correspond directly to online social media networks, but it is plausible that further study could reveal faith experiences shared through social media to be similarly enriching.

Seyfert (2012) and Van Dijck (2013) built on Weber’s symbolic interactionist work to identify hallmarks of the transmission of faith-­‐related symbols, emotion and atmosphere through social media. It explores the online equivalents of conventional religious interactions such as the symbols of corporate Bible reading, and believers

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meeting together to participate in prayer, praise and worship. These symbols are variously recreated in an online space. Primary research for this dissertation identified practices such as Benedictine liturgy being revitalised online via live Periscope streaming; and secret, restricted-­‐access Facebook groups being used to provide safe spaces for prayer for minority groups who are discriminated against in a more public setting.

But are the 21st century interpretations of these symbolic interactions as effective for participants as their physical equivalents, and can worshippers who share fellowship remotely engage in these practices while retaining the sense, ritual and awe of the cultural experiences they are accustomed to?

Castells (2003) described ‘new forms of social interaction’ in the Internet age, which appears to be borne out in the even-­‐newer social media age. He wrote of the need:

…to build on a redefinition of community, de-emphasizing its cultural component, emphasizing its supportive role to individuals and families, and de-linking its social existence from a single kind of material support

Meanwhile, Campbell (2006) addresses the phenomenon and behaviours of what she calls ‘online religious communities’. Written right at the start of the social media age, it is interesting that she depicts online groups that ‘facilitate interactions with believers, separated by geography, but sharing some sort of spiritual connection or conviction’.

Some online communities are created intentionally by a church or denomination. In other instances, as with e-vangelism, individuals rather than institutions form other online communities at a grass-roots level. These communities often emerge as people find others online while searching to become part of a group conversation on a specified topic.

Castells also discusses the dichotomy of the pre-­‐social media Internet being perceived as either a ‘virtual community’ or ‘network society’. The use of Twitter in connection with such Christian community along with symbols and rituals has been further explored by Philips, Lewis and Bruce in their paper Digital Communication, the Church and Mission (2013), observing that ‘there is no such thing as “virtual” and “real” worlds: only online and offline space/cultures’. Social media might then be viewed as an ‘additive reality’, bringing selected but disparate realities together into a single online space and enhancing the sum of the parts.

If this statement holds, the conveyance of a celebratory atmosphere through social media channels should not only be a possibility, but it should be demonstrable. The practice of retweeting these biblical and lyrical excerpts appears to mirror the communal nature of corporate singing – or, given the atonal nature of plain text, at least chanting.

The Philips, Lewis and Bruce paper quotes Pope Benedict XVI, whose stated opinion is that ‘the digital environment is not a parallel or purely virtual world, but is part of the daily experience of many people, especially the young. Social networks are the result of Putting Your Faith in Social Media

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human interaction, but for their part they also reshape the dynamics of communication which builds relationships: a considered understanding of this environment is therefore a prerequisite for a significant presence there’.

The Pope’s arrival on Twitter, in December 2012, was advertised by the Vatican in advance, so his @pontifex account had a quarter of a million followers by the time he issued his first Tweet. The occasion was live streamed on the Vatican’s website, as the Pope used an iPad to issue the first pontifical Tweet. ‘Dear friends,’ read the message, which was tweeted simultaneously in English, Italian, Polish, Arabic, Portuguese, German, French, Spanish and Latin. ‘I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.’ His second and third Tweets perhaps gave a clearer indication as to the Pope’s intentions for this new means of communication:

How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?

By speaking with Jesus in prayer, listening to what he tells you in the gospel and looking for him in those in need.

Pope Benedict, it follows, anticipated Twitter being useful for faith-­‐sharing activities including – but not limited to – prayer, sharing Bible passages and living out the Christian faith in practical ways (‘looking for [Jesus] in those in need’ being redolent of the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, recorded in Matthew 25:31-­‐46).

In 2011, Ruth Deller researched realtime Twitter engagement at the time of first broadcast of the Channel 4 documentary series Revelations. The series began with an hour-­‐long programme entitled ‘How to find God’, which explored the phenomenon of the Alpha Course – an introduction to the Christian faith. In the study, Deller categorises various types of interaction between viewers and the presenter, Jon Ronsson. She quotes Jenkins (2009) who describes Twitter’s message as ‘here it is’ (for example sharing links, news and information) and ‘here I am’ (individuals revealing information about themselves). Adding to this, Deller identifies what she describes the ‘communal aspect’ of social media, arguing that the ‘discussions that take place on Twitter are just as important as the presentation of self and the circulation of interesting material’. A similar phenomenon, although relating to geographically disparate sports audiences, is outlined by Weed (2007), who goes as far to say that interaction through social media is an ‘alternative to being there [at the sports venue]’.

The unpublished 2012 ComRes survey showed that 72% of respondents felt social media was a good vehicle for ‘communicating with other Christians that they know’, with 58% indicating support for such platforms being helpful for ‘interacting with Christians of other denominations’. Half of all respondents said they used social media to ‘communicate with other Christians that they don’t know’. That sense of social media-­‐based ‘community’ will be further explored later in this dissertation.

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1.3 Contemporary context

While generally unremarkable, the role of social media in conveying faith-­‐related content was brought sharply into the public eye when Asad Shah, a British-­‐Pakistani shopkeeper from the suburbs of Glasgow, posted a seemingly innocuous Easter greeting on his Facebook wall on 24 March 2016.

Figure 1: Easter greeting posted by Asad Shah on his Facebook wall

The word bismillah is an Arabic phrase – ‫ ﺏبﺱسﻡم‬ ‫ ﺍاﻝلﻝلﻩه‬ or ‘in the name of God’ – acknowledging his own Ahmadiyya Muslim tradition. He was due to be attending an interfaith event in the city to discuss the importance of Easter in the Christian community. Shah was described by neighbours as ‘peace-­‐loving’, ‘kind’, and a ‘pillar of the community’. However, a few hours later he had been stabbed to death outside his convenience store.

Bradford-­‐based Tanveer Ahmed, who later admitted killing Shah, released a statement via his lawyer conceding that his motivation for the murder was that Shah had ‘disrespected the messenger of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad’. Police Scotland confirmed that the incident was ‘religiously prejudiced’ and that both men were Muslims. A police source revealed to a Daily Record reporter that the force was exploring a theory that the suspect ‘saw what Asad was saying on YouTube and Facebook and drove up to track him down’.

News emerged that Shah’s murder was being ‘celebrated’ by some sectarian groups online. The Independent on 30 March 2016 reported:

The killing of a Muslim shopkeeper described as a “brilliant” man who showed nothing but kindness and respect towards others has been celebrated by a sectarian Islamist Facebook page.

Entitled Anti Qadianiat (Tahafuz Khatme Nubuwwat), the page posted a comment alongside a screenshot of an article about the death of Asad Shah that said: “Congratulations to all Muslims.”

The page has previously posted clips onto video-hosting site Dailymotion calling Mr Shah a “false prophet”.

The debate continued about what appeared to be an instance of social media-­‐borne, faith-­‐related hate crime, and how this related to freedom of expression and religious Putting Your Faith in Social Media

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identity. Meanwhile, it emerged through a BBC investigation that a senior imam at Glasgow Central mosque – Scotland’s biggest place of worship – had used social media to praise a Pakistani terrorist. Maulana Habib Ur Rehman used social network WhatsApp to indicate his support for Mumtaz Qadri, who had been executed in Pakistan after murdering a local politician who opposed the country’s notoriously strict blasphemy laws.

1.4 Legal context

Article 2 of The United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed in 1948, declares (emphasis added):

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Articles 19 and 20 are also pertinent:

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.

No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

The 2015 Freedom on the Net report4 lists Pakistan among the 21 countries which routinely censor or block access to material ‘considered insulting to religion’. Although in a number of these instances blasphemy laws are ostensibly provided to defend all religions, in practice the nation’s ‘dominant’ faith may receive special protection. This can restrict the ability of members of minority faith groups to express themselves freely, particularly through social media. In Pakistan, the report notes, ‘YouTube has been completely blocked … since September 2012, when an anti-­‐Islamic video sparked unrest around the Muslim world.’

Conversely, faith communities in the country have been able to use social media to connect with like-­‐minded activists. In December 2014, when an influential cleric in Islamabad refused to categorically condemn a terrorist attack on a school, moderate Muslim protestors gathered outside his mosque distancing themselves from his extremist views and demanding an apology. The call to protest originated through Tweets which incorporated the #ReclaimYourMosque hashtag5.

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Freedom on the Net 2015 (Freedom House, October 2015) Contribution to the report of the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights on ‘How to create and maintain the space for civil society to work freely and independently’ 5

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Indian human rights lawyer Gayatri Khandhadai, speaking at the 2015 Internet Governance Forum in João Pessoa, Brazil, described the situation regarding blasphemy law online as ‘complicated’.

I could ‘like’ a statement on Facebook and that can be considered as blasphemy. I could have said something on Facebook and a colleague of mine or friend of mine can comment on that post, and then my post which might not have been blasphemous, but the comment can also implicate me.6

Evidently, however, in countries where the regime applies online censorship or surveillance, it can be impossible – or inadvisable – to express one’s religious views freely.

1.5 Trolling

Openness may be limited by factors other than legislation or censorship. Trolling, for example – the posting of deliberately provocative, inflammatory or argumentative material online – can be another disincentive to openness. While not quantitatively studied, anecdotal evidence suggests that awareness of existing functionality to block/mute trolls is low. In some cases, co-­‐members of the same faith group can vilify social media users who express opinions that diverge from their own. In an August 2014 article in The Independent, Christian worship leader and theologian Vicky Beeching publicly came out as a lesbian. Public reaction was swift and polarised – along with support came a torrent of abusive remarks.

The comments section on the online version of the Independent article had to be deactivated, and a status on her Facebook page 12 days later read:

My Facebook account, page and inbox have been a very unpleasant place for me this past week. A minority of you have made it vastly better with your positive messages, so thank you with all of my heart to those people. My hope is that it’s possible to agree to disagree lovingly. To those who have proven that’s possible, thank you.7

A year later, Beeching confirmed that some Christians ‘say to me on social media, “Of course we’re not going to give unconditional love to things we believe are sinful.”’8

A perceived disconnect between reality and spirituality can also deter people of faith from expressing their faith. ‘Prayer shaming’ is a phrase coined in December 2015, following the terrorist shooting at a social services centre in San Bernardino, California.

As had become de rigueur, a #PrayForSanBernardino hashtag had gained momentum on Twitter shortly after the incident became public knowledge. Some of the higher-­‐ profile users of this hashtag, particularly politicians, were criticised for preferring to talk of prayer rather than more tangible action.

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WS158 Blasphemy policies: Consequences for digital world, Internet Governance Forum 2015 https://www.facebook.com/VickyBeeching/posts/10152679590074577 8 http://www.buzzfeed.com/patrickstrudwick/this-­‐is-­‐what-­‐happens-­‐when-­‐you-­‐come-­‐out-­‐as-­‐a-­‐gay-­‐ christian 7

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It also gave rise to some heated argument centring on ‘where is God in this suffering?’, a common objection to organised religion which can prove difficult for believers to counter without experience in apologetics. This will be explored in more detail in section 6.7.

While there is much that is positive, it is against this undercurrent of conflict and unrest that the exploration of faith expression through social media begins. We will discuss the methodologies and metrics of particular interest in the following chapter, before exploring the contemporary practice of hundreds of believers and reaction to their conveyance of faith-­‐related social media content.

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CHAPTER 2: Methodology

In order to explore how faith-­‐sharing activities are facilitated and enabled through contemporaneous social media platforms, a mixed methods approach was adopted.

Firstly, reference was made to a previous case study – that of The Salvation Army’s 150th anniversary celebrations, ‘Boundless’, in 2015. This involved a significant volume of social media interaction, having had an online reach in the region of 16.8 million individuals. Seyfert/van Dijck interactionist ‘symbols’ represented in social media form included examples of prayer, sharing of Bible portions, sharing of selected speech by Christian speakers, dissemination of hymn and contemporary Christian song lyrics, sharing of selfies, inspirational-­‐type messages of support and encouragement and an expression of unity and/or belonging to a common cause by electing to use memes or event-­‐specific hashtags in their messages.

2.1 Case study

The ‘Boundless’ event, as well as providing a rich source of Twitter data, acted as a base on which to build a premise for this more recent investigation. It aided in identifying many of the aforementioned symbolic interactions, and was a truly interdisciplinary event. However, because of its unusual nature (126 countries brought together for a five-­‐day burst of single-­‐denomination Christian celebration) it was also a contrived scenario. This meant that it was not practicable to use it as a vehicle for studying the ‘everyday’ expression of faith on social media – being almost wholly positive, with very low levels of disagreement, conflict, questioning or negativity. As a celebration, it was a superb example of how atmosphere could be conveyed through social media; more in-­‐depth analysis of the norm would require additional techniques.

2.2 Survey

To gauge a national perspective and provide a rich (albeit subjective) data set for meaningful interpolation, a survey was considered to be an appropriate starting point, with reference to the ‘Boundless’ experience to help identify common symbols that one might expect to find more widely represented across the broader Christian context. This was then extrapolated to faith in general, with the language amended to be as inclusive as possible.

The creation of a suitable data-­‐gathering tool would need to be paired with disseminating information about its existence and recruiting participants for the study.

This, and the associated limitations, is discussed further in sections 2.6 and 2.7.

2.3 Semi-­‐structured interviews

Alongside this, it was identified that there was a need for more in-­‐depth interviews.

These were intended to provide a freer, open-­‐ended environment for subjects to discuss areas of their own practice in considerable detail. These interviews would afford nuance, subtlety and emotion that might have been absent from a purely empirical approach.

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Throughout the publicity period, the information being received through the survey response collector and through the social media channels was assessed. Respondents with particularly relevant or interesting experiences were approached privately and invited to take part in more in-­‐depth interviews. A series of interviews therefore took place between January and June 2016. The majority were face-­‐to-­‐face interviews which were recorded with the participant’s consent for later transcription. Two interviews were undertaken on Skype, and two by telephone. One took place face-­‐to-­‐face in Rome, Italy.

These interviews were of a semi-­‐structured nature, in order to give the subjects ample opportunity to express the detail of their own practice, and the varying reactions they had encountered. Questions were, in the main, based on the subjects’ initial responses through the www.faithinsocialmedia.org website.

2.4 Freedom of Information Act requests

Parallel to these processes, and informed by both, it became apparent that there was a significant concern regarding extremely negative hate speech. Given the relatively small sample size and unavoidable predominance of Christian groups, the opportunity was taken to objectively assess the instance of faith-­‐related social media use so extreme it would be considered criminal. Freedom of Information Act requests were therefore put to all police forces in the UK, seeking up-­‐to-­‐date data on this kind of misuse.

2.5 Online data collection

In order to maximise the window of opportunity for soliciting responses, work was initially focused on designing and constructing a website and online questionnaire mechanism for the Faith in Social Media project. Once built and constructed, testing was undertaken with selected contacts and remaining glitches were eliminated. The content was deployed to a newly registered domain name, www.faithinsocialmedia.org.

In late January 2016, with the website and data collection tool live, the focus moved to communicating the remit of the research study, the existence of the website and the need for people of faith to share their experiences.

Given the subject matter, social media would necessarily be a key part of the communications mix, and a dedicated Twitter account (@FaithSoclMedia) and Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/faithinsocialmedia) were established. These platforms were used to post directly on to church Facebook pages wherever privacy settings would allow and to capitalise on trending hashtags in attempts to engage in already-­‐existing conversations. Twitter and Facebook were used to send targeted messages to, for example, university Christian Union groups, Islamic Societies, and other entities believed to be potentially supportive and amenable to sharing the call for responses.

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2.6 Broadcast media

In order to ensure the sample was representative, care was taken – as far as possible – to avoid favouring any particular faith group, sect or denomination in these approaches. In this light, attempts were made to ensure national broadcast media coverage which would attract the largest and most diverse audiences. It is recognised, however, that because of the UK’s Christian heritage and author’s chiefly Christian connections, this particular faith group predominates in the collected data.

The first interview opportunity was with a national Christian broadcaster, Premier Radio, which promoted the research questionnaire in its flagship breakfast show on 24 February 2016. Additional radio interviews were undertaken on numerous BBC Local Radio stations throughout February and March 2016, usually for their Sunday morning programmes, which have a remit for covering all faiths. Stations that covered the study and promoted the website included BBC Berkshire, BBC Guernsey, BBC Jersey, BBC Norfolk, BBC Nottingham and BBC Solent. The latter also made their interview available via the internal BBC GNS newsgathering service, enabling other stations to use all or part of the material.

BBC Radio Jersey additionally covered the Faith in Social Media research in its half-­‐ hourly news bulletins and as part of a week of special programmes covering interfaith relations in the Channel Islands. Initial findings were also briefly alluded to in BBC Radio 4’s Beyond Belief programme on 16 May 2016.

2.7 Print media

Numerous print-­‐based media outlets such as Church Times, the Church of England Newspaper and several Islamic titles were approached with offers of interviews and feature articles. In the event, only two articles are known to have been published – one in All the World, and another in the New Zealand edition of The War Cry. Both are Salvation Army publications.

Opportunities also arose to promote the research study at Spring Harvest, an annual multi-­‐venue conference attended by tens of thousands of Christians during the Easter holiday period. This was undertaken through mentions in the daily newsletter available to delegates on site.

2.8 Ethical considerations

Twitter analysis poses ethical questions regarding whether it is appropriate to publish the content of Tweets without seeking explicit consent. In the context of this dissertation, the general draft guidelines of the Association of Internet Researchers has been adopted, in that Tweet content is anonymised. However, the following exceptions apply.

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Firstly, Tweets from organisations or well-­‐known public figures have been attributed to their originator. Secondly, Tweets using specific event hashtags (eg #Boundless2015) have also been published in full (although without identifying the Twitter handle of the originator). This is because the events in question made it clear – through Tweets and other posts – that social media content could be used in other forms of publication, including print. Thirdly, Tweets that had subsequently been published in other media are included verbatim.

Survey respondents were, prior to gaining access to the online questionnaire, presented with the following ethics statement. It was necessary for respondents to accept the terms before submitting any data. Furthermore, respondents were not required to include any personally-­‐identifying data or contact details – although some chose to do so.

Your participation in this research study is voluntary and you may choose not to participate. If you decide to participate in this research survey, you may withdraw at any time. If you decide not to participate in this study or if you withdraw from participating at any time, you will not be penalised.

The procedure involves filling an online survey that will take approximately 10-15 minutes. Please answer as many questions as you can. Your responses will be confidential, and you will not be contacted unless you choose to give contact details for a follow-up interview. All data is stored in a secure, password-protected electronic format.

The results of this study will be used for scholarly purposes and may be shared with University for the Creative Arts representatives. If research data is published, it will be anonymised so that information will not personally identify you.

Interviewees were advised similarly of the option to withdraw participation at any time, and were sent transcripts of the interviews for their approval prior to inclusion in this dissertation. One interviewee exercised their right to withhold consent less than 24 hours before submission of this dissertation. Permission was sought prior to audio-­‐ recording the conversations, which were kept securely.

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CHAPTER 3: Pilot case study – ‘Boundless 2015’

A study into a specific Christian celebration – The Salvation Army’s week-­‐long 150th anniversary event at The O2 in London – was undertaken in 2015. Social media was used both by delegates who were at the event (selfies, messages of endorsement…) and by those unable to attend in person. A stated aim of the event was to harness ‘modern technology [which] means that people right around the world can be part of the celebrations online in a way … never been possible before’9. To assess the efficacy of conveying emotion via social media, two complementary questions were posed: • To what extent did social media help facilitate ‘celebration’ for delegates at the physical events?

• To what extent did social media help facilitate ‘celebration’ for delegates taking part solely online?

3.1 Analysis of emotions expressed in faith-­‐related Tweets

As Twitter content is generally publicly available and readily accessible – much more so than Facebook – analysis of a set of several thousand Tweets was undertaken. The messages included emotionally-­‐charged vocabulary such as ‘beautiful’, ‘proud’ and ‘blessed’ though the breadth of the corpus presented some challenges. The frequency of words that conveyed emotion and/or celebration – and thus more likely to contribute to transmittable ‘emotional atmosphere’ – was readily discernible.

For the two main hashtags used across the social media coverage of the anniversary event, the most frequently-­‐represented words expressing emotion and gratitude were:

#Boundless2015 #WeAre150 great (139) birthday (116) amazing (92) happy (100) love (75) great (80) together (73) celebrate (71) and celebrations (28) thank (69) and thanks (a further 57) anniversary (57) beautiful (56) thank (41) and thanks (5) good (50) love (34) praise (40) amazing (28) blessed (39) history (27) proud (38) fantastic (25)

However, while this is quantitatively valid, there is a degree of subjectivity in determining which words are ‘emotional’ or ‘celebratory’. Furthermore, the individual words in isolation lack context. A given Tweet may be expressing a celebratory sentiment without using any of the most common emotional and/or celebratory words identified. Indeed, when decontextualised, there are problems even with identifying whether phrases like ‘Oh my God’ are exclamations of praise or represent ‘misuse’ of the name of God10.

9

2015 New Year Message from General André Cox (international Salvation Army leader), via YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNRien_8Pug 10 Exodus 20:7, New International Version

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3.2 Online ‘community’

#Boundless2015 Tweets commonly reflected Bible verses or song lyrics used during the main arena sessions:

Master speak, Thy servant heareth. Spirit fall in power! Grant courage & fortitude that I may hear, obey & glorify my Lord. #Boundless2015 (individual physically present) RT @Boundless2015: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. #Boundless2015 (unclear whether individual present) Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God Almighty! #boundless2015 @ The O2 instagram.com/p/4v-R27yXJx/ (individual physically present)

The use of Twitter in this manner has been explored by Philips, Lewis and Bruce (2013).

If their argument that ‘there is no such thing as “virtual” and “real” worlds’ holds, the conveyance of a celebratory atmosphere through social media channels should not only be a possibility, but it should be demonstrable.

That declaration of Christian fellowship participation, relationship and interaction – even remotely – was the theme of a number of Twitter messages:

Great to join the celebrations at #Boundless2015 online from Zambia - back where I first worked for #TheSalvationArmy #Chikankata (individual not present) Greetings from #GNY! #Boundless2015 in #London (individual not present) [which also included a screengrab of the live webcast, at a frame which showed the arena’s Twitter wall displaying, apparently, some friends of the message’s originator] At the O2 arena with my lovely buddy group! B-) #WeAreBoundless #WeAre150 #Boundless2015 #SalvationistLife http://t.co/V6Patihdeg (individual present) If you’re at home and want to join us, click on this link to watch the webcast: boundless2015.org #Boundless2015 (retweet from generic account, presence uncertain)

3.3 Symbolic interaction and spiritual interaction

The public announcement of a personal response – or prayer – was yet another category of Tweet, exemplified by:

Lord, here I am. Send me! @Boundless2015 #Boundless2015 #WeAre150 (individual present)

Lord, I confess I am afraid. But You are with me. Give me courage. #Boundless2015 (individual not pressent) Lord I put my heart before you. I surrender myself. I confess my sins before you. I put my complete trust in you Lord. #Boundless2015 (individual not present)

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Appreciation and general celebration formed another subset of the Twitter data, such as:

What a blessing it has been for us to hear what God is doing around the world at #Boundless2015 (uncertain presence) I was incredibly blessed to be a part of this great celebration of 150 years of my amazing church! #Boundless2015 http://t.co/j8suR9OYQU (individual present) It’s amazing when you can feel the spirit moving even through a computer screen! #Boundless2015 (individual not present)

The last-­‐mentioned Tweet refers not simply to atmosphere or affect, but to the theological concept of the presence of the Holy Spirit. This moves beyond Seyfert and van Dijck’s theory of symbol into a spiritual encounter in its own right. Time and scope does not permit further exposition in this paper, but this would be a fascinating area for further study.

The findings from this earlier research helped to inform the design of the Putting Your Faith In Social Media questionnaires and interview questions, which will be discussed more fully in Chapter 4.

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CHAPTER 4: Survey analysis

In the period the online questionnaire was open (January to June 2016), a total of 466 individual responses were received. These were self-­‐selecting individuals, and no attempt was made to validate their identity or assess their level of involvement in their professed faith. The sample was smaller than hoped for, it proving difficult to convert mainstream media exposure into click-­‐throughs to the website and active participation in the questionnaire. Participation in the survey was largely self-­‐selecting.

4.1 Demographics

Of those who provided demographic information, the modal age range for respondents was 35–44 (102 individuals). This was followed by 45–54s (85 individuals), 25–34s (69), 55–64s (43), 18–24s (29), 65 and over (23) and under–18s (10). 142 respondents identified as male, 219 as female and 104 declined to specify their gender.

An overwhelming majority of respondents identified as Christian, with only 26 from other faiths (10 Muslims, 3 Pagans, 2 Jews, 1 Buddhist and 10 others). This dearth of data and imbalance between the datasets means that meaningful comparisons cannot realistically be drawn. The following charts and interpretation, therefore, apply solely to the ‘Christian’ dataset, although comments and key observations from the ‘non-­‐ Christian’ dataset are incorporated where appropriate and relevant.

71.8% of respondents were from the UK, with 8.7% from the USA, 6.6% from New Zealand, 4.2% from Australia and 2.4% from Canada. Other countries represented in the data include Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Jamaica, Mongolia, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Thailand, Uganda and Zambia.

Among the UK respondents, a large majority was from England (none from Northern Ireland, 1.6% from Scotland and 2.4% from Wales). The geographic spread among the English regions was better, with strong representation from the South East (20.2%) and West Midlands (19.8%). The least represented part of England was the North East (4.9%) and Yorkshire and Humber (5.3%).

Christians were firstly asked to describe their denomination. All but three provided an answer. The results for this are shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2: Denominational breakdown of Christian respondents to Faith in Social Media survey

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Other denominations recorded include newer expressions of the church such as Hillsong, Newfrontiers and ‘Charismatic’, though the majority of respondents who preferred their own descriptor used this field to express ‘non-­‐denomination’.

4.2 Sharing faith online/offline

Question 2 sought to establish how active respondents were in sharing their faith other than on social media. This was self-­‐selecting with no guidance given on how often ‘often’ might be. More than half of Christian respondents selected this most frequent category, with 36.4% saying that they ‘sometimes’ share their faith. 12.3% admitted to ‘rarely’ and 0.9% confessed to ‘never’ sharing their faith. Muslim responders to the equivalent question all identified with the ‘often’ (80%) or ‘sometimes’ (20%) categories.

Next, respondents were asked to consider whether they felt social media to be an ‘appropriate’ platform for sharing their faith. At this stage, no guidance was given as to what the terms ‘appropriate’ or even ‘sharing your faith’ might be. All 466 respondents answered this question. Just over three-­‐quarters of Christians felt that social media was an appropriate vehicle, with 6.6% saying ‘no’. A larger proportion, 17.7%, were unsure.

Amongst the non-­‐Christian respondents, 73% felt that social media was a suitable platform – all Muslims agreeing that it was appropriate.

A free-­‐text field, Question 4 encouraged participants to expand on the reasons why they’d answered as they did in Question 3. Answers varied in extent and consideration, but can be seen in full in Appendix 1. Indicative positive responses include:

Social media is a platform for sharing the things that are important in your life, or things you want others to know going on in your life. If faith is important to you, I can’t see how it’s not at least somewhat reflected in the content you share online. (Male, Baptist, 35–44, USA) In the same way that social media is appropriate for sharing other aspects of my life – because faith is so much part of me. I’m not out to convert people online, but it’s what I’m interested in & feeds me. I possibly mention faith more on SocMed than IRL. (Female, Anglican, 35–44, South East England) Everyone uses social media, so our faith should naturally roll into this. It should influence our words, what we say, what we like and how we interact with the world online. (Female, Pentecostal, 25–34, Australia) People share pictures of cats! I don’t like cats but love church […] can I not share my passions? (Male, Assemblies of God, 25–34, North East England) To share my faith in social media is to take part in normalizing it and in increasing others’ understanding since it’s so misunderstood. But more importantly, sharing my faith can be as small as sharing a picture of myself (I wear the hijab). (Female, Muslim, 18–24, Canada)

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Respondents who had replied negatively or were ‘unsure’ about social media’s role in sharing faith gave comments of this nature:

I’m scared I’ll get a lot of hate I don’t want to deal with (Female, Anglican, under-18, West Midlands) I believe faith is personal and private. I discuss my faith face to face with those I feel safe around: close friends and family. (Female, Roman Catholic, 35–44, East of England) Social media tends to be too open a forum for it. It usually polarises people and inevitably it causes people to become entrenched in their view and then any ensuing debate becomes very closed and defensive. (Male, Anglican, 45–54, London) Occasionally I use social media to share views on particular issues, in which my faith is a framework. Eg. Poverty, the refugee crisis. I don’t think social media is the place to have debates but I think a Christian view of world and local social justice events can be shared online. (Female, Salvation Army, 25–34, Australia)

Question 5 asked ‘how frequently do you talk/write about your faith using any form of social media?’, making available the same ‘frequency’ responses as deployed previously. 32.95% of Christian respondents said ‘often’ and 43.86% ‘sometimes’.

19.09% ‘rarely’ used social media for this purpose, with 4.09% saying they ‘never’ used social media to talk about their faith. Notably, of those who had answered negatively regarding social media being an ‘appropriate’ platform, only just over one third went on to say that they ‘never’ talked about faith through their social media presence.

4.3 ‘Comfort’ with sharing faith online

Question 6 explored how comfortable respondents felt when expressing aspects of their faith via social media. A little more than three-­‐quarters of survey participants said they were ‘very’ or ‘usually comfortable’ when doing this. Of the subset who felt expression of faith through social media was ‘inappropriate’, this was reversed – with 75% feeling ‘somewhat uncomfortable’ or ‘very uncomfortable’.

Again, participants were invited to explain their rationale for their Question 6 answer through a free-­‐text field. A lexical analysis indicates that common themes include ‘not being ashamed’, the concept of faith being part of the respondent’s identity and ‘freedom of speech’. Disincentives mentioned included ‘people may judge’ and the potential for ‘offence’.

Representative responses draw on the simplicity of application of the medium and the respondents’ own self-­‐identity and their considered view of the importance they imbue in being a follower of their chosen religion. Sample comments include:

Easier to tell a lot of people about my faith and views rather than directly to them.

(Female, United Reformed Church, 45–54, South East England) I am a Christian! My whole life, my identity is bound up in my faith and my relationship with God. Love me, love the fact that I’m a Christian because it is the

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unescapable foundation of all I am and do and think and say. (Female, independent evangelical, 55–64, South East England) Because it’s who I am. I am a writer, a social media user both professionally and personally. The people who know me, know about my faith. It is my responsibility as a millennial to use this new technology to talk about the truth and justice. My posts don’t necessarily say ‘Jesus’ but they are about doing life with him, his people and what he would say and do in certain situations. (Female , Pentecostal, 25–34, Australia) As a minister I think it’s what people expect. (Female, Anglican, 35-44, North West England)

And, rather more prosaically:

There is an unfollow option! :)

Among those less comfortable with sharing aspects of their faith on social media – either through perceived lack of knowledge, confidence or ability to establish a ‘connection’ through social media – comments included:

My faith is my faith.....I don’t want non-believers to feel indoctrinated (Female, Anglican, 35–44, East Midlands) I don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed by my faith, but it is hard to make a connection to someone over social media. (Male, Methodist, 18–24, West Midlands) Not firm enough in my faith (Male, Salvation Army, 45–54, East Midlands)

4.4 Online identity

Question 8 asked ‘Do you think it would be easy for someone to identify you as [a member of your faith] if their assessment was based purely on your social media posts/profile?’ All correspondents completed this question, with nearly four-­‐fifths of Christian respondents answering in the affirmative. By comparison, among other faiths who answered, a lower proportion (61.5%) felt that this was true.

This was a key question in terms of establishing whether respondents felt that there was a demonstrable link between their self-­‐expression, their identity as a person of faith and their utilisation of social media to articulate this aspect of their individual and corporate identity.

The Castells (2003) ‘de-­‐linking’ from unary physical support is inherent in the multiple social media platforms used by most contributors to the survey. Moreover, the supportive nature of social media’s transient faith community is also expressed repeatedly through survey responses and, as we shall see later, in the more in-­‐depth interviews.

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Figure 3: Pie chart illustrating whether respondents felt it would be easy for an observer to identify them as a Christian based solely on their social media presence

4.4 Faith sharing with whom?

To begin to understand the nature of the social networks represented in the dataset, Questions 9 to 11 asked participants to discuss in more detail the people they are communicating with online. The first of these three explored whether social media posts of a faith-­‐related nature were addressed to fellow believers or those of another faith or none. Immediately apparent from the responses is that while almost 95% of respondents use Facebook, only 56% use Twitter, with fewer than one third using Instagram and fewer than one quarter using YouTube.

Of those who used the platforms, most respondents reported that they addressed Christians and non-­‐Christians about equally. In the subset which expressed favouring one particular group, there was a tendency for Facebook users to address mainly Christians (25.4%) compared with non-­‐Christians (8.7%) which was less pronounced for Twitter users (address mainly Christians – 21%; address mainly non-­‐Christians – 14.3%).

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Figure 4: Bar graph showing intended ‘audience’ of Faith in Social Media questionnaire respondents

4.5 Key voices in the online faith community

Question 12 asked respondents what social media accounts they ‘like’/‘follow’. Options were not mutually exclusive, so totals exceed 100%. Christian respondents’ answers indicate that faith-­‐based organisations on Facebook are among the most popular (82.7% of survey participants).

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Christians are much more likely to follow their pastor/ minister on Facebook than they are on Twitter, although the figures for following their denominational leader(s) is much more evenly balanced between the two platforms.

Respondents were offered a free-­‐text field in Question 13, to list any individuals who, in their opinion, represent their faith well on social media. Question 14 went on to ask why respondents had answered as they had. The explanatory text clarified that this could include church leaders, speakers or church/Christian organisations. 300 respondents offered a response. Denominational leaders such as the Archbishop of Canterbury (Justin Welby) and the international leader of The Salvation Army (General André Cox) featured prominently amongst responses. Interestingly, other well-­‐known Christians mentioned included feminist and pro-­‐LGBT blogger/writer Rachel Held Evans, former Communard (and openly gay) Rev Richard Coles, theologian and apologist Tim Keller, and speakers/writers such as Nicky Gumbel, Joyce Meyer and Krish Kandiah.

The data correlates with Smith (2015) who used Big Data techniques to determine the most prolific tweeters of Bible verses in 2015. Proponents such as John Piper, Franklin Graham, Joyce Meyer and Bishop TD Jakes appear in this study.

Providing a list of 12 individuals who he felt represented Christianity effectively on social media, a male Australian Salvationist in the 45–55 age bracket explained: ‘They get the essential message of Jesus Christ – love God and your neighbour, treat people as you would want to be treated yourself.’

Praising Archbishop Justin Welby’s Twitter presence, one respondent commented:

Speaks the truth sensitively. Encourages. Praises good practice.

(Female, Anglican, 55–64, Yorkshire and Humber)

Appreciating both @JustinWelby and @Pontifex (the Pope’s Twitter account), another respondent explained:

They’re making an effort to make Christianity more accessible (Female, Anglican, 25–34, South West England)

The social media output from the leaders of both the Anglican Communion and Roman Catholic Church were commended by a member of a free church who said their posts were:

Heartfelt and relevant to daily living (Female, Free Church, 55–64, West Midlands)

The lexical density of responses to this question is instructive, with ‘Christian’, ‘faith’, ‘life’, ‘share’ and ‘relevant’ featuring commonly among responses. A word cloud illustrating more commonly-­‐appearing words or phrases as larger text appears in Figure 5 overleaf.

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Figure 5: Word cloud showing density of words explaining the rationale of respondents’ preferred representatives of their faith on social media

4.6 Variety of faith-­‐related social media content

Question 15 sought more detail regarding the type of faith content respondents were comfortable sharing on social media. This provided an interesting comparison of 13 different faith-­‐related activities and a self-­‐assessment as to how frequently these were undertaken online.

Notably, there appeared to be a greater level of comfort in sharing quotes from Christian leaders (60.7% responding ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’) than in sharing direct quotes from the Bible (48.2% responding ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’). A similar reaction is observed with the posting of prayers. Nearly twice as many respondents preferred to share a prayer written by someone else (41.5% ‘often’/’sometimes’ doing this) compared to posting their own (24.8%).

The most positive – and least negative – reaction was to posting content from Christian churches or charitable organisations, with more than two-­‐thirds of respondents saying that they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ did this. Conversely, there was very little support for using #prayfor… hashtags, as tend to appear on Twitter in the wake of natural disasters or terrorist attacks. There was also a low level of support for using profile pictures to convey a particular faith message. The example given was using the Arabic ‫ ﻥن‬ symbol (the letter ‘noon’), which gained prominence in 2014 after Islamic State attacks on Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Extremists had marked the homes and businesses of practicing Christians with a red spray-­‐painted ‫ ﻥن‬ (respresenting ‘Nazarene’, a pejorative term for Christian) as a warning that they should leave or face ‘death by the sword’.

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Figure 6a: Breakdown of Faith in Social Media respondents’ faith-related social media activity (continued overleaf)

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Figure 6b: Breakdown of Faith in Social Media respondents’ faith-related social media activity

The following question built on this further with more specific probing about social media usage in connection with church meetings or other Christian gatherings.

Given the relatively recent innovation and availability of live video streaming services such as Periscope and Meerkat (and Facebook Live, which was not widely available when the survey launched in January 2016), it was interesting to note that nearly a third of respondents had used this technology, less than four percentage points behind the much more established process of live-­‐tweeting – providing regular ‘live’ text updates from an event. Nearly a half of respondents had, at some point, filmed video of Christian activities to post online at a later juncture. A quarter of respondents indicated that they took and shared photos of Christian meetings ‘often’, with roughly a third saying that they ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ did this.

Nearly half of respondents felt that they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ summarised the content of Christian events (for example, the content of the sermon), while more than 60% expressed that they used social media to express their opinion on the content (eg ‘it was a good sermon’).

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Regarding using social media to encourage others to participate, the answers clearly indicated that it was more common for respondents to encourage others of the same faith to engage with selected faith-­‐based social media content. One in ten said that they ‘often’ encouraged non-­‐Christians to take part, while nearly a third of respondents said that they ‘never’ invited non-­‐Christians’ participation.

Figure 7a: Faith in Social Media respondents’ faith-related social media participation

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Figure 7b: Faith in Social Media respondents’ faith-related social media participation

4.7 ‘Appropriateness’ of faith-­‐related content

Question 17 explored whether respondents felt it was ‘appropriate’ or ‘inappropriate’ to share particular types of faith-­‐related content via social media, and how they felt their social networks would react in each instance. The results were largely consistent across the types of content listed.

The options were not mutually exclusive, so that totals exceed 100%, and it should be noted that the contrasting views ‘appropriate’ vs ‘inappropriate’ and ‘would accept this’ vs ‘not accept this’ were non-­‐binary, and therefore do not equate to 100% when the figures are combined.

Of note, 67% of respondents felt that sharing the Christian gospel message on social media was ‘appropriate’ and 9% felt that it was politically incorrect to do this, or might cause offence. There was a slightly higher comfort level in sharing one’s own faith perspective or experience – 73% feeling that this was ‘appropriate’ on social media and only 4% feeling that friends might be offended.

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Figure 8: Chart showing ‘Appropriateness’ responses regarding sharing of particular types of faith-related content

4.8 Motivation

There was a more considerable drop out of respondents by Question 18, with only 280 of the original 440 individuals giving an answer. The question asked ‘what factors motivate or dissuade you when considering sharing faith content via social media?’

Textual analysis of the responses again identifies particular common themes. ‘Love’, along with concepts of appropriateness and the risk of causing offence feature in many responses, along with the nature and needs of the poster’s specific audience. The perception of those seeing the post (‘what they might think’) was also mentioned frequently in responses. ‘Cringe factor’ and the ‘craziness’ of some posts and post-­‐ers was an additional factor raised.

Faith/rest-­‐of-­‐life balance struck a chord in several responses, along with the need for light-­‐heartedness at times.

I am motivated to share a faith perspective that is shows Christians to be loving and caring particularly towards the marginalised. I am wary of sharing posts that result in Christians arguing about points in front of non-Christians. (Male, non-denominational, 45–54, West Midlands) I dislike trite or ‘cheesy’ Christianese. Some posts have a cringe factor.

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Constant posting of inspiring quotes doesn’t grab me. (Female, Salvation Army, 45–54, New Zealand) Most often, humour! I don’t think social media is the best place to proselytise, but it’s a great place to communicate and help build up others’ religious literacy. (Female, Anglican, 35–44, Yorkshire and Humber)

Figure 9: Word cloud of commonly-occurring factors which motivate or dissuade respondents when considering sharing faith content via social media

4.9 Responses/reactions

The reaction of respondents’ social media contacts to faith-­‐related posts was scrutinised in Question 19, which used the same activities specified as in Question 15.

In every instance except one, respondents reported a ‘positive’ reaction more frequently than ‘neutral’ or ‘no reaction’, with very low levels of ‘negative’ reaction reported. The sole exception was ‘share the gospel with a non-­‐believer’, which elicited a slightly larger report of neutral/no reaction (28.2%) than a positive reaction (21.5%).

This action was also notable in attracting the highest levels of ‘negative’ reaction, but at a still low level of 5.5% of respondents. This contrasts with the subtly different ‘express your faith in your own words’, which was one of the highest scorers in terms of positive response at 54.5%. Only ‘encourage or disciple someone in their faith journey’ attracted a higher level ‘positive’ response, most likely because it presupposes that there is already a relationship between the poster of content and the intended recipient, and that the ‘encouragement’ factor is naturally predisposed to be well received.

Breaking the positive/negative reaction down yielded some interesting results.

Respondents to Question 20 were asked to state whether they had experienced polar reaction from members of their own faith or people of different/no faith. 60% of Christians responded that they ‘often’ received positive comments from other Christians, but 30% also said that they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ received negative comments from other Christians.

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In the closely-­‐related Question 21, while 39% of Christians said that they ‘never’ received negative comments about their posts from other Christians, 30% stated that they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ received criticism from other members of their own faith group.

It’s appropriate to note that 21% of Christian respondents reported ‘often’ receiving positive feedback about faith posts from non-­‐Christians, with 57% ‘sometimes’ receiving comments of a positive nature from people of other/no faith. Most interestingly, however, is that around 33% of Christian respondents reported ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ receiving a negative reaction to their posts from non-­‐Christian social media contacts – variance of 3% from the reported ‘negative reaction from Christians’.

Taken with the anecdotes expressed in free-­‐text fields throughout the questionnaire, it appears that there is an almost equal likelihood of Christians receiving a negative response from another Christian as from a person adhering to a different belief system.

As expanded on below, this can be a significant deterrent when Christians are considering whether to post faith-­‐related material on social media.

Asked then to summarise whether these positive and negative reactions encouraged or discouraged respondents from expressing their faith on social media, a slim majority (48.4%) felt encouraged while 43.5% were neutral on the topic. However, only 8% felt, on balance, discouraged from sharing their faith online. ‘I’ve suffered much abuse from ultra Catholics – self-­‐declared “faithful”,’ explained one 45–54 year old Roman Catholic respondent from the North East of England. He continued: ‘[I] do my best to love/forgive/tolerate/ignore them, but I am human!’

Other comments from those who were deterred from posting by the reaction or potential reaction of other Christians include:

‘Often the most negative and personally attacking comments come from Christians who don’t agree with what’s been posted. Obviously I don’t want my personal social media space to be filled with comments that are often lacking grace and truth from professing Christians so I’ve targeted posts to be challenging and encouraging hopefully without causing any undue offence apart from the Gospel, which will cause offence’ (Male, New Frontiers, 35–44, West Midlands) ‘[Negativity from other Christians] doesn’t stop me , but sometimes it makes me hesitant [to post].’ (Female, Charismatic, 35–44, East Midlands) ‘The negative reactions have discouraged me sometimes, but when I consider how few times I have actually received this negative reaction compared to how much weight I give to it, I realise the discouragement is overblown and I’m encouraged to keep trying to find ways to share my faith in a way that will reach people and not turn them off.’

(Male, Brethren, 25–34, New Zealand)

A 45–54-­‐year-­‐old male from the Charismatic tradition in the West Midlands was more upbeat: ‘Particularly encouraged by non Christian responses,’ he explained.

Similarly buoyed by the positive reaction were these respondent, among many others:

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Several people who aren’t Christians have contacted me privately (via Facebook) and asked me questions about my faith or asked for help with problems and have specifically said they felt able to do so because of things I’d said about my faith on Facebook (and the way I’d said them!) (Male, Anglican, 45–54, South East England) I was encouraged when I shared something about miracles without mentioning specifics and I said "if anyone here believes in miracles and wants to be encouraged, please message me". And two out of the first three reactions came from my non-Christian friends who wanted to hear about the miracles. (Female, free church, 35–44, Czech Republic) Positive use of the social media has brought me into contact with numerous people, quite a few of whom are non-Christians or discouraged Christians who have lost their way, many of whom seem to appreciate the contact because they seem to find in me something positive and helpful which encourages them to look to God afresh. (Male, Baptist, 65+, South East England)

4.10 Faith leaders and social media

Asked whether their church leaders advocated the use of social media to convey a faith message, respondents were fairly evenly divided between ‘social media use encouraged’ (50%) and ‘never/rarely talked about’ (47.5%). The remaining 2.5% said their church leaders ‘discouraged’ the use of social media.

Although this may appear to be a low score for advocacy, it is suggestive that attitudes towards social media by church leaders are improving. In the 2012 ComRes report commissioned by Christian Vision, fewer than two-­‐fifths of respondents said that their church used social media to engage with the congregation, with only one fifth reporting that their church actively encouraged worshippers to engage with other Christians online. In that report, just 8% of respondents agreed that their church was actively encouraging them to reach out to non-­‐Christians through social media.

In this more recent 2016 study, 50% of respondents expressed the view that their church leaders ‘encouraged’ the use of social media to share their personal faith.

However, there is still a very significant number of churches in the UK where social media use is ‘never or rarely talked about’. Given the reports of generally favourable reaction to faith-­‐based social media posts and the relatively low cost of using the technology, it is perhaps surprising that this opportunity is not being taken.

4.11 Incentives and disincentives

Question 24 invited respondents to share up to three social media platforms that they had personally found to be helpful in sharing their faith. Other than the expected answers of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, there were mentions of Pinterest, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Tumblr, Kakao, LinkedIn and iDisciple.

Finally, participants were asked to specify up to three factors which discourage them from sharing more about their faith on social media.

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A 65+ non-­‐denominational Christian male from the North West of England considered there was a ‘risk of being stereotyped’ and that social media is ‘not a good means for dialogue’.

A young Jewish woman from London, however, was enthusiastic about the potential of social media: ‘My faith and my links with my faith community are very important to my identity so I want to share that with my friends. Facebook, Twitter and blogging are key ways that I interact with friends and my wider network.’ Although ‘discouraged’ from social media use by her faith leaders, she continued: ‘My community ENCOURAGES rather than discourages responsible social media use’.

Insufficient time was a reason for non-­‐engagement on social media given by a 35–44-­‐ year-­‐old Quaker from the East Midlands. ‘I don’t believe in Bible bashing,’ she explained, but ‘people have said they found it helpful to know I have prayed for them in difficult times’. A different Quaker respondent mentioned an experimental online meeting for worship and silent prayer, held twice-­‐weekly.

‘Aggression’ from atheists and ‘indifference/misunderstanding’ were cited by a 45–54-­‐ year-­‐old respondent from the South West of England who gave his primary reason for reluctance in expressing faith positions on social media as ‘theological illiteracy’. A worshipper at a Baptist church, he felt that although his social media contacts would ‘accept’ content of this nature, he was nonetheless neutral about sharing, explaining that he felt ‘genuine theological enquiry is hard on a social media platform’. He also commented adversely about ‘sloganeering’ and ‘religious power games’.

A lack of confidence was also described by a 45–54 year old female from the South East. Also an Anglican, she felt ‘not brave enough in putting my own point of view across’. She didn’t want to be ‘challenged’ and expressed a ‘fear of being too upfront’.

Concerns about ‘other Christians chiming in [with their] staunch opinions’ was a similar view conveyed by a similarly-­‐aged female respondent from a non-­‐denominational church in the United States. Feeling that her faith is ‘a personal thing’, she recorded that the main detractor to being more open about her beliefs was ‘being misunderstood’. She also observed that her motivation is ‘not to get a ton of positive feedback on … social media posts’.

A Pagan respondent from the South East of England was unsure whether he was completely at ease with sharing his faith on social media. He put this down to ‘[t]oo many Christians and Muslims who believe in stoning pagans to death in the world …

Also, radical atheists, of the Dawkins sect variety in my circle of acquaintances.’

However, ‘[c]onversations with believers in other religions are a positive influence, although some are hostile (especially Dawkinsians!)’. This respondent also flagged up technical limitations as being a deterrent to more frequent social media content about his beliefs, citing ‘[l]ack of reasonable privacy settings on, e.g. Twitter’.

An ordained Anglican respondent from the West Midlands expressed that she felt ‘encouraged’ to share her faith identity on social media. She felt that the Archbishop of Canterbury was a good example of a Christian who represented the Christian faith well,

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and made specific mention of his recent use of Facebook Live (in which he conducted a study into a particular portion of scripture). ‘I believe we should be helping and encouraging people to engage with non-­‐ Christians on social media and build relationships that lead to dialogue,’ she wrote, though felt discouraged by ‘attacks by organised opponents to Christianity’.

As well as being cautious of ‘causing offence to non religious people’, a 35–44-­‐year-­‐old female from an Anglican church in the North East of England was concerned that ‘people in my church would disapprove of my views and change their behaviour towards me, or even my role within the church’.

‘Not being associated with the “crazies”’ was a deterrent expressed by a 35–55-­‐year-­‐ old female from the Baptist denomination in the South East. She expressed concern about the ‘balance’ of her social media postings and their ‘appropriateness’ to non-­‐ Christians. ‘Not to share faith at all would be disingenuous, even dishonest,’ she stated.

‘To only talk about this wouldn’t show a rounded life – unless this was explicitly what the account was for.’

A concept of broadcasting rather than discursive relationship was expressed by some respondents, such as this 55-­‐64 year old Christian from the Russian Federation:

‘Whatever I share must be current and appropriate to the people who receive it’

While ‘friends and family seem to appreciate’ her faith-­‐related posts on social media (‘positive saying, photos, etc’), she admitted that ‘some people go off on a completely different tangent’. She was put off further posting by ‘rude comments and backlash’.

More positively, authenticity and honesty was a topic raised by a 45-­‐54 year old Salvationist from New Zealand. Having ‘a lot’ of non-­‐Christian friends she ‘prefer[s] the relational style of evangelism so thus unless I would share a verse with them in person I would not share it on Facebook.’ She continued: ‘I have seen a lot of my non-­‐Christian friends share or like my Christian posts and I suspect it’s because I don’t post too often and I am careful what I post – always post my own experiences and quotes to make people think! I suspect cold calling evangelism doesn’t work now[a]days so we just need to not do more harm in our social media posts.’

A North American female Muslim reported that the reaction to her faith-­‐related posts on social media had encouraged her. ‘I regularly share a Friday reflection for Jummah as well as interfaith reflections and receive positive responses where people are compelled to share THEIR thoughts with me,’ she explained. However, she also felt discouraged by ‘[o]ther members of my community being judgemental’ and by ‘ignorance about Islam leading to rude and accusatory comments’.

It may perhaps be surprising – even disappointing – that there is a low ‘comfort’ score in Christians sharing verses from the Bible. A possible answer is evident in Smith (2015) who calculates that 40 million Bible verses were tweeted in 2015. But ‘bots’ appear to responsible for close to 50% of these:

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Around 20 million of the 40 million verses shared on Twitter this year, as far as I can tell, came from Bible spam accounts – accounts that do nothing but tweet Bible verses all day (hundreds of times a day in some cases).

Rachel Barach, the General Manager of Bible Gateway – the web’s foremost online Bible – commented on this phenomenon in an interview with Christianity Today11.

‘Taking a verse out of its context erodes its meaning and can be dangerously misleading,’ she warned of ‘Bible spam’. But she added: ‘We can take comfort in knowing “the Word of God is alive and active” (Hebrews 4:12), and God is sovereign to use even our mistakes and misunderstandings to his great purpose.’

One man from the South East of England described himself as ‘currently unaffiliated’ church-­‐wise but explained that ‘faith is important to me’ and social media ‘enables me to share it with my online contacts’.

This echoes work by Steve Aisthorpe. Researching for his 2016 book ‘The Invisible Church’, he interviewed numerous Christians that – for various reasons – had parted company with their local congregations.

One young woman he interviewed lamented that she was ‘out of contact with church through illness’ and that she missed it.

I love Jesus more than ever and I couldn’t have survived a minute of what I’ve been through without him. My faith is growing. What is it with church?

I have contact with a few Christians on Facebook which I have found helpful on the whole, though some got so hurt they can be very negative about ‘institutional’ Christianity, and I find that discouraging ’cos church can be brilliant.

Within the body of survey responses, there is rich diversity of faith expression and varied motivation for posting faith-­‐related content on social media. It’s pertinent to reflect back on Castells (2003), who observed that in Canadian research by Hampton and Wellman (2000), Internet users were found to have a ‘higher number of strong social ties … than those without [an Internet connection]’ and use of web-­‐based communication ‘enhanced sociability both at a distance and in the local community’.

The findings are also consistent with the view of Van Dijck (2013) who portrays a converging online world which he considers destined to become ‘social’.

‘Sharing’, ‘friending’, ‘liking’, ‘following’, ‘trending’, and ‘favoriting’ have come to denote online practices imbued with specific technological and economic meanings. This process of normalization is part of a larger political and ideological battle over information control in an online world where everything is bound to become ‘social’.

We will continue to explore this online ‘socialisation’ of faith communities in Chapter 5.

11

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/june/spamming-­‐good-­‐news-­‐twitter-­‐bots-­‐more-­‐bible-­‐ verses-­‐pastors.html

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CHAPTER 5: Interview analysis

In-­‐depth face-­‐to-­‐face or Skype interviews were conducted with 10 individuals (eight Christians and two Muslims), chosen to represent different denominations, regions of the UK and particular practices regarding faith expression on social media. The majority of the interviewees were selected having already participated in the online survey element of the research and being willing to elucidate further. The interviews were semi-­‐structured, based – where relevant – on answers that they had given in the questionnaire. Representative portions are included in this section – the full transcripts for each interview are available in the appendices. NB: 24 hours before final submission of this dissertation one interviewee requested that their contribution was omitted.

5.1 Identity

The first interviewee, Anna Greathead – a Christian from the West Midlands – felt it was ‘important’ to her to share her faith on social media (see Appendix 6 for full interview). ‘I think it’s just part of life now,’ she explained. ‘In the same way, in Jesus’ time, a train journey wasn’t part of life. But a train is still an appropriate place for something that’s sacred – to talk to people, to pray for people, all that sort of thing.’

Greathead identified three ways that she uses Facebook:

[A]s a church we use Facebook to arrange church events, to call people to prayer with the … situations we want to be aware of so that we can pray for one another.

I’m also friends with lots of Christians who aren’t in my church and I will sometimes engage with them and talk with them about things in their life. I’ll offer to pray for them if any situation comes up for them; or rejoice with them when they have their own prayers answered.

I also have lots of friends who are … people of other faiths – I’ve a handful of Muslim friends – and people who are of no faith. And people who are maybe hostile [to faith] as well. So that really does colour what I generally will post. I am aware that if I post anything overtly ‘faithy’ there may be a backlash.

Asked to describe that emotion, Greathead explained:

There are some people who backlash just in an inconsequential way – like, you know, ‘bacon sandwiches just taste good, it’s nothing to do with God’ or ‘that good thing that happened – I’m glad it happened but I don’t think God made it’. I can live with that.

But some people are quite evangelically anti-God, anti-faith. They will sometimes try to engage you in a much deeper conversation which, maybe, I’m not really wanting to dedicate a lot of time to. One thing about faith is that it’s very personal and very important to you, and in the same way that I wouldn’t want to engage in conversation with anyone about the failings of my husband – because he’s my husband and I love him – similarly when it’s something that it’s important to me I don’t want people to be criticising it.

That criticism was also described powerfully by Tash (Appendix 8), a medical student in London who identifies as both Christian and a member of the LGBT community.

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I’m painfully aware, if I post something [on social media] how it could make other people feel. And also being LGBT and being Christian is giving you backlash from both communities. LGBT people don’t like it. Christian people don’t like it. It’s a struggle…

She described a secret Facebook group called Diverse Church that she belongs to:

It’s really helpful for prayer and for sharing stuff… There was a guy who posted there the other day: ‘one of my friends is in hospital in a coma, beaten up for being LGBT.’

Tash expressed the hope that social media could catalyse increased openness in some sections of the Christian community towards acceptance of same-­‐sex relationships.

[W]ithin our Diverse Church, people have come out from conversations on there, on Facebook or Twitter, or other social media spaces. Previously me and my girlfriend weren’t allowed to spend Christmas together, because we were together. We asked for prayer in our group and she posted something about it on Twitter saying ‘Christianity is about being accepting – it’s not about not being able to spend Christmas with my girlfriend’ and lots of people retweeted that who she would never have expected to kind of support her in her religion.

Nik Stevenson, an Anglican ‘pioneer minister’ in Corby was asked if he felt Christians using social media effectively convey who Jesus is. In his response, he cited ‘the debate around homosexuality – it doesn’t matter which side you fall on, this should be a sidenote to first loving and serving our community’.

The doctrinal issue of whether to allow gay marriage or accepting homosexuality to a greater or lesser extent in our church should be a sidenote, not the headline. We shouldn’t be spending a lot of time on it. Because I think that skews people’s image of us as Christians to be judgmental and prescriptive about life … I think the mistake that – not all, but some – Christians make is lacking a loving response. There were those bands when I was a teenager: What Would Jesus Do? Maybe – this is cheesy – it’s now What Would Jesus Tweet? in response.

The only people Jesus really ever judged or criticised were religious authorities. He rarely criticised anyone who wasn’t professing to be part of the Church – well, the Jewish community. So I think that’s maybe a good model for us to follow.

Sara Ager, a convert from Christianity to Islam, now living in Italy revealed that similar tensions exist between some Muslim social media users.

The interesting criticism that I get from both extreme right Muslims and people who aren’t Muslims but are anti-Muslim is that I’ll often be told I’m not a real Muslim.

Sometimes in the space of the same few minutes. One will think I’m not Muslim enough, and ‘you’re not a proper Muslim because you talk about LGBT rights’, ‘you talk about this…’, ‘you’re not really a Muslim’ and then I’ll get someone else saying – someone who is anti-Muslim – saying ‘you’re not a Muslim because you’re not violent’, ‘you’re not horrible’, ‘you’re too liberal’ and things like that. That can be really frustrating.

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5.2 Acceptance and tension

Ager also explained:

There’s a really interesting man [on social media] who’s Ásatrú, a kind of like heathen, Nordic religion. And he’s really fascinating because interfaith is so often Abrahamic – and maybe Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh get in there as well – but generally speaking it’s the same faiths around the table. So he really made me think about what it means to be inclusive and what it means to talk about faith with someone who’s not generally accepted or included by other people.

Ager says that ‘every other day I’m called a terrorist online’. In the wake of the March 2016 Brussels bombing, she reported that this kind of sentiment was heightened.

When there’s a terrorist attack and it’s committed by someone who identifies as Muslim – firstly you feel awful on a human level that people have been killed and then there’s another layer when you start to worry about yourself. I do feel bad about it, because I shouldn’t be thinking ‘I hope it’s not a Muslim’. It’s awful to think that, but from past experience – whenever something like that happens, you know in that week you’re going to get a lot more vitriol.’

Muslims respond in many different ways to this sort of situation. So you have, for example, people who will get really defensive straight away, before they even know who committed something, they’ll start posting things about ‘Islam is a religion of peace’.

You have the group of people who’ll say ‘groups like ISIS have nothing to do with Islam at all’, and ‘they are not Muslims, they’re not representatives of Islam’, blah blah blah.

And then you’ve got people more like me – who say it has got something to do with Islam, you can’t remove it from its context. Because if they believe that they are doing something Islamic – or if they at least say they are – you’ve got to look at how they are justifying it, and how they are using the Qu’ran, and how they are either being manipulated or manipulating the text themselves to create this.

Maariya Aslam is a seven-­‐year-­‐old British-­‐Pakistani Muslim from Luton who found herself in the media spotlight in January 2016, when news emerged that she had learned to recite the entire Qur’an from memory. Although thousands of comments on the Facebook Page set up by her mother to evidence the claim had been supportive and positive (which reinforces the Freedom of Information Act data in 6.4), more sinister comments were witnessed on the BBC Asian Network Facebook Page12.

Now-­‐deleted abusive remarks included suggestions that the child was a ‘future terrorist’. Among the still-­‐extant comments permitted to remain by moderators:

Oh how nice, then at 20 when she is about to be beheaded, she will know exactly why. then go to a muslim country we dont want you Thats really a shame.The cult is so opressive to little girls

12

https://www.facebook.com/BBCAsianNetwork/videos/10156915746450381/

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Criticism extended to those responsible for teaching Maariya, with allegations of indoctrination and child abuse.

This highly negative sentiment is a small proportion of the post’s 460 remaining comments, most of which express variations on the theme of ‘Mā shāʼ Allāh’ (‘Thanks be to God’).

5.3 Inclusion and accessibility

Inclusion was a key aspect of the responses by Dave Lucas (Appendix 7), a visually-­‐ impaired advocate for the rights of disabled people through his Disability and Jesus social media presence.

We’re talking about disabled people who feel that they’re sort of pounced upon as soon as they walk through the door to be prayed with and ‘cured’. And there’s an awful lot of pressure in that area. There’s a lot of people who have just been made to feel unwelcome – people with learning difficulties, people with sensory impairments. Families with autistic children who maybe make a little bit more noise than the average child have been been made to feel unwelcome. Myself, as a guide dog owner, I’ve been told ‘you can’t bring your dog in here’. You know, that kind of attitude. Or I’ve had literature snatched out of my hand with people saying ‘oh you, don’t need that … because you’re blind’. Those kind of negative attitudes we come across a lot.

Lucas observed that the digital landscape favours participation by individuals who may be excluded by physical barriers in the offline world.

[I]n the disabled world, [social media]’s where a lot of people live. Because of restricted mobility and lack of access to things, they spent a lot more time than the average person on the web – so that’s where they are.

There are several different groups doing online services. I don’t use them myself but I’m aware of lots of people who do, so I think it’s a great opportunity and, as I say, for organisations who don’t have any money – free.

I think the use of Periscope and Facebook Live to stream [church services] is great. And conferences. This is a big issue for disabled Christians – getting to conferences.

Just the actual, physical getting there – the journey – is too difficult. The venue might not be great, that sort of thing. But when an event is live-streamed, via Periscope or whatever else, they’re then able to take part. In a way that they couldn’t otherwise. So it’s a great thing. Even a live Twitter feed where people are tweeting from the event – you know. It enables people to feel that they are part of something.

Lucas also applauded the Church of England’s new YouTube-­‐based TGI Monday (tgimonday.show) initiative, as ‘a way that lots of people can engage that otherwise wouldn’t be able to get in to a church’. One of the four presenters, Zoe Heming, has been active in promoting disabled people’s rights at the Anglican General Synod. Co-­‐ presenter Ros Clarke (see Appendix 4), who is also Online Pastor for the church’s Lichfield Diocese, explained that social media’s anonymity or pseudonymity was a helpful aspect:

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‘Online you can lurk, you can listen, you can ask a question but not feel put on the spot when someone answers it. …I would be nervous and uncomfortable if that’s all that ever happened – that people lurked at home and were anonymous and thought that was enough of a way to engage with faith. But I definitely think for first steps, it’s brilliant’

Using YouTube as both a means of delivery and eliciting faith-­‐related topics for discussion during the weekly programmes, TGI Monday seeks to provide a safe space for people to ask questions about the Christian faith – and to have them answered not just by a single, definitive, figure but by a group with diverse interpretations and opinions.

This practice echoes Campbell (2006) who identified that among the benefits the Internet offers are: ‘[an] unrestricted field for self-­‐expression offers a tempting resource for people who want to “do their own thing” in religion. At the same time, some may be attracted by the Internet’s anonymity, giving them opportunities to explore the esoteric without risking peer criticism.’

5.4 Ritual

A third TGI Monday presenter, Dan Stork Banks (also transcribed fully in Appendix 4), was asked if TGI Monday is church or ‘something else’:

It’s church insofar as we are the Body of Christ ministering to the Body of Christ online. That is right. But we’re not church in terms of we have no sacramental ministry, we have no occasional offices. And certainly we’re not an alternative to church. There are some people who have said to us that we’ve become their church. And that’s wonderful – I know what they’re saying. These are people who are really on the outside of church, not going [to church]. They’re either not Christians yet or on the fringe – maybe church wounded and they’re just outside the congregation, not really part of church. If we are that bridge that kind of helps them in… if they’re our congregation and we’re their ministers, as it were, wonderful. But it’s always got to be a directional thing, so we’ve always got to be pointing towards church rather than pointing away.

Nik Stevenson (Appendix 10), whose Digital Saints initiative uses Periscope to live stream a daily Benedictine prayer time, concurs:

I would hope that [Digital Saints] becomes a resource for Christians to resource their relationship with God in the same way that a church can. I would see it as something that works alongside church. For some people it may be church, for some people who for social or cultural reasons cannot access another church. But I would never want to encourage people to use it as their sole form of church if they had the opportunity, because I think that would be dangerous.

But he also argues that social media may ‘reduce the necessity’ for some meetings.

[P]rayer groups and stuff that always happens physically could happen virtually. And it might be better. They’re always the poorest attended of any group. So maybe there are things that can happen virtually that will actually increase [participation]…

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Touching on whether certain church rituals and symbols can be conducted online, he mentioned the possibility of a ‘digital Eucharist’:

Theologically, it’s really not an issue. If you start really talking about what’s going on – if my bit of bread is here and your bit of bread is in Devon, for example, if I pray – it’s not beyond God to bless them both at the same time! As with the wine. Not a problem.

But then there are all the – certainly in the Church of England – canon law issues, all that sort of thing. Is this communion by extension, is it going to stop people going to church?

5.5 Connectedness

Jeff Piepho pastors a large church in Kansas, USA, which makes extensive use of social media, particularly Facebook.

It’s extremely important. In fact, I am on Facebook every single day because I probably have more interactions with church members and church leaders on Facebook than I do through email or even phone calls nowadays. Because they’re always on Facebook, some of them on Twitter. They’re always on social media. They may check their email a couple of times a week. Text messages are really good too, but social media seems to connect a lot better because they’re always checking it.

Amplifying some of the concepts of ‘connectedness’ evidenced in the Boundless 2015 research, he identifies that this manifests itself in several ways. As well as his description of church members connecting with each other offline to avoid unnecessary administrative meetings, he describes how attendees who are physically present at his church services are encouraged to use social tools. He advocates that they should utilise such tools to publicise their involvement in a Christian worship meeting as an act of witnessing their faith to their online connections.

We actually, during our church service, put up a slide right before the sermon that says ‘check in on Facebook right now – and tell your friends to go to our website live.revo.church’ and people can watch the sermon live there. So we’re telling people ‘hey, check in right now on Facebook’ – so hopefully out of 300 people there, 20, 30, 40 people will check in and hundreds of people will see ‘Wow, my friends are going there – I can watch it right now if I want to.’

People in churches are going to have to decide whether or not social media is going to be a primary mechanism to advance people into their churches as we advance the gospel – or as a ground for the gospel itself. I don’t see it as a new type of church – I don’t. But I see it as a way to advance the gospel to get people into church. Maybe I’ll change my mind on that at some point. But churches all over are going to have to make that decision I think in a few years about whether or not social media can be a kind of church community on its own.

Estelle Blake is a British Salvation Army officer (ordained minister of religion) based in Rome. A keen social media user, she’s enthusiastic about sharing her faith and different aspects of her work as the anti-­‐human trafficking coordinator for the church in Italy and Greece (see Appendix 5 for full transcript).

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Asked about how she strikes the balance between her stated intentionality of providing a ‘positive’ experience for her social media followers who choose to connect with her and the challenging nature of her work, she responded:

Well, the reality is that I will post pictures of the dirt. I don’t see that there’s any point in hiding any of that. But I also point out that within the dirt and the muck, there’s this beauty. What I often share is words. And I use it as a prayer place. For people who commit to pray for us, and they want to use that time, we use it to post updates: ‘Would you please pray for this situation?’ ‘Can you pray not just during, but after?’ And it’s one of those places where I’ve found the beauty in the dirt.

5.6 Ministry delivery

Major Blake spoke about her deliberations about whether to ‘Facebook friend’ vulnerable women she works with.

We’ve had a discussion about a Facebook page, because last week two people said to us could they add us as friends on Facebook? And my boss looked at me. And I said no, we won’t do that – it’s a discussion I’ve had with people. And she asked ‘why won’t you do that?’ and I said ‘because that’s our private, personal space’. But actually let’s set up a Facebook page – a closed group called Green Light Project. And we give the women – only – the chance to join it. Let’s do it that way. And let’s have it so that if I’m away we’ve all got access to it so we can use it say ‘we’ll see you tonight’, ‘we’re out this evening’. And it’s a way to offer ministry.

Blake also identifies opportunities for believers who may be unable through disability or ill health to participate in ‘physical’ ministry to encourage and support others via social media: There’s an officer [of The Salvation Army] in the UK who has severe health issues, but her ministry on Facebook – sending Scripture verses, encouragement – is out of this world. And that’s a result.

5.7 Joys and woes

The pilot research for The Salvation Army’s Boundless 2015 is linked to an event that was clearly celebratory in nature, with very little negative sentiment. It was, in many ways, a contrived environment, but the fact that emotion could be conveyed via social media interaction alone was demonstrable.

A more mundane exemplum comes again from The Salvation Army’s social media content. The One Army programme is a series of teaching videos, intended to spark discussion in a small group setting. Over a five-­‐week period in January and February 2016, Periscope was used to live stream the discussion at one such gathering in Raynes Park, South West London. Up to 500 online participants joined the webcast, and were able to interact in real time by Tweeting their questions and comments, among other methods.

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‘What made a real difference,’ said the facilitator of the group, Major Kerry Coke, ‘was that early on in the first evening, when we weren’t really sure how it was going to take off, somebody taking part from another part of the UK tweeted a photo of a newborn baby who’d been taken along to their group. It really made an impact. We were talking about new life, and the picture added fresh perspective.’13

Social media is now present at both ends of life, at times of physical and spiritual birth and during the trauma and loss of bereavement.

In April 2016, 25-­‐year-­‐old British backpacker Amy Haskew was critically injured in a cycling accident in the coastal town of Mallacoota, Australia. Doctors diagnosed swelling to her brain, and she entered a medically-­‐induced coma. As her parents and other family members travelled to be with her in hospital in Melbourne, friends in her church were being mobilised to pray for her healing. A closed Facebook group, Pray for Amy Haskew, was set up along with a gofundme.com fundraising page intended to help towards the costs of healthcare and medical evacuation. The initial £10,000 target was reached within one week.

The Facebook group was joined by many of her friends and family around the world but also by hundreds of people who had no direct relationship with Amy. Daily updates on Amy’s situation were posted via her parents in Melbourne. It provided a ‘safe space’, according to group creator Jude Marshall, where people could share not just prayers but encouraging Bible verses, songs, psalms, and visions of what they felt God was saying. Periscope was used to live stream prayer meetings from Amy’s church in the UK, enabling thousands of others to participate.

‘We wanted to hold a prayer event on the Monday after Amy’s accident,’ explained Marshall. ‘The easiest way I knew to spread the word was via a Facebook event. To make an event you have to have a group, therefore the group was set up to invite friends of Amy to come together to pray. Initially it didn’t occur to me that we would be using the group to support the family out in Australia but as I sent the invitations to church members I wanted to let them know they were being prayed for so they were added to the group. Originally the group was “open” so they could have added themselves or just declined to join really easily.

‘Once the local newspaper found out about the group the settings were changed to “closed” and I had requests throughout each day from people who wanted to join. Amy spent two summers in America for a camp. I didn’t have any contacts from there but my sister did. Amy’s brother also had contacts from across the seas so when people requested to join it was simply a case of seeing who they were friends with to find a link and accepting them to the group. As long as I could see a link to either Amy, [boyfriend] Sam or their families, the request was accepted.

‘So initially the group was solely set up to invite friends and family to the prayer event – a physical event taking place at Amy’s church. The Facebook group very quickly

13

Personal anecdote to author. Used with permission.

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turned into a natural online prayer event that was 24/7. We were able to share very personal daily updates from Amy’s mum and members were able to share prayers, songs and images that were helping them in their prayer times when they prayed for Amy. I tried to make it clear that the group was solely for praying for Amy. We wanted the group to remain a positive place whilst we prayed for a miracle and so anything that was negative was removed.’

The group grew in size and activity throughout Amy’s time in intensive care, with posts varying from personal prayers for healing, Bible verses, poetry, inspirational songs and unique artwork. More than 3,000 contacts, some of whom had never physically met Amy, joined the Facebook group. Sadly, however, on 12 May 2016, Amy died without regaining consciousness.

Jude Marshall recalled: ‘I knew that Amy had died before it was made public knowledge on the group and ironically someone who had gone through his own child dying posted a link to a blog he had written. The point of his post wasn’t about death but I removed it as I was aware a lot of members would read the word “grief” and presume the worst had happened. Recently I also removed a post that was too sensitive particularly for [Amy’s mum] to read as a member was describing in great illustrative detail how fortunate she felt having her daughter’s arms around her in an embrace. The post wasn’t intended to cause upset, but it was too soon…

‘When we had to break the news that the miracle we had been praying for wasn’t going to happen there was a very obvious shift of feeling within the group. Everyone remained positive when they could and focused on the absolute belief that we have that Amy is in heaven but it is still only now sinking in to some people that she’s really not returning to us. It took me a while to bring myself to change the name of the group because that involved me physically having to delete Amy’s name [the group is now called ‘Pray for the Haskew Family’] and that was extremely hard to do. We also had a number of people ask for the group to be opened up to pray for wider situations. I have had to be really strict with myself in insuring the group remains focused on the family and friends of Amy and Sam as they try to move on to some “normality” without Amy.

‘We have absolutely no idea what impact being part of the group had on those members but one member shared with us how she had given her life to Jesus since praying for Amy and seeing how the group were able to support each other because of our trust in Jesus. For myself this group worked particularly because it was open across different time zones. Close friends and family in the UK were not sleeping well whilst we waited for Amy to recover and so were able to open Facebook and see a new post every time and know they weren’t alone in being awake and thinking of Amy.

5.8 Effect of social media on offline relationships

Jude Marshall continues: ‘From the beginning the [Haskew] family were aware of the group and often read posts aloud to Amy and played the songs that had been posted.

During one Sunday prayer time [they] were able to use the hospital chapel to pray with

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us whilst Sam held Amy’s hand for the 10 minutes. Knowing that at that time we were all connected was very emotional.

‘Sadly, I know of members who cannot understand why God didn’t use this group to prove himself as a miracle worker. We spent nearly two months praying for Amy to be fully healed and God did not do it. It’s too early to say what impact this group has had on the members, as those who are angry and confused may still come back and read the posts and find peace at a later date. I do fear that some will have lost their faith because it was so intense and we were all desperately praying the same prayer.

‘I can say for myself that being a part of the group whilst we prayed for a miracle is what has kept me going since Amy’s death. Knowing I’m not alone in my grieving, confusion, anger and sadness is what makes it bearable. Behind the safety of a screen I can be honest with how I am feeling. I can simple post a song or prayer and when I don’t have the words to say what I need to be saying I know that someone else is behind their own screen and praying alongside me.

‘Who knows how many people will think back to these intense two months when they are going through their own trials and be strengthened once more from the posts shared?’

Echoing that sentiment, another contributor to the Facebook group commented:

‘[We] prayed for a miracle, it’s happening now, people around the world prayed and are still praying, people have returned to faith because of Amy, somebody I never met will never be forgotten xx’

This cements the possibility of social media being instrumental in reinforcing an individual’s personal faith, even in extremis.

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CHAPTER 6: Conflict and criminality

While the number of survey respondents reporting negative or abusive feedback to their faith-­‐related social media posts was relatively small, the public interest in how ‘extreme’ cases are handled merits a more thorough investigation. Particularly in light of high-­‐profile instances such as the murder of Asad Shah and the government reports of online Islamophobia and anti-­‐Semitism, this chapter seeks to quantify the scale of the issue within the UK.

6.1 Religious extremism

Extremist groups such as so-­‐called Islamic State (also known as ISIS or Daesh) which claim a religious affiliation are generally reputed to make very effective use of social media to spread their divisive message. The group makes use of bots (automated software) to create Twitter accounts and disseminate its message. ISIS has ‘legitimate support’ on social media, according to J.M. Berger, a George Washington University fellow specialising in extremism. But it is ‘less than it might seem’ he adds. ‘And it owes a lot of that support to a calculated campaign that would put American social-­‐media-­‐ marketing gurus to shame.’14

Berger and Morgan in their 2015 ISIS Twitter Census further describe that:

Much of ISIS’s social media success can be attributed to a relatively small group of hyperactive users, numbering between 500 and 2,000 accounts, which tweet in concentrated bursts of high volume.

An Independent newspaper report15 in February 2016 revealed that Twitter had closed down 125,000 accounts linked to ISIS activities. The company noted the difficulty in targeting hate speech, observing that there existed no ‘magic algorithm’ to detect this.

However, the news report also references legal action being brought against Twitter Inc. by the widow of an American victim of an ISIS bombing in Jordan. Her rationale, which potentially precipitated the company’s flurry of account closures:

Without Twitter, the explosive growth of Isis over the last few years into the mostfeared terrorist group in the world would not have been possible.

While the Easter tragedy befalling Asad Shah was shocking in its violence, strong hate speech has been evidenced on social media at other times. Particularly in the aftermath of terrorist attacks by IS – notably in Brussels and Istanbul – a peak in Islamophobic comments have been reported. Hate monitoring group Tell MAMA reported a 326% year-­‐on-­‐year rise in anti-­‐Muslim hate incidents in 2015.

14

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/06/isis-­‐iraq-­‐twitter-­‐social-­‐media-­‐ strategy/372856/ 15 http://www.independent.co.uk/life-­‐style/gadgets-­‐and-­‐tech/news/125000-­‐isis-­‐linked-­‐accounts-­‐ suspended-­‐by-­‐twitter-­‐a6857371.html

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Extremist groups and sympathisers were reportedly promoting hatred of Muslims on social media, which was a significant radicalisation factor. Chair Shahid Malik said:

The statistics paint a profoundly bleak picture of the explosion of anti-Muslim hate both online and on our streets, with visible Muslim women being disproportionately targeted by cowardly hatemongers.16

6.2 The Referendum Effect

Following the June 2016 referendum decision for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, the Muslim Council of Britain posted a montage of 105 tweets, which represented a fraction of the negative reaction experienced by Muslims.

Figure 10: Tweet from Muslim Council of Britain on 26 June 2016, accessible via https://twitter.com/MuslimCouncil/status/747160383773904896

16

‘Incidents of anti-­‐Muslim abuse up by 326% in 2015, says Tell MAMA’, The Guardian, 29 June 2016 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jun/29/incidents-­‐of-­‐anti-­‐muslim-­‐abuse-­‐up-­‐by-­‐326-­‐in-­‐2015-­‐ says-­‐tell-­‐mama

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One far right group by the name of South Coast Resistance used its Facebook Page to encourage supporters to join a demonstration planned to take place in Southampton at the same time as an Eid prayer event. Despite a rapid attempt to mobilise supporters by an opposition Facebook group, Southampton Antifascists, to safeguard the Muslim gathering, the event organisers British Bangladesh Cultural Academy cancelled the programme due to safety concerns.

6.3 Other online faith-­‐hate

Other faith groups are also especially susceptible to hateful comments. The House of Commons All Party Inquiry Into Anti-­‐Semitism reported on social media abuse in February 201517. It included in its report an example of a Tweet by a Gaelic football player, well known in Ireland:

‘If you are lucky enough to know or work with a Jew, punch him right on the nose tomorrow’ followed by an expletive …

The excuse he offered subsequently was: ‘… for any offence caused… you’re sitting there watching the news and you’re thinking this is not right… I am not in the public eye and it was just a joke to the people I hang around with.’ The PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland] investigated but no action has been reported.

The report suggested that more should be done to punish perpetrators of such hate speech, indicating that a stance similar to that taken with sex offenders.

There is an allowance in the law for banning or blocking individuals from certain aspects of internet communication in relation to sexual offences. Informal feedback we have received from policy experts indicates that this is a potential area of exploration for prosecutors in relation to hate crime.

6.4 Faith-­‐hate crime data

But how much of a problem is social media-­‐borne hate crime? In order to secure definitive, objective data on the instances of social media-­‐borne faith hate crime from across the United Kingdom, Freedom of Information Act requests were submitted to all 42 regional police forces (excluding the special constabularies with national responsibility for transport, nuclear and military establishments). Forces were asked to supply data relating to incidents of religiously-­‐motivated hate crime recorded in the period January 2010 to April 2016, where social media was used in the offence, or used as evidence to bring a charge. In order to clarify ‘social media’ and provide a more consistent basis for the data extraction, the following keywords were offered as potential search terms against the modus operandi field: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn.

17 http://www.antisemitism.org.uk/wp-­‐content/themes/PCAA/images/4189_

PCAA_Antisemitism%20Report_spreads_v9%20REPRO-­‐DPS_FOR%20WEB_v3.pdf

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Seven forces (Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Essex, Hampshire, Staffordshire, Thames Valley and the Metropolitan Police Service) refused the request, usually on cost grounds under the provisions of Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act (2000).

This clause provides an exemption for providing information where it is anticipated the work required to fulfil the request would exceed 18 hours duration. In Scotland, where the slightly different terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 apply, the Scottish Police Authority responded to advise that the requested information was ‘not held’. The request was therefore rejected under Section 17 of the Act.

It was apparent from the varying styles of responses and explanatory notes that the systems used to record and describe crimes vary. There was not a nationally applicable scheme for extracting the information from a central database. Thames Valley Police (covering Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes) explained that their crime-­‐recording system ‘does not have a social media flag’. North Wales Police were able to provide only partial data, as the method most readily available to them was to cross reference records tagged with an ‘e-­‐crime’ marker. However, as this tag had only been use since May 2015 and records had not been retrospectively updated, it was not possible to report more fully.

Regrettably, the forces who refused the Freedom of Information requests include some of the more densely populated parts of the country, and therefore the dataset is incomplete. The Metropolitan Police Service in their refusal notice supplied the supporting information that within their area in 2010 alone, there were 6,996 ‘racist and religious’ hate crimes recorded and a further 479 faith hate crime offences.

Conversely, some forces went beyond their legal obligations and provided additional context to the data request. For instance, Dorset Police revealed that the one recorded instance of faith hate crime that involved social media was among just 19 religiously-­‐ motivated hate crimes in the same period. Lincolnshire Police were able to divulge that of the 27 crimes which matched the criteria in the period of interest, three involved Twitter and 22 involved Facebook – two crimes used both in the same offence.

It is dubious to assume that the trends in a largely rural county like Dorset might be in any way similar to the urbanised sprawl of the capital, but if 5% of faith crime has a social media element to it, the Met’s 479 faith hate crimes in 2010 could equate to social media use in 24 of these. Clearly with further uncertainty added in the following years, the graph in Figure 1 below is likely to be highly inaccurate and under-­‐ representing of the full national picture.

The 2016 figure is interpolated, based on multiplying the ‘to date’ figures from responding forces by four, as most reported on the period January–March 2016 Notwithstanding the incomplete data, the trend does appear to show a noticeable increase in instances of reported social media-­‐borne faith hate crime. The figures are, nonetheless, very low.

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UK religiously moevated hate crime on social media 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Figure 11: Graph showing increase in reported instances of faith-related hate crime using social media (2016 figure extrapolated from half-year figure)

6.5 Better crime reporting

The apparent absence of consistent nationwide crime recording methods for identifying instances of faith hate crime conducted by social media is concerning. It would appear that levels are very low, but on the rise. The introduction of a specific ‘e-­‐ crime’ tag in 2015 may improve the granularity at which reports can be achieved, but more could be done to accurately record and report on this data, if only to reassure the public that the risk is minimal.

This is especially true given the hate crime ‘is still significantly underreported’ even though ‘more people are reporting hate crime than ever before’, according to chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Sarah Thornton, in a blog post shortly after the UK’s vote to leave the European Union18.

6.6 Prayer baiting

The Church of England incurred wrath and warmth in variable measure in February 2016, after reporting news of Professor Richard Dawkins suffering a stroke. It posted a link to an Independent article for its 58,456 Twitter followers with the text ‘Prayers for Prof Dawkins and his family’.

While it was rapidly retweeted and ‘liked’, not everyone was quite as supportive. The Church of England’s motivation was treated with suspicion by some, with ‘passionate Londoner’ Rob Lugg reacting: ‘This is EPIC trolling from the @c_of_e.’

18

http://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/sara-­‐thornton-­‐blog-­‐unity-­‐and-­‐respect-­‐needed-­‐not-­‐hate-­‐crime-­‐30-­‐ june-­‐2016

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Actor Ian Hayles was similarly unimpressed, tweeting: ‘disgusting use of a man’s illness to score a childish point’. Still others questioned why Dawkins had been ‘singled out’ for prayer, and dismissed the efficacy of prayer as a response to ill health.

The Church of England, for its part, was swift to explain itself via a blog post by Communications Director Rev Arun Arora on the organisation’s Tumblr page19. He wrote: ‘The tweet was a prayer. Nothing controversial in that,’ before continuing that ‘Many recognised the tweet for what it was, a genuine tweet offering prayer for a public person who was unwell.’

‘Some of the twitter reaction assumed that Christians only pray for other Christians,’ Arora furthered. ‘In fact Christians pray for all kinds of people.’ Arora also paid tribute to Dawkins’ support of the Church of England surrounding the banned Lord’s Prayer advert that had been planned to play out in cinemas prior to the latest movie in the Star Wars franchise. ‘Any suggestion that Christians do anything other than hate Professor Dawkins,’ he explained, ‘utterly confuses those who think in binary terms.’

Once unsettled, however, Twitterati can be difficult to quell. New Antiquarian and ‘killjoy’ Sjoerd Levelt calculated that ‘The only two earlier individual prayer tweets from @c_of_e to late 2013, by the way, were each for deceased people. #PrayForDawkins’, while Gazzz1987 asked ‘Should you pray for people even if it would insult them?’

6.7 Prayer shaming

‘Prayer shaming’, as this exemplifies, is a phrase coined in December 2015, following the terrorist shooting at a social services centre in San Bernardino, California. As had become de rigueur, a #PrayForSanBernardino hashtag had gained momentum on Twitter shortly after the incident became public knowledge. Some of the higher-­‐profile users of this hashtag were criticised for preferring to talk of prayer rather than taking more tangible action.

It also gave rise to some heated argument centring on ‘where is God in this suffering?’, a common objection to organised religion which can prove difficult for inexperienced apologists to counter. A pertinent example was a tweet from George Zornik, the Washington editor of liberal-­‐leaning magazine The Nation, America’s longest running journal. A selective screengrab from Tweetdeck illustrated the difference in response from Democrats and Republicans, including the current 2016 presidential candidates.

Democrat Hillary Clinton had used Twitter to criticise gun controls – including the phrase ‘we must take action’ – while Republican George Pataki had tweeted ‘Praying for the victims and first responders in #SanBernardino’. It appears that Zornick was portraying a false dichotomy where Democrats ‘do things’ but Republicans ‘just pray’.

The screen grab comparison was authentic – it had not been Photoshopped – but was very selective in its scope, in what appears to be an attempt to achieve political capital.

19

http://cofecomms.tumblr.com/post/139239114452/prayfordawkins

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Figure 12: Selective screengrab from Tweetdeck

Faith leaders were also quick to respond to the June 2016 shooting at The Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. While the inevitable #PrayForOrlando hashtag did gain momentum, particularly on Twitter, there appeared to be a shift away from simply asking followers to pray towards taking more readily observable action.

Quoting the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the international leader of The Salvation Army, General André Cox, published a video message via Facebook and YouTube. ‘I encourage you to respond quickly and decisively to demonstrate God’s mercy in a practical and tangible way. Let us as The Salvation Army rise up and be mobilised, showing God’s love to those who may not expect to be loved by us.’

Meanwhile, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York issued a joint statement20 calling for solidarity. ‘[A]s Christians we must speak out in support of LGBTI people, who have become the latest group to be so brutally targeted … We must pray, weep with those affected, support the bereaved, and love without qualification.’

Formerly a writer of Christian songs and worship music, Vicky Beeching had long been an advocate for victims of online trolling before she publicly admitted same-­‐sex attraction. In an August 2013 blog post, she wrote of the perceived effect that social

20

http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5735/archbishops-­‐issue-­‐joint-­‐statement-­‐in-­‐ response-­‐to-­‐orlando-­‐shootings

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media has on behaviour and consequences. She argued that social media ‘vastly reduces’ the consequences of poor behaviour, compared to the outcome that would have been achieved in a physical interaction. Citing cases such as the Twitter abuse of diver Tom Daley, footballer Fabrice Muamba and peer Lord McAlpine, she suggests that in the online space ‘we’re saying things that we probably wouldn’t have uttered face to face’.21 This can be an enabling factor – otherwise reluctant contributors can feel empowered to share their views. But, as evidenced above, it can also give rise to hate speech. This, too, would benefit from further research – a comparison of whether social media does truly provide a voice for the voiceless, or whether this advantage is outweighed by it being an additional weapon for those intent on causing emotional harm.

6.8 Humour

In her interview, Muslim convert Sara Ager identified one way in which she chooses to respond to those who attack her as a result of the faith perspectives she posts on social media:

I often try to defuse the situation with humour, and often I find that although the person won’t change their mind and maybe will still have the views that they had before – for a brief moment they consider me as a person like them, and maybe laugh at a joke that I’ve made. And at least they think for one second ‘that’s a Muslim who made me laugh’ and ‘I liked that Muslim’ and ‘that Muslim didn’t say something horrible to me’.

Because it would be very easy to say something horrible like ‘oh, go away’ or block people. And I try not to. I think I’m friends with several people who originally I’d have considered trolls.

Humour was also identified by several survey respondents – not just a means by which to quell an escalating situation, but as a means to communicate effectively in the first place. Certainly in the context of Islam, there appear to be concerted attempts to ‘normalise’ the appearance of Muslim clerics. This is most obviously evidenced through initiatives like the Instagram Imams22 which regularly posts photographs of faith leaders in traditional outfits but taking part in everyday activities. Some of these appear to be intentionally humorous, as well as acting as a social commentary on the role of Muslim teachers in society.

Jeff Piepho, as well as pastoring a large church in Kansas, is co-­‐creator of a satirical Facebook Page called the Church Meme Committee23 which offers ‘hilarious and/or sarcastic memes about church life in America’. Piepho explains:

It helps you not get frustrated – you can go ‘yeah, other people are dealing with the same thing I am dealing with’. And so, in some sense, that was how it started – you know, ‘funny things happen’. So this other pastor and I are very close geographically – about half an hour apart – and we would get together with other pastors in our region and we’d just talk sometimes, and we’d laugh about things that happened in our churches.

http://vickybeeching.com/blog/trolling-­‐social-­‐media-­‐and-­‐super-­‐powers/ https://www.instagram.com/talabetoday/ 23 https://www.facebook.com/churchmemecommittee/ 21 22

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We saw some other Christian memes and we just thought wouldn’t it be fun if we had our own memes for our crowd – for pastors, church leaders, people who have to deal with the same stuff that we deal with.

In terms of communicating the Christian faith, Piepho is keen that believers shouldn’t take themselves so seriously all the time. Comedy, absurdity and other expressions of joy, he argues, are a necessary counterpoint against the ‘weighty, heavy’ subject the church has a responsibility to communicate. His full interview is recorded in Appendix 9.

The death of Christ, the Resurrection, the spiritual matters, Creator of the cosmos…

It’s so weighty that we sometimes forget who put joy in the heart. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. That isn’t to say that all humour produces joy, or that joy is merely a product of humour. But too often we deal with these weighty things and forget that we can laugh, it is OK to be humorous, it is OK to poke fun at ourselves, to not take ourselves so seriously all the time. Yeah, I think that’s a really important facet of Christianity. At our church even, we have this thing we call the FIASCO – it’s an acronym that reminds us what kind of personality we should have when doing ministry. And F stands for Fun. We reach primarily a group of people in poverty. There’s a study by Ruby Payne, Framework for Understanding Poverty. She talks in there that if you can’t find humour, if you can’t laugh at yourself, people in poverty tend not to listen to you as well.

Cognisant of the potential for conflict, Pope Benedict addressed issues of divisiveness in his address for the 47th World Communications Day in 2013. Speaking of the need for discernment and wisdom, he referenced the Bible passage in 1 Kings 19 which tells of God being heard not in the dramatic, but in the quiet.

For those who have accepted the gift of faith with an open heart, the most radical response to mankind’s questions about love, truth and the meaning of life – questions certainly not absent from social networks – are found in the person of Jesus Christ. It is natural for those who have faith to desire to share it, respectfully and tactfully, with those they meet in the digital forum. Ultimately, however, if our efforts to share the Gospel bring forth good fruit, it is always because of the power of the word of God itself to touch hearts, prior to any of our own efforts. Trust in the power of God’s work must always be greater than any confidence we place in human means. In the digital environment, too, where it is easy for heated and divisive voices to be raised and where sensationalism can at times prevail, we are called to attentive discernment. Let us recall in this regard that Elijah recognized the voice of God not in the great and strong wind, not in the earthquake or the fire, but in ‘a still, small voice’.

It may not be immediately obvious what the social media equivalent of that ‘still, small voice’ may be, but seeking some form of juxtaposed quietness when met with a social media ‘storm’ would appear to be adroit.

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CHAPTER 7: Conclusion

Primary research for this dissertation indicates that survey respondents tend to be technologically aware and literate, expressing a high level of support for faith-­‐sharing activities through social media. This expression takes numerous forms, depending on the confidence, enthusiasm, technological literacy and perceived response to posts from the originators’ own social networks. Some online faith-­‐sharing activities can take place at an almost trivial level – such as simply including the word ‘Christian’ in a Twitter profile – or can be very comprehensive treatise. The relationship afforded by social media-­‐based interaction, however, seems to be valued by both survey respondents and interviewees alike.

Digital research fellow and founder of The Big Bible Project, Dr Bex Lewis concurs that: ‘In social media … it is possible to communicate at a shallow level but true fellowship takes us beyond empty words and jokes. It demonstrates care for others, inclusiveness even where there are disagreements, opportunities for accountability, and a sharing of ideas.’24 The parallel #DigiDisciple initiative ‘dream[s] of a world where people tell their stories and share what they’re learning about God, the Bible, and the digital age’.

The Boundless case study (Chapter 3) demonstrates the creative story-­‐telling facilitated by social media amongst Salvationist Christians. Research highlights an appetite for sharing content (memes, etc) published by ‘official’ entities as well as redistributing messages – including selfies – originated by participants. There was no shying away from the very clear Christian messages espoused during the events, and sharing of Bible verses, worship song lyrics, and key messages from Bible expositions were all in evidence across social media. This suggests that ‘event’ social media can be a very strong vehicle for engaging participants, whether physically proximate or participating vicariously. It also indicates a level of trust in both the formal social media channels – in this case of The Salvation Army – and in the content created by delegates who did not have a formal ‘communications’ role.

The Putting Your Faith In Social Media survey analysis reveals that, regardless of denominational allegiance, there appears to be a high level of support for following and sharing social media content originated by churches and faith-­‐based organisations (section 4.5). It did, however, also indicate a potential shortcoming, in that nearly half of the faith leaders encountered by survey respondents ‘never or rarely’ talk about social media (section 4.10). While a very small number of faith leaders are reported to actively discourage the use of social media, the absence of clear endorsement by 47.6% of leadership may be interpreted by some believers as tacit disapproval of the medium and therefore act as a deterrent.

Denominational leaders, therefore, may wish to more strategically provide encouragement and practical resources to ministers, teachers and other practitioners.

The 2016 ‘Global Digital Snapshot’ (Kemp, 2016), which illustrates the extensive penetration of social media in the last decade should have a galvanising effect.

24

http://www.bible-­‐reflections.net/articles/journeying-­‐in-­‐community/3007/

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The possibility of encountering negative reactions to faith-­‐related social media posts was considered by some to be a disincentive for publishing this kind of content (section 4.11). Reports that this criticism is almost as likely to come from other followers of the same faith as compared to followers of other faiths (or none) is noteworthy. Several interviewees admitted that they avoid particular topics of theology/doctrine in order to avoid the potential for this kind of ‘same on same’ criticism, in some instances described more colourfully as ‘backlash’ or ‘aggression’. A recommendation for faith groups is that more work is done to equip social media users to prepare themselves adequately for the theological debates that may emerge.

The data derived from UK police forces, while only telling part of the story, suggests that there may be a relatively low likelihood of encountering a negative reaction to a faith-­‐related social media that is so extreme it amounts to hate crime (section 6.4). The difficulty in extracting satisfactory data from some forces is itself indicative of a problem in recording and/or analysing instances of such crime. Anecdotally, there also seems to be a low level of awareness among social media users generally of how to report instances of abuse. While the recently-­‐launched EU Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online, endorsed by social media company signatories, is welcomed, there is much to be done. Specifically, methods for the reporting, recording and analysing faith-­‐related hate crime on social media need to be prioritised by the social media companies themselves, the police and other regulatory authorities.

Raising awareness of reporting tools (and other techniques to counter hate crime, such as ‘mute’ or ‘block’ functions) could also feature more prominently in advocacy of social media tools by faith leaders.

Faith-­‐based charities should be buoyed by the findings of this study, with very high levels (in excess of 70%) of respondents saying they follow the social media accounts of these organisations (section 4.5). In the case of Twitter, 87% of respondents said that they followed Christian organisations – more than twice the number that follow their own pastor or minister on that platform. This is particularly notable in light of the low levels of faith leaders reported to be encouraging social media use. Trusted faith-­‐based organisations could and should capitalise on this to create shareable content that fellow believers will be comfortable using to help disseminate their faith messages. It should be noted, however, that no single ‘magic bullet’ exists in terms of content delivery. Diversity, therefore, is the recommended order of the day – a mix of textual, image-­‐based and audio/video content, posted regularly so that grass-­‐roots believers can easily find it and share it among their own circle of influence.

Despite survey respondents reported use of YouTube being relatively low, there was a surprisingly high proportion (20%) who said that they ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ live streamed Christian meetings (section 4.5). Although such video streaming is hardly an emerging technology, until recently it has been technically challenging and often expensive. The democratisation of the technology, through readily-­‐available free apps such as Periscope or Meerkat, means that it is easier than ever before to stream video from any Internet-­‐enabled location.

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Given the high profile foray of the Archbishop of Canterbury into initiatives such as conducting Bible studies on Facebook Live, and the success of Salvation Army pilots such as One Army Live using Periscope (section 5.7), the increased availability of video-­‐ based social media will potentially be a defining moment. It is certainly a development that professional practitioners in the realm of faith-­‐based communication will be keen to explore.

It is no longer unusual for churches to offer live streaming of Sunday morning worship services, though it appears to be less common for these to be as participatory for people watching online. As Phillips, Lewis and Bruce (2013) observe, ‘social media is a place to be social’. It will be interesting to note whether churches and other faith groups seize the opportunity to harness emerging technology, not just to provide a service for interested parties to ‘consume’, but as a truly interactive, social relationship. Including within an act of worship the contributions of geographically-­‐ disparate participants could enhance the ‘additive reality’ described in section 1.2. It is also apparent from the survey data that there is a comfort factor inherent in sharing faith content that has already been shared by other members of the same faith community – perhaps a ‘safety in numbers’ effect.

Pope Benedict describes social media as ‘a new “agora”, an open public square’.

Regardless of future technical, legal and societal developments, it seems certain that people will continue putting aspects of their faith into this public environment of social media, venturing into new and different ways as the technology evolves.

As a digital communications professional, I conclude with a challenge based on the ninth most-­‐tweeted Bible verse of 201525, 2 Timothy 1:7:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

Whether we are professionally engaged to communicate spiritual messages, or simply using social media as a result of our desire to share a part of our identity that is important to us, this is fundamental. As social beings, can we interact with one another with gentleness and grace, even where there may be disagreement? Can we demonstrate the vitality of our faith with clarity and creativity? And can people of faith behave as a community not just of believers, but of fellow humans engaging on an equal footing?

Putting your faith in social media has never been so exciting.

25

https://www.openbible.info/blog/2015/12/the-­‐bible-­‐on-­‐twitter-­‐in-­‐2015/

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APPENDIX 1: Free-­‐text survey responses

Question 4: Why do you think this? (consider social media to be an appropriate/inappropriate platform for sharing your faith) • Part of the world we live in and not a separate entity.

• Why wouldn't it be?

• In the same way that social media is appropriate for sharing other aspects of my life -­‐ because faith is so much part of me. I'm not out to convert people online, but it's what I'm interested in & feeds me. I possibly mention faith more on SocMed than IRL but i think (i hope?) that's because of the people i follow on Twitter etc tho admittedly i am more cautious at work (healthcare, so i feel i have to be) • Freedom of expression as with anywhere. Platform which may reach many, who may not hear of others' faiths otherwise.

• The different types of social media basically are all methods of communication. We (ought to) want to communicate so social media is a method to use • It's a place for sharing thoughts experience and opinions all of which are formed by faith • As in all things, it depends what you say and how you say it. It's not the medium that matters.

• It's a form of communication.

• It's a way of both creating community and of sharing faith beyond the usual connections • sharing testimony, Devotionals and prayers • Well to be clear, I don't think it's always useful to be bombarding everyone on FB (etc) with Bible verses, Christian memes or pious rants! But I do believe in being myself, both in person and online. So I would be surprised if anyone on my social media didn't know that I was a Christian, as I sometimes naturally mention my faith God / Jesus, or church stuff, but it's more a natural part of who I am rather than being the online equivalent of a man on the street in a sandwich board on telling everyone that the end is nigh ;) • Not sure about the effect. Posting on SM is unidirectional -­‐ I am sharing without knowing that my readers liked it, wanted it or even bothered.

• Social media is about broadcasting life. Why hide parts that are exciting?

• Gives you the opportunity to talk about Jesus outside church.

• I use social media pretty much exclusively for sharing the faith; if it weren't for wanting to evangelise and strengthen believers, I wouldn't use social media.

• People share pictures of cats! I don't like cats but love church can I not share my passions?

• Why should I be afraid to hide my faith? If something is happening that has a faith aspect to it, that I want to share, that aspect wouldn't deter me.

• It's how I communicate with family and friends. I don't bible bash but I speak honestly about my faith in all areas of my life.

• Criticism from other • Take every opportunity to tell about the love of God • Some of my friends do not share my faith so would not want to see my views on it.

• I feel sometimes you reach a wider audience that way.

• It's part of normal life and therefore important in terms of faith • It is considered to be an appropriate platform for sharing everything else in my life, why should my faith not be treated the same way when it comes to sharing other aspects of my life on social media?

• Reductionist thoughts or slogan s are so easy to misunderstand.

• It's the perfect platform to share thoughts and encouragement.

• You can't explain things in depth and people either want to 'troll' or are hurting and attack one small part of your statement to 'win' points or likes, it turns people off.

• Sharing the complexity of belief on media that are, by nature, short and transitory can lead to misunderstanding, over-­‐ simplification and polarisation.

• Why not! It's who I am and how I live. I'm not going to hide myself away.

• things can be misconstrued on social media • Everyone on my social media accounts am ready knows about my faith -­‐ I share mine. It is part of who I am fundamentally.

• A tool with a huge outreach -­‐ a fool that can be used so often negatively -­‐ the huge amount of people WORLDWIDE that prayed when my sister was in hospital they use of hashtags and RT's -­‐ a friend who was unsaved night a Joyce Meyer book after seeing my quotes • It is a space for the sharing of ideas • It's a reflection of me and my life and I'm Christian.

• I would share things of faith with those who I know to be Christians, but I don't want to shove faith down people's throats. However, I choose carefully whom I have as friends on social media and they know I am a Christian, so perhaps I shouldn't be too worried about sharing a bit more.

• Because 'sharing your faith' isn't always about big bold comments nor soapbox moments but giving people the opportunity to walk alongside me in life, ministry and social media • It's who I am. Although I share my doubts more than anything • I find it encourages other people , and gives hope. And I hope that my friends who don't know Jesus yet may come to understand some of my faith and lead them to God .

• It's a platform for reaching many • Faith is an important part of my life.

• My life is about my faith. As I share my life on social media my faith emerges.

• To encourage others to consider the claims of Christ/the Bible.

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Think it's a good forum to talk about anything but more subtly than overt attempts to proselgtize I enjoy being on social media so it's natural to share my faith there I am concerned that it will be felt as intrusive by recipients -­‐ like being door stepped.

Any platform is good for that;provided that you keep basic safety rules.

I make no secret of who I am and what's important to me in my life. My faith is key to my life.

It's up to people who I share my posts with if they choose to read about anything I have written about faith.

To encourage others It's an integral part of life.

Some social media is for my friends where talking about faith is more relevant than others which are purely professional (work Twitter and LinkedIn) I am not sure it comes across as sincere unless it is face to face People spend a lot of time on social media so it's a good way to spread the word Because as long as people are respectful of each other they should be free to share their faith anywhere any time.

Cos it's very much a marketplace of ideas where people can join in or refrain as they feel like it.

It's an environment where you have the chance to properly consider what you want to say, and to plan the wording in an inoffensive way, which I often find hard in face -­‐to-­‐face social situations. I particularly think it's important to comment on other people's posts that show misconceptions about what Christianity/faith is, and to present a more positive view. I also think it's important for the public face of faith to admit when we get things wrong, to show humility and repentance. Social media is a great tool for all this for the reasons stated above, and because it enables communication to a large audience without making it appear that the message is intended for specific individuals.

It is no different than the rest of life It is open to misunderstanding It is part of who I am, people can choose whether or not to take notice or respond.

We sure use every avenue open to us It lets others know about parts of your life and as my faith impacts all my life it should be appropriate to share.

It is a network of friends and Christian groups are support.

Faith is important to me -­‐ social media enables me to share it with my online contacts Only rarely do I think it appropriate via Facebook, and I would only use a personal comment. Rather than random posts just out there. I run two church Facebook pages to advertise messy church and toddlers Every opportunity You get...

I want to be clear about who I am but I do not use it to go "Bible-­‐bashing" people It is a good way to connect with people.

It's a safe way through pictures and verses to share my faith I'm scared I'll get a lot of hate I don't want to deal with Only share what is appropriate and reaches a wider audience. Freedom of Speech too, if no one likes it then it is easy to scroll past, as I do if I see something I don't like.

Reaches a wide audience Less awkward than face to face I love the Lord and am happy to share it anyway I can Social media is an easy non confrontationsal way of sharing faith Its a proven effective way to reach many. So why not use it to spread the best news of all!☺ Not easy to engage using text, Facebook is impersonal and Twitter too short. But helpful engaging with people Just do In the same way as I share carefully and answer questions in everyday life I do so on Facebook. The large array of backgrounds on my fb friend list means I do not preach or flood their wall with memes or images related to my faith.

I think personal is always best. You are casting a very wide net in social media. You will upset someone with whatever you say.

It is a platform to express one's voice and opinions.

It is a public interface and it give the opportunity for people to hear and see what is important in our lives, ministry and community.

It's not real life. Text can be read with many different inflections, connotations.

My social media accounts are for me to share any aspects of my life that I want to.

Any moral means of communication is a good tool for promoting the gospel to a needy world.

A lot of people nowadays use social media, so it is an opportunity to share my faith The church has always used every form of media to communicate faith in witness, prayer, apologetics and public engagement. The printing press was revolutionary in terms of speed of communication & making books accessible. The same could be said of Twitter: which needs to be seen as an opportunity. That said, the pace of communication on an open forum needs wisdom & tone of engagement is important. If we are to broadcast the love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ to all the world, the Spirit can equip us to do that via social media. It's a gift to engage with a wide audience.

Signposting in a way that gives people the option of whether to engage It is the 21st Century open air! Wesley would have done it!

Only comfortable discussing with like minded friends I'm still new to social media and am using it as a professional account at the moment.

To reach and bless others Because I am proud of my faith and would like to share knowledge and understanding.

Social media is and has been a public platform for sharing personal convictions and experiences It is always the right time and place to share about God. There's a lot of world out there. If I can share even just a tiny bit of Him through social media, perhaps someone who knows only the world will be curious enough to learn more about Jesus.

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I am also a runner and have friend on FB and twitter who I will never meet in person. It's my only method of sharing Christ with them.

I want people to know who I am and what I believe in. Sometimes my faith is all I can offer in terrible situations.

Videos that can speak to people or Bible verses that can be shared with people.

I like to think that sharing faith on facebook is my way of counter balancing a lot of the rubbish posted, but more than that I pray just 1 of my posts might just make someone think or question their views. to increase religious literacy to participate in interfaith dialogue most importantly to talk about my relationship with Jesus publicly Responses on Social media can be very aggressive. Often polarised views, but have had very constructive conversations too.

We are supposed to share our faith everywhere 2. Social media is the place where most people are ready to take time to share about everything 3. How Christians could not share their faith ? It's the way they are.

I believe faith is personal and private. I discuss my faith face to face with those I feel safe around: close friends and family.

Because my faith is who I am.

Not sure because things get taken the wrong way and as I understand it can't easily be put right ie: when Christians prayed for Richard Dawkins and his family There are lots of really thought-­‐provoking twitter accounts and facebook pages; they get the message out to more people. Social media is the ultimate recruitment agency.

It can be a channel to let people know what you believe in without directly talking to them personally. It is considered appropriate to express your thoughts and political ideas on SNS. I believe expressing faith and religious belief can be said of in the same way.

I share who I am in every respect on social media, to some degree or other -­‐ and my faith is intrinsic to who I am Too susceptible to sounbite misunderstanding. Faith is too important for sloganeering.

Wide audience and space to share clearly As a retired Minister with many years Christian service in several countries and with a continual peersonal growth in faith it gives me a platform to share God given inspiration. I use my FaceBook timeline almost exclusively to comment upon topical and world news as well as the Christian Calendar from a biblical and experiential point of view.

Faith is personal not public Not in an evangelical way, those who do not share your faith will just ignore it and it will irritate them as bible bashing etc. Evangelism through relationship is (in my opinion) more likely to be successful than "in your face" It's a great way to engage people who you don't normally talk to/see regularly not sure It is too 'broad brush'. I have a number of FB friends who have been hurt by the church or are otherwise antagonistic. I think that with them faith is better shared in person rather than in posts which hit everyone with the same message. I am put off myself by some of the trite posts shared by some Christians.

It's where I connect with family and friends to share my life, so why would I leave faith out of it?

As lots of people are on Social Media its a good way to promote your message It is an opportunity to reach a wider audience of engaged people, but I think it is also more prone to misuse than some older forms of communication and as such should be done with caution.

Any and all platforms are appropriate to share the reality of God's love for us.

Sometimes when I share my faith on the internet is because I am to scared to share it in person. This stuff is too deep to simply talk about it in a post. But because I don't know how to share my faith face to face I should to use social media on my less afraid days. I think it is fine to share your faith on social media as long as you are also sharing it person to person.

Some people can get too personal on social media, and everyone has different beliefs, even within the same denomination or church. Uneducated people (biblically speaking) may publish inaccurate or inappropriate information.

It's too open to abuse. But having said that, if educated people publish information it may get to people who otherwise may never see it. Good and bad sides.

There should be nowhere off limits to talking about my faith It is a communication tool of our times and part of a toolbox It's not everyone I'm connected to's cup of tea!

It is part of who I am and I share who I am through social media.

Christs spirit lives in me , so He is a part of me and we cannot be separated. If you friend me , you friend Him. Not sure It can be a helpful way to encourage friends or other people. Or let people know what you believe without preaching or in a non threatening way.

Done in the right way, it enables you to connect to many people and start discussions and raise social justice/faith issues Not the best interpersonal communication It's a part of my life and so an authentic expression of who I am, both in the public and private spheres.

I believe we should gossip the gospel at all opportunities not ram it down peoples throats. Gossip it in love and just casually bring it into conversation The people who view it are 'friends' It's an expression of who I am and in sharing with others it's like a conversation.

I think social media is a great communicator and we need to fill it with good messages and our faith rather than spurious posts about Angels, anti faith posts etc. But messages can be misinterpreted and nothing replaces personal contact with Christians.

Sharing of faith needs to be built from relationship. Social media, whilst a great tool, isn't conducive to deep relationship.

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It's good to share with others and this was hundreds see what you have written Gives encouragement to others and allows people to know I am available to talk to Because everyone is on media 24/7 and what a better way to show them Jesus It's just as appropriate as talking to friends in public or wearing a cross necklace. I don't know if you mean 'appropriate' as in a positive approach or 'appropriate' as in acceptable. So, sure. It's appropriate in that it is not offensive unless you are entering private posts to express your faith, similar to invading another's conversation at a coffee shop. Then it would be inappropriate as in poor etiquette.

If it's appropriate to share any other area of life -­‐ family, work, friends, pastimes -­‐ faith seems just as relevant Because it has the potential to reach and influence many friends and peers on a day-­‐day, week in week out level. It can give rise to opportunities for others to enquire about aspects of faith more easily than just face to face.

It's a simple way to post my feelings and views about my faith. People can chooses whether or not they wish to engage with it.

Christianity is loaded. I don't want to be associated out of context.

It can be used as another platform to share the good news. Could spark someone to ask questions.

Social media tends to be too open a forum for it. It usually polarises people and inevitably it causes people to become entrenched in their view and then any ensuing debate becomes very closed and defensive.

Because millions of people see it Could be conflicting viewpoints, fear of offending people.

You can share in a less direct way than talking to someone personally and means people don't feel they have to respond People are finding in more and more difficult to open up with real people, but more likely to read or see something online that could be the encouragement they secretly need.

Can feel that you are forcing your beliefs on other. Also trolls might take advantage.

I usually won't use it, as wouldn't stand in from of a hundred people and say something about my faith. Of course on a platform like facebook, there are now ways of posting a status to just specific people, but I don't use that functionality yet.

Easy and quick but can elicit negative reactions more quickly Most of my friends are Christians I share the rest of my life there why not my faith. It has the power to inspire and reach others who are on the fringe Every avenue if communication can be a vessel for God if used appropriately!

Because it is what almost everybody uses Facebook is part of 'all life' we can share about what our kids are doing, how our day is going, so we can also share about our faith.

My faith is an intrinsic and defining feature of me. It is natural to be open about this as I would be about anything else intrinsic and defining.

Social media is used to communicate with friends and family. It also helps you respond to things that are going on in the world. I respond in a away that reflects my faith in God. For example, if I would let some one know in person that I am praying fir them, then I may use social media to do the same. However I am always conscious of not saying I am praying for someone who I know would not appreciate it.

I think sometimes people take it too far and do more damage than good. saying that i think it can be a very powerful mouthpiece to say things you rarely get the chance to say in person.

My faith is an important part of who I am, and I do not feel uncomfortable sharing it with friends. I would however restrict it to personal comment and not tell others how they should behave helps share life with friends and colleagues I don't like to think I'm forcing my faith in other peoples faces, it's personal to be and will only talk about it in extreme times.

Good place to show snippets of what God is doing in your life, however you can't express details It's part of who I am, my friends and family know this and I don't push my beliefs onto others It is a space where people share their thoughts and feeling about things, my faith plays a part in this. It is not a place to condemn people, but also not a place where people need to hide from what they think It is as relevant as what I had for dinner or where I went for my holiday! My faith is an important part of who I am and Facebook gives me the option of expressing this in my profile. So expressing or sharing faith related posts is natural.

To show support for your friends through social media that you are there for them and praying for them.

I find some of the people I associate with judgmental about christianity and so to maintain my job I do not advertise my faith Prefer to talk about it on one on one basis if it is on my profile i can express what i want to including faith.

Social media is a wide term. It's not on to evangelise or preach, but personal beliefs can be shared and fellowship formed.

It feels odd to "broadcast" faith on social media -­‐ in that sense it is not same as real life interaction which is more personal.

Freedom of speech It is another avenue of communication, one which increasingly has precidence over others and as such should be used.

The ability to reach the largest segment of the population.

I'm really not a fan of when people argue their faith via social media, but... To thank God for something, to share something Gof has done in your life, to share scriptures that encourage you, etc. I think it's appropriate because it's social media.... You can share what you want, and if people want to read it, they can.

My friends and I often geotag ourselves on Facebook from church -­‐ which I though a little weird at first, but more often than not it status updates relate to something poignant that has been spoken about.

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I think that I can share my faith no matter where I am or who I am with. I believe that there are a lot of people to be reached on social media that may never here things that we should be sharing. I have many non-­‐believers on my friends lists and often find them liking or sharing things I post that have a "Christian connotation."

Because I choose to share most aspects of my life through social media. Most of my friends know about my faith and respect my choice to share it Faith touches all aspects of life including social media. Particularly as it is a personal platform (i.e. I'm speaking as me, not as my company/country etc.)

Larger potential for audience, not as constrained by time restrictions (for example a one hour meeting or a 15 minute talk over coffee) In today's society, it's a valid option for reaching out to people, as long as you don't let it consume your time or distract you.

It's the new 'open air' ministry it's the reason I am where I am and the work I do is intrinsinckly linked to my faith Some people can be quite offended about talking about religion. It's quite a sensitive subject.

It is another form of cross-­‐ cultural mision & ministry.

Not using them would like not using the printing press when it was the ultimate communication technology It is social! It is where we meet with people made in the image of God. It is a place of community, and a place for communication. Community and communication are at the heart of faith. God is a communicative God. At my confirmation last year I was tasked by the Bishop -­‐ as all the confirmed were -­‐ to bring as many people to the fold as possible by spreading the Good News of the Gospels. I take my confirmation vows seriously! Secondly, social media is outstripping more traditional means e.g. print, as a method of communication. Thirdly, it's the global networks it creates that are just amazing. The number of people I've been in touch with through it I'd never had met on a 'personal' basis.

People are utilizing SM for information.

Big audience and income writing easier than talking Because God would want us to share his good news in any way we can.

Social media is now the market place of the modern community, where people 'meet' and converse.

Reaches to many people. It's fun & topical. Shows church engaging with public It can be a way of building bridges.

It depends what you mean by sharing your faith -­‐ I'm happy to talk about my faith & discuss faith issues, I wouldn't push it on anyone We should use all possible methods We needed to create a following, we had no budget, social media was the only way It's part of you Because it's an integral part of my life and the work of my parish, so being on social media as openly Christian is important to me.

I'm afraid of having arguements and losing friends Because my faith is central to my life, if I am not sharing it on social media, I'm keeping a large part of my life away from it.

Those people who know me, know of my faith. Those who don't know me, are attracted through my work or worldview, so should probably know the hope that is inspiration of my life.

A subtle way to show my friends that going to church is a normal thing for me. That church is fun. Important to share my faith with others and social media is a good way to do it in a non threatening way. They can ignore if they want, or 'like' things, comment etc.

Because it's a natural part of life It is a part of the real me I have a public political profile. Means I have to be careful I think. Am a bit nervous of 'overdoing' it.

Allows people of common interest to gather around topics, and allows people connected by friendship (but not common interest) to share what interests them. 2. Instant telecommunication, don't have to meet. 3. Popular content gets a boost as more people share/view/comment, it's an (imperfect) auto quality-­‐filter Reaches large numbers It's a part of my life like any other.

It's reaching out to other people; whom we can possibly influence to come back to one's faith. Of sharing and encouraging others to walk in faith, of truth, and of speaking out to protect the unborn and those that cannot defend themselves... But most of all teaching about Our Lord Jesus Christ ...

My faith is part of who I am, so being honest on SM is being me...

Social media is a part of our everyday lives, and it's as good a space as any other of our spaces for sharing our faith, but not in a Bible-­‐bashing way, of course! sharing your faith works best if you have a real relationsship to people, and this applies only to some on social media ;-­‐) It is a main mode of communication with many friends, family and acquaintances.

Because I have a good cross section of my friends and acquaintances there.

Why not? It needs to be done carefully With the changing attitudes and effective ways of communication, I would suggest that most modern day communication is undertaken by some form of electronic mediums. Why not take advantage and reach people who are more than not, reluctant to enter a church or faith organization location.

Well, not sure My faith is in every fibre of my life.

I would share my faith on social media as often, and in the same way, as I would in normal life. With sensitivity and when appropriate.

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Although I have a friends only security it is good to receive supporting scriptural messages that are so often just what we need when we need Reaching people. They can choose whether to read the post or not I don't like to bombard people but feel giving an idea of my faith through pictures etc helps others to see what I believe.

Anywhere I exist I want to be seen as His. Can literally go into the world wherever I live.

Social media is a public forum whereby I am able to convey who I am. My faith is a big part of who I am and so it's appropriate to share it through these channels.

We are called to be disciples in every aspect of our lives. If we are on social media it's an opportunity to share our faith.

Jesus tells us to 'go' and share the gospel and our faith. Social media is embedded in modern life -­‐ it's where people are.

So the church should be there too.

Sometimrs it may not be appropriate to share what you think on social media sites. Faith is what you have as an individual and I am not sure socal media is the correct platform to air your views It reaches more people than a conversation with just one or two would. It provides an opportunity for people with many different viewpoints to possibly debate aswell.

People are engaging with hundreds of thousands of conversations online every day, we live in a society where people are connected like never before, there is the potential in the age of Social Media to reach far more people with the good news of Jesus that we've been able to do before.

It is simply an available tool My facebook friends encompass a very broad spectrum of life -­‐ people that have become a part of my journey in all sorts of ways. These people generally know me -­‐ or know parts of me-­‐ quite well. Facebook allows me to be me with my Christian perspective in all that is going on online...humourous, everyday, silly, sad.. It's a hugely significant evangelistic tool. And this is from me, to whom the word evangelism has made me feel sick in the past. You can do evangelism online in a unique, utterly non threatening way, just be being yourself in whatever the online situation is.

I use twitter in a different way -­‐ it's mainly for interacting with people I don't know personally but who are a part of the community. I tweet as the church account, and see it as hugely important for putting the church out there in the community, being interested in local people and what is going on. People know about the church, who would have nothing to do with church, because of twitter.

We are called to spread our faith and that of course is important, however with social media, it cuts out the body language and emotion to get through to people, and also, if none believers have questions or negative comments, it is difficult to explain the answers. Also employers and potential employers can be taken back by Christian comments on social media Easy to share videos and graphics Because it is weirdly a place where people transcribe their innermost thoughts and inanities. I try not to be cavalier in the way I speak about Jesus through social media, and try not to give people opportunity through the things I share or like or write to dismiss Christianity as just consisting of incendiary political views or terrible inspirational quotes.

I don't share very much on social media, I generally keep things close. I see my faith ingrained with all of life so when I share my views on issues it is also sharing my faith, even if less specific.

When it is appropriate. My faith permeates all of my life so sharing my faith is about sharing my life If your faith is an important part of you it should be expressed in every part of your life.

People use social media everywhere is approprite Christian faith is integral to all aspects of my life and who I (and any Christian) is called to be in Christ. There is a saying, sometimes dismissed as hackneyed, but containing deep truth: "if He is not Lord of all then He is not Lord at all".

Possibility if ridicule, or worried about it, then you get guilt that you should be evangalising It is a very public avenue which has opportunity to witness to unbelievers It is no different to any other way of expressing ones self All forms of communications are opportunities for sharing your faith It is just another area of life.

Because it's part of my life so it will naturally come out in the things I share about my life online.

Because it is a vital part Of my life My faith is personal to me. In general I don't feel a need to talk about it with others.

Gets to the world outside of the church It enables me to communicate with a wider variety of people about faith than I would otherwise have the chance to do.

As long as it isn't too often I'm fine with it -­‐ people can be unfollowed if they're annoying and too repetitive provided it is done sensitively and not dogmatically It's an important part of life and part of who I am It is the biggest part of who I am, so to never mention my faith on social media would be strange.

Varies from one platform to another -­‐ some are personal and others are professional. Lots of Christian stuff online is really cringeworthy!

I think if done in the same way as any info you shared on social media rather than it being an electronic soapbox, unless you're happy on a real soapbox of course.

If communicated well (clearly, succinctly, etc.), it has the ability to reach readers/viewers way beyond that which we can conceive or traditionally hit When it is an online religious forum.

It is a major aspect of my life, it makes me happy, why not share it?

It's very dependant on the situation and the people you are reaching. Sometimes it can be a bit full on and unwanted, but occasionally it can be a huge factor in somebody getting to know God. I play a game app called Quiz Up, which has close to 700 topics to choose from. I have played many games in the Bible topic. The topic also has an area for people to post messages (most posts are memes), and one can comment to the

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person who posts. However, a few atheists "troll" the posts and seem to enjoy getting into endless debates with Christians. I've found that sharing my faith with them is a waste of time.

I'm just myself. I don't use it to preach, or deliberately dump stuff on friends from a distance, just be me Any platform a person is given is appropriate...Given the right time or the right moment.

Because it is my personal social media and I should be able to post what I want on it freely I don't engage with social media for anything.

Faith is personal while social media is public. Its not that we should worry about offending someone or anything like that, but faith is something cant be explained or talked about using a nice photo with some words printed on it.

In the sense of invitation rather than direct evangelisation Every platform is appropriate.

I don't really treat social media very seriously. I hate the word, but it is mainly used for "banter". I don't tend to post personal details, including faith, online.

I find it easier to share Christian perspectives on current issues that I agree with and that have been posted. I feel more comfortable with writing my views.

It gives other people something to think about or discuss and it is a good way to give encouragement to others.

I don't want to get into pointless arguments No part of our world should be excluded from faith involvement It's personal and sometimes not cool.

It is too often used by others to show intolerance to others.

Contact is considered more often than rejected, as is more likely in face to face, because a response is not required immediately (if at all).

My faith is central to my life and who I am, to not express my faith in my online life as well would either belittle that faith or bring my integrity into question It gives me access to other believers with similar doctrinal interests and concerns about the church who can discuss interesting points and enables me to discuss issues with likeminded people who would neverless have some differences.

I think its up to me what I put on my profile page and of course up to others whether they scroll down or read. As my faith plays a big part in my life I don't see why I shouldn't share it as some share their stories about their children and family or work People don't need to feel judged by Christians we are here to be kind and show Jesus through our actions Social media has been used to share brliefs of every kind from the begining of social media.

My faith is part of who I am. If you remove my faith then you remove the best part of me. I want to share the best bits. it's a platform for communicating about anything that interests or matters to you, eg. football, your children, fluffy kittens, politics, and of course religion is another of these issues. As a Christian I feel it important to use whatever opening I have to share about my faith, and social media is no exception. It is one of my Frontlines (LICC). Besides which, I am most confident writing about things as opposed to speaking, so it is actually more comfortable for me :) Faith is part of your life (the most important part!) so it will come out somehow as you post personal information on Facebook etc Because sometimes people are interested in your faith and therefore it's good to share about it but some people might finding it annoying and may disrespect you Because I like to express the loving word of Jesus and to share Gods words and love with others. Seeing an inspirational quote from the bible often makes my day and so if I share on social media it might make someone else's day too.

It's very easy to be misunderstood in the 'sound bite' culture (aka a 140 character tweet!) and also hard to communicate deeply held or precious or complex beliefs. However -­‐ social media is a huge expression of self for millions of people and it's entirely appropriate for people to be open about their faith on social media.

Usually with people you know (eg Facebook) or people who trust your opinions (eg twitter) so can be part of a larger relationship building process Communication with a wide audience Social media involves people who are rarely if ever in church and therefore unlikely otherwise to encounter faith sharing We have to move with the times -­‐ if this is how people get their news, express their emotions etc. that we should be a part of that conversation, how else will reach non-­‐Christians if we become more and more irrelevant.

I believe it was Phil Cooke who said, "Social Media is the 21st century street corner!" Why not share what the Lord has done for me to thousands or people which could turn into many, many more.

Whilst the message of the Gospel remains the same, the ways in which it is shared are constantly evolving. Social media is one way in which it has evolved. social media has many benefits, but also many dangers.

Social media is an extension of normal/ IRL social life. Interactions and conversations that are appropriate IRL are probably appropriate on social media too (and equally, what is inappropriate IRL is inappropriate online!)

I talk about all parts of my life, so I talk freely about beliefs. But I am a very open-­‐minded and international person, so I don't talk about theological beliefs on social media as much as I talk about values and my vision for justice and things like that, but make clear where appropriate how those things are tied to my faith.

Because this is a place where many people meet and where others can share without commitment . So it's a place where faith can be expressed and questions answered and raised It is both personal and public -­‐ a space where ideals and ideas can be shared and discussed publicly but also private messages allow personal contact Relevant and global.

I don't see it as essentially different from other social areas. If it's part of human communication, faith is present.

While the message of Jesus remains the same, the ways in which it can be communicated are ever changing. Social media is one of many.

It allows you to reach different people.

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It's reach is wider and allows me the opportunity to engage people I will otherwise not meet or not even know about the story of Jesus.

I don't think it works for evangelism, but I sometimes post things with religious themes on Facebook, in a similar way to if I was talking about it with friends.

Don't want my friends to feel hectored Need to be careful not to misrepresent my faith I'm not comfortable publicly discussing religious or political views on social media.

Why not? God is everywhere, we are called to live out our faith everywhere we are It's just an attachment to everyday life why should it be any different Often sharing faith has its best impact on a 1-­‐1 basis.

It's simply a modern version of communication We are to share our faith as mandated by Jesus/Yeshua. We know that people will occasionally hate us for it but this should stop us.

It's just another way of communicating with friends/family -­‐ in particular, those I don't often have face-­‐to-­‐face contact with.

I don't hide the fact that I'm a Christian. I will reply to pray for someone, I post in our church Facebook group which is an open group (so people will see that I post) and I will mention or share events that are happening at church. However, I will not post bible verses or post lots about God....I have friends from a range of beliefs and I do not want to be 'in your face' about my faith and I respect that they do not want that.

It's the modern version of how Jesus preached on the streets.

Social Media is a platform for sharing and communicating ideas -­‐ faith is a part of this, to encourage one another. I'm less comfortable about online 'debate' using Bible Verses.

It is a current social way of engaging with friends and communities around me.

It is a way of communication I cannot think of a medium where is is not appropriate to share my faith. Jesus told us to "go and make disciples of all nations" and social media offers an almost unique opportunity to do just that.

Social media are an extension of face-­‐to-­‐face conversations. because some of my friends -­‐ not all -­‐ are also fellow believers.

People share lots of things on social media so there is no reason why you can't share faith issues Sometimes it might be, sometimes not. Social media facilitate connections with a wide range of people, some close friends and others who are only acquaintances. I wouldn't share anything very personal so indiscriminately.

Because this is the one place I am almost guaranteed to reach people I would never usually meet with. I have reached atheists through SM, and have seen God use it to share my faith.

It depends on the pre-­‐existing relationship with follower/friend base. Also only on a 1 to 1 level and not feed spamming.

Because it's a place of relationship and 'doing life' Because I'm called to share it when and wherever possible. Social media gives me a much bigger audience!

A lot of people use social media so it is a way to reach many people. People post things on social media that are important to them & my faith is important to me.

There are times where it is appropriate, and times when it's not. So there's no flat yes or no answer.

Social media has no actions it's all just words. Any meaningful demonstration has to happen face to face.

It's a way to communicate.

Its a difficult balance, people can often just look at titles for instance which don't always show the real content of an article. There can be phases when people choose to share a particular verse like John 3:16 day where a lot of my 'friends' post this on their walls but does it really help or impact on those without faith or just annoy them when there is no chance to discuss the verse.

Reaches a wide audience, easy to share links.

The platform is neutral (as with print, film, radio, TV, and even face-­‐to-­‐face conversations, etc). If faith has a place in any other media, it has a place on social media. It should not be ghettoised.

Great way to reach people Would rather do it privately rather in the public domain Have seen extreme views damage the true message of the gospel.

Anywhere's an appropriate place to share your faith, in a respectful manner.

It's part of my everyday life. It's the day-­‐to-­‐day things that I sometimes share.

I personally worry about putting someone off (even though this is probably unlikely) if I talk about faith with other people who aren't Christians. Online I am not worried about this, as it is something you have to opt into. For instance on Twitter and Facebook, people can choose not to follow/view my pages if they don't want to hear/read about it, and those who are interested can find it easily. This isn't true as much in person, as someone not interested/uncomfortable in hearing about it would feel pressure to listen to be polite. Also, because you know that people following you online have demonstrated that they are interested, you have a certain sense of influence and confidence that what you have to say will probably be well-­‐received or at least accepted.

Now a days many people don't open Bible or will not interested in Biblical conversations but these posts go through their eyes which I strongly believe gives them a second or mind to think or read about word of God. Which keep in back of our mind and must gives a thought at least. And often encourage believers. its appropriate because the audience is large and the story is important!

Why do you ask It is an integral part of who I am. I don't use it to 'preach' or try and convert people, but I will engage via social media just as I would about crossfit or baking or tv programmes I'm loving.

My faith is part of who I am Because it provides an easy mode of communication and stood as the fastest commmunication in reaching people.

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Viewed by many Your social media profile should show your likes, loves, opinions and beliefs. If a faith is part of that, it should be included!

Things are often misunderstood or taken out of context on social media I want to share my Faith and it should be shared as a lot of non believers read social media. Hopefully what I've shared could be helpful to someone at some stage.

Appropriate when discussing all aspects of life.

Occasionally I use social media to share views on particular issues, in which my faith is a framework. Eg. Poverty, the refugee crisis. I don't think social media is the place to have debates but I think a Christian view of world and local social justice events can be shared online.

The integrity of my social profile and how that relates to me outside of that gives me the credibility and the voice I need to be heard. there are sinners online.

Everything is shared on social media. It's more communication/information than books/google searches.

Social media is, in my mind, the very essence of an open conversation. I can't think of any topic that isn't appropriate for sharing/discussion on social media. Social media is often limited in how well a topic can be discussed but that shouldn't preclude the topic.

Its linked to be social. Everything is spiritual. those who can should take all opportunities available I think it is appropriate to share my faith at times but not all the time.

I use social media for what I want It is a public sphere where people readily share that which is important to them.

All platforms are appropriate.

I'd rather do it face to face It is a tool of communication like the printed word or speech so naturally it is one way of speaking about faith.

I share a lot of pieces of my life on social media, and so my faith is a part of that, so if I find a particular hymn moving I will share et etc. However the lack of context and meme culture is not a good avenue for discourse and can often be simply off-­‐putting so I refrain from Christian memes or any pointed statements about culture/politics in general.

Because it is faceless I can't pick up the nuance I would need to feel that I was communicating effectively, & truly understanding the other person's pov.

The great commission of Jesus to spread the gospel to all people!

Faith is a very personal matter for me, social media can trivialise matters.

Social media should be a place to express your loves, opinions and beliefs. If you have a faith, that should be clear from your profile etc.

Freedom of speech/expression is important to me. Also, I think pretty much anywhere is an appropriate place to talk about my faith.

Everyone has a view and right to share it. Jesus said to go into all the world...

It is the 21st century version of standing on street corners and spouting the Bible. Evangelism today is more relational and SM enables me to keep in touch with hundreds of non-­‐Christians so I can see how their lives are going, support them prayerfully and privately speak to them when life is tough. Younger people feel safer talking about personal and spiritual matters on SM and perhaps I am braver about broaching faith issues with them.

Because it has the capability to share your faith with potentially hundreds of people at the same time. It is also less awkward than talking to people who feel uncomfortable with discussing religion.

I'm only on Facebook and most of my Facebook friends know I'm a Christian, so I hope the posts I "like", "share" and comment on reflect my Christian faith without being dogmatic Opportunity to express & share my faith with others.

It involves speaking by to people who I may not meet or rarely meet up with I share my Faith, whether in conversation or socual media. I just do It's a medium that reaches a lot of people and one where people do have time to consider a range of opinions, including faith opinions. I tend to think of it as a bit like the modern Salvation Army open air -­‐ but I don't think it's the place for being heavy handed.

It's who I am so I can't see any reason to hide it no matter what communication medium I am using Because it's a place where all opinions are shared openly; the sharing of faith is therefore appropriate in the context of open discussion and the airing of views generally.

Everywhere is appropriate to share who I am Because this is the place where I connect with people who I don't often see in order to keep up with what is happening in their lives and share about mine. Since faith is a big part of my life & I share what is happening with me with those I know on soxial media then naturally my faith experiences will be a part of that.

It depends what you mean by sharing faith. I have no problem with posting things that make it obvious I am a Christian.

However I do not think I would ever feel it appropriate to 'present the Gospel' with the idea of social media being a tool for evangelism. So no, I would not use it to share the detail of my faith.

It could be misinterpreted I prefer to talk to a person rather than make sweeping statements that can be misunderstood I am lgbt+ and my experience of church with this issue is very negative therefore I try to not post about it on social media so not to upset others who may feel similarly. That said I am part of an online lgbt+ church where I would post about my faith.

Because it crosses barriers that are created by misunderstandings about Faith.

Because anywhere is a great place to share your faith as long as you don't force it on people I have limits on what I can share because of my job

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Good to share bibke verses I don't have issues with sharing religious posts, bible quotes or articles. A lot of my friends are Christian and if people who are reading my posts aren't and it doesn't interest them then they don't have to read.

It's good to share your faith, by whatever means possible Try not to put anything too personal or big political statements on social media -­‐ never quite sure who is reading what and it is too stark and easy to take it out of context or without the real subtext.

My faith is such an integral part of who I am, so it will naturally flow over into my use of social media and I think that is appropriate and important (for my social media to reflect my real life that is) Some things I feel appropriate to share but wouldn't do total evangelising Done the right way, it can reach many people in a take it or leave it way. People are generally comfortable with their friends posting about all kinds of things that may or may not interest, and tactful sharing of faith falls nicely under that.

Because I am building and sustaining relationships and the openness of other people give many opportunities for pastoral support N/a It is THE platform that digital natives communicate with on a regular basis, if we do not engage here we will become irrelevant to an entire generation.

It reaches out to all people I know. Contradictory as it may sound, it is also an impersonal venue... at least compared to a discussion. People can take my message as they want to: I rarely find out how they feel, so why not speak of the Lord?

Depends who I'm talking to My faith is part of who I am Because it's a space where everyone is sharing their views and beliefs with one another.

Because it's how people communicate, so communicating faith should be part of that.

Social media is as much an outlet as anywhere else. That being said, putting anything in writing can often be seen as more imposing... Also people like to use social media to pick a fight. Thay can be more offensive and so that makes it more intimidating to put your faith online Whilst it is an appropriate platform in many ways, comments and opinions (whether about faith or not) can so frequently be taken out of context.

Social media is a place where we can choose what we see. If people aren't interested, they can unfollow/hide/remove from newsfeeds, etc. I am free to share my faith. I'm happy for others to know what I believe, and I am hopeful that I will be engaged in fruitful conversation as a result.

It's a good place for personal testimony, people share everything that matters for them on social media, sharing faith shows the place of faith in my life and can inspire others.

If social media is about us, then it should be about our faith. Of course sometimes we hide behind a made up us on social media. And sometimes that goes the other way and we are bolder on social media than in reality. But if it's a way of connecting with our friends, then we should be connecting around our faith too.

Every media form is an avenue for evangelism All platforms are appropriate for sharing your faith. They all have their pros and cons.

It's a fairly non-­‐confrontational way of sharing views that might otherwise feel like a difficult conversation. It gives friends a chance to read or ignore anonymously so is possibly more effective.

It is modern day Evangelistic field. Be there where people are.

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Question 7: Why is that? (Do you feel comfortable expressing your faith using social media?)

• It's part of who you are so why wouldn't you abstain from being you on social media • Because the kind of people i follow/read on Twitter are mostly Christians who are very 'out there with their faith' It's harder to use discernment IRL, because i don't wanna put people off by being too off the wall, tho maybe i ought to be more of a fool for Christ • Daunting at times. Audience is whole friends list and more.

• Know your audience applies to all communication.....

• I always need to consider how to contribute without preaching, jargon,stereotypes, and with love and open mindedness • I am scared of being ridiculed or of people thinking less of me.

• I am comfortable with my faith. And with myself. I live in a "free" & "democratic" country.

• I maintain a strong social media presence both personally and through church accounts • His Word will not be returned void • It's a part of who I am. As I said though, I am sensitive and genuine about it. Not screaming it from the rooftops and putting people off wanting to know more (I hope!)

• Stated above, plus it is a very personal thing being shared in a very public space • I'm aware that not everyone reading is in the same place as the person I'm in dialogue with.

• i have faith in Jesus • Because my comfort comes from God Himself, both Him personally and His teaching. This means seeing my fellow man the way God does. I'm just one beggar telling other beggars where I found bread. (D.T. Niles) • My friends and family know me not all are Christians, but all of them need to know there is hope! There is always sun above the clouds!!

• See previous comment • It's a form of communication like speaking on the phone.

• Fear of being challenged or bullied online • Easy to express yourself • As not all friends share my faith

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Because most of my friends know I have a faith Same as before really -­‐ I share different parts of life and faith can't be separated from the rest of it so it feels really natural to talk about faith It's less intimidating than sharing your faith in person Because I'm careful what and when I write.

As a minister I think it's what people expect.

For the reason stated above -­‐ I am open about my faith but people are keen to attack due to personal hurts.

Same issue as above in Question 4.

Why not! It's who I am and how I live. I'm not going to hide myself away. Plus I'm a stay at home mum so I'm on regular It's who I am There is an unfollow option! :) I occasionally worry I do it too much and people will think I'm a bible bashed or always shoving it at them -­‐ sometimes I hesitate as I have people who will make long ranting comments on articles I share -­‐ other than that I'm very comfortable it's a huge part of my life -­‐ it is actually my life Same as above -­‐ in a forum for ideas, I feel comfortable sharing...

As above See above.

Because it's a part of who I am, not usually shouty shouty but Alongside some social media campaigns/projects I do it genuinely and subtly People judge & have preconceptions about anyone with a faith. Talking honestly about mine makes me vulnerable I've been attacked because of my faith , received awful messages through social media and it makes me a little wary I take care over how I share my faith e.g. I express desire to listen to other viewpoints, show respect and avoid 'preachy' style.

I look at social media as a way to share my faith.

Not sure who is reading it.

It's part of my job Sometimes if people dislike Christianity it can be uncomfortable to 'own' it As above.

I usually talk within a closed group of people that I know.

I'm only friends on FB with people I actually know off line as well. All know about my faith regardless of whether they share it.

I feel that others in the diocese whom I am friends with would put across their Christian beliefs across more clearly than I could.

Have to think carefully about who is reading your post and how it may be interpreted It's my life.

Because I have such a variety of friends/ colleagues that too fervent or too many posts would be taken the wrong (negative) way by some.

Social media you can be a bit more ad-­‐ hoc..... More spur of the moment randomness If I can talk about my faith then why can't I write it down some way Because I am friends with people who respect my opinions and won't judge me for them.

Because I'm a liberal Christian. So I feel I have a positive message for all people but am entirely happy for others to disagree and/ or follow their own path.

Many people accuse social media of causing people to create and present false selves, but I actually find it easier to be my true self as there isn't the very immediate fear of humiliation.

As above As above It is part of who I am, people can choose whether or not to take notice or respond.

Because it's a huge part of who I am Because Im comfortable on my choice.

I love our Lord Jesus, have strong faith and am not ashamed of the gospel.

I expect I would end up with a stream of abuse/angst It's who I am...

I have friends who are not Christians so when I do share something about my faith, I consider my words carefully so that I don't frighten them with Chistian jargon It is a big part of my life so it makes sense to be comfortable talking about it.

Safe way of sharing links and a good way to share links about topics that I may find hard to explain verbally like why does God allow suffering People seem to show more hate when they're hidden behind their screens, which is often expressed towards people with a religion in hateful ways Freedom of Speech for everyone to choose to read or choose not to.

I don't care about the backlash I just am People can choose whether they read my posts or not I want to be open and honest in all forms of communication It's my faith, talk about it anyway!

Not sure

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The large array of backgrounds on my fb friend list means I do not preach or flood their wall with memes or images related to my faith. But they would see my natural interaction about my faith appearing on their newsfeed. This has meant that people are comfortable asking me about my views.

I will only share my faith when it is appropriate as such I will only share my faith when I am comfortable with it. This relates to the prompting of the Spirit. If the Spirit prompts me to share something then I am comfortable with it. It is then the right thing to do.

It is a platform for my voice among many I share my life and ministry which means faith.

The people I'm friends with know me as a believer in Christ. It seems appropriate I would talk about my faith.

I write my own views and opinions. People can disagree if they want to, but I'm just being true to myself.

I love God and want the world He loves to be made right with Him again.

Am not ashamed of the gospel which I believe in.

Partly experience in preaching, teaching, pastoral care & study: so feel confident to engage in different tones/ask questions as appropriate. It's like having a conversation face to face -­‐ responses shape your interactions; you listen carefully.

It's an invitation It is such a wonderful opportunity.

Lack of confidence in self I feel somewhat uncomfortable with social media in general at the moment! Dipping my toe in and hoping it will get easier.

I am not ashamed Because I like to express my love and appreciation of the Most High, though do not want to bombard anybody with my views.

I'm not ashamed of my faith I feel highly judged and disliked by "friends". The more I try to share love the more hate us returned to me. At best it feels as if I'm making no difference and am simply a nuisance even to close friends and family.

I've had nasty replies to my faith-­‐shares on social media; however, I simply block those people. If a person has a genuine interest, even if their view isn't the same as mine, I am willing to engage in conversation about my faith.

Freedom of speech -­‐ right now I am not censored in my ability to share.

It is what I believe.

Everyone shares their interests, lives etc so my Christian life is no different and just as I self censor what I receive/see others can do the same to my posts if they choose.

Why not?

Dealing with very mixed responses has made me more confident in my own faith It's natural for me. I'm happy to be a witness on the Web. Many people I don't talk to very often can read my words.

And I think the risks to be misunderstood are the same than talking about my faith.

I don't think it is anyone else's business.

Because it is part of who I am.

Because I rarely do and it's to people I know and who know me Many of my facebook friends and twitter followers are interested to see my views, especially as I am a skeptical christian with very liberal opinions. However I am also a teenager and worry that people at school think I'm "one of those crazy christians" when I'm "clogging up" their twitter feed with retweets from one minister and opinions on whatever other issue.

A lot of the things posted usually could be kept in your "personal diary". A lot of it is unnecessary and can be kept between you and God. Also I have seen many people post such things on SNS with the heart to promote oneself and to be appear oneself to be spiritual. It needs to be used wisely.

Everyone knows it is part of who I am -­‐ I am a vicar!

It's not just faith. I pretty much don't share anything on social media. The few times I do share anything I'm very careful and don't hide my faith.

I'm comfortable with using social media Eighty Three years of lifetime experience, service with the Royal Navy, and over sixty years service as a Salvation Army Officer. Lifetime exoperiences of joy and loss, the ability to relate to many people at their level, and a strong personal faith born out of the crucible of human experience mean that, like St Paul, “Woe is me if I poreach not the gospel” I mention Christianity,church Jesus etc in passing as part of who I am but not quoting bible verses etc as I think it would annoy some non Christian friends who as I may be their only Christian contact and don't want to alienate I have friends who don't know that I'm a Christian, and I'd rather talk to them in person rather than them find out on social media. Also, some if my friends on Facebook add athesists who are quite critical of Christianity. easier than face to face Depends on what I'm sharing. How intimately personal I'm getting with what I share Being put off by the misuse of others and being unsure if I am using the medium effectively/appropriately.

There are times when I wonder about how welcome my messages might be for some people.

Because I feel like a hypocrite at times for not sharing it in person and only on the internet. And also I can start thinking about how my friends will think I'm one of "those people" who is weak minded.

I am proud of my spirituality It's as much a part f my identity as anything else why not Because I believe and happy for other to know I am careful about what I share across the board so I feel comfortable sharing what I do share Never sure how the other person is going to react. I am aware that sharing my faith could / can / does aliante people .

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In a way it's an easy way to let people know what I believe. It's not so confrontational. There may be people who comment negatively or confrontationally, but it's easier to ignore because they're not right in front of me.

Sometimes concerned about reaction of others on social media and whether is will detract from the point I am trying to make.

You don't know how people are going to take it Because we're not called to proselytise but gently allow our faith to be seen and heard Christ gave His life for me, I try to honour Him by serving Him and showing the love that He showed for me to others.

He gives me hope in a fallen world, I want to share that hope with others. He shows me how to have peace in times of conflict and heartache, I want to show others how they can find that peace. etc. etc.

I like to share things about faith that have come to my attention. Sometimes what I share encourages others.

I have a family member who can be very anti faith at times and their health can be detrimentally affected by seeing such posts Tendency to be misconstrued/misunderstood. Possibility for thoughts to be hijacked by others on either side of the spectrum.

Cause it's who I am My faith is my life expressed.

I worry about being misunderstood, since posts can sometimes exist in a contextual vacuum, and sometimes be interpreted by a friends context, which I may have known nothing about.

I'm not ashamed of the truth of the gospel! So while it remains possible to embrace this medium to express this freely, I will!

Because it's an open forum. Others can easily scroll past my comments if they don't wish to read them. The choice lies with them.

Christianity is loaded. I don't want to be associated out of context.

I am not ashamed in what I believe, I know the truth and I don't mind people knowing I'm Christian, if anything I want them to know.

However, I prefer more direct means of communication. Preferably face to face.

Because most of my friends are Christians I am unapologetic about my faith -­‐ as a minister people expect it, yet many of my contacts are way away from any sort of faith. My feed may be the only Christian influence they get on their entire network of contacts. all my contacts are christians I have nothing to hide.

Shy. But don't know why I should be I'm just as comfortable as I am face to face I feel I can deal with anyone who wants to comment/argue/agree! And I trust that God can work through me to spread the gospel in what I write!

Because (so I am told) I write fluently in an interesting, amusing, encouraging way ... and make good use of pictures/photos I don't do it too often and I am careful what I share, I am aware I have many atheist friends so it's important I don't offend but rather share selected posts so they will read and ponder, I try not to be over the top I have the support of Christian friends and I know it encourages others when I share things.

See above. I rarely comment on society, politics, other religions. However, that is more due to restrictions from my work than due to concerns about sharing my faith.

I think you have to weigh each comment up carefully. is this positive, constructive and fruitful or are you just having a rant!

As above, it's an important part of who I am and I am confident my friends will respect that its being honest about who I am I do believe the right to free speech and I don't feel judged by friends on what I write about my faith, however I like people to think of me as more than a Christian I feel I can best express my faith face to face with someone, or in a longer written piece, rather than in things such as tweets Faith can be misinterpreted and people confuse 'faith' and 'religion' There are lots of people who use social media to complain and be unkind to others, I dont like getting into arguments about why i do and dont believe things. So i only tend to share things that with my friends rather than posting things that others can see or commenting on peoples statuses.

I try to share my faith online in such a way as not to offend those of my friends who may be less certain about things.

Most of my friends are Christian but the ones who aren't respect it and sometimes ask about it i am confident in my faith and what it means to me. I don't really care what other people think of my belief in God so why not say it?

Once again, it varies. Among others of faith or on a broadly Christian site I'm comfortable. Otherwise not, as I have friends of all beliefs and none.

I'd feel more vulnerable than what I'm comfortable with (social mediawise).

I mostly do but as with my overall view of social media I'm not comfortable with its permanence and my lack of ability to control it. It can also lack nuance and tone both of which are needed when discussing something such as faith.

Not everyone is receptive to the opinion I express.

Again, arguing my faith over social media is something I'm not comfortable doing, but posting what the Lord is doing in my life is simple. I know that I'm doing my best to live a God-­‐honoring life and my Facebook doesn't say otherwise. This is why I feel comfortable enough to share my faith.

As I said earlier, to begin with I though it a little strange. At first I felt geotagging in church was disrespectful. However, the status updates often create a stimulating discussion between friends who attend other churches or other

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denominations and either faiths. It never stops amazing me how we all see to believe the same things put give them different titles, names etc.

Same as above, I feel I can share my faith anywhere. I didn't always feel this way, but as I grow in my own personal faith, the more comfortable I feel to express it out loud. Sometimes people may disagree, but they are entitled to their own opinion.

I am comfortable apart from with work colleagues. Only because I don't want my sharing my faith to impact on my ability to do my job ie if people I work with disagree etc I'm thinking particularly of Facebook where I share with my friends. I am sometimes uncomfortable as social media arguments/ controversies can quickly get out of hand. Due to the public nature of Twitter I would act differently, though that is not to say I wouldn't share my faith, but perhaps that I would avoid controversy more. I would avoid even more on LinkedIn as I am job-­‐seeking through that platform although I would not be particularly hesitant to express that I have Christian faith, perhaps more hesitant to go into details.

My faith is integral part of who I am. For me to share who I really am online, my faith would have to be part of it.

Sometimes it's easier to type something up rather than speak to a specific person or specific people.

It's part of who I am. I'm not worried about sharing, but also don't want to over do it. because I have never hidden it Even if people don't say it, they really can be quite upset and offended by people's individual thoughts and opinions with regard to religion. For example, a mother who has just lost her baby is not going to suddenly want me to start talking about God It is natural I think it's to do with identity in relation to others. All of my friends and family know I identify as a Christian, so I'm happy to post about my faith. But I have some atheist friends who I don't want to isolate, or I don't want them to reject me, so I sometimes hesitate about posting.

My faith is nothing to be ashamed of, however, the Church has much, much work to do to repair the trust of the public following some difficult years. The sex abuse cases, and the more extreme ends of the Lord's message need dealing with (homophobia, discrimination, creationism are some of my bugbears), and I do find myself being lumped in with all of these issues. "How can you say you love God and his son Jesus Christ when X happens in the Church?" Difficult one that.

People view religion with skepticism.

I feel I have to be careful about what I post My Christianity is part of who I am, if people don't like it, they have the right to keep scrolling.

Short messages and photos used Social media is a means of sharing daily living and my faith is the centre of my life.

It's an important part of my life, I wouldn't suppress it Why shouldn't I? We work with Disability and the church, social media is where disabled people hang out as they are less able to get out and about Don't want to come across as some bible basher Because I have a confidence in the inherent truth of my faith and feel called to share it openly.

Partly because, as an ordained person, it's an obvious element of my life. Also, I've had extremely positive interactions with non-­‐Christians on social media as a result.

People know I am a Chrisitian. I believe that public faith is important. I love to share the gospel. I also like to use social media to capture bible readings that speak to me in my devotional time. I keep my personal interpretations/ revelations private but share verses that have touched me.

Proud to be a Christian. I try to put at least one Facebook post and tweet once a week about my faith, church activities.

Much more at the moment with Easter!

Because it's part of life and faith is as well.

Nothing to hide Because of the reaction to any form of faith expression by a politician. I am on Twitter primarily because of politics, not religion.

I customise my tone and regularity according to audience, e.g I have a 'Christian' list on Facebook as don't want to spam my nonchristian friends with things only Christians would be interested in. I share more broadly on Twitter as followers follow due to interest in topic rather than just direct friendship as with Fb. Because it is related to my everyday experience and work in particular.

Speaking out is important and should be defended; so that we as Christians Do not lose our rights and lose the life of others. We have to be beacons in a dark and embittered world; that is losing its way to the heavenly kingdom of God. I'm primarily a Twitter user and I follow and an followed by Christians, people of other faiths and of none. I feel comfortable being honest about my faith but I also don't try and by 'over holy' or beat anyone over the head with it ;) It's underlines my everyday life, and therefore, mixed in with everything else that I'm doing in my life is natural to share...

I just write what I want and stand for The people who are my friends on facebook know me, have chosen to be my friends and so my faith should not come as a surprise. I am the same person in real life as I am on social media. If you don't want to talk about or hear about God, you might want to limit your time with me.

Because everyone knows I'm a Christian anyway -­‐ why would I not be comfortable. i am careful how I do it so as not to attract hassle Social media offers an opportunity to reach communities / individuals with whom I might not otherwise speak to about my faith.

Hopefully the fact I try to live my life as a Christian will show through

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I believe that once we are saved it is our duty to show sing and tell the whole world about Gods amazing love and grace Freedom of speech opportunities to share with lots of people Some people can take it the wrong way. I tend to share positive parts of my faith. Not so much the doubts!

Making sure I don't hurt others, put people off!Seem smug or arrogant.

It is a big part of me and who I am and I want my social media pages to reflect that. It's also a great way to reach others and encourage and challenge others with their own thinking.

I feel comfortable about my identity in the 'real' world -­‐ why should that change on social media?

Because people may judge you and perceive what you say It's an easy way to share your views. There may be some 'trolling' but it's behind a screen, ultimately it's a safe platform to share viewpoints.

I think it's important, I'm not completely sure if it's a question of feeling comfortable.

We are called to be salt and light Because I use social media in a way in which I'm comfortable. I'm not tweeting Bible verses but my life in which, hopefully, God is central.

Difficulties explaining difficult points of faith to none believers, lack of body language and emotions, trolls looking to put anyone down, potential back lash onto employment I see people use Facebook as an extension of themselves. So I choose to use it as an extension of the profession of my faith. Again, I try to be discerning about the things I write and the frequency -­‐ because more than being a broadcaster, I long to be a harvester. I long to bring people IN to the kingdom of God through my profession of God's goodness -­‐ and social media gives me opportunity to do so.

See last answer, I just don't generally share much online.

Its got to be something natural. rather than trying to manifacture an opportunity if ti comes up you merely speak up Contacts, both close and distant, on social media know that Christain faith is part of who I am.

I tend to like and add comment to ither peoples post, or share if greet is a relevant story or statement I use care that I share messages of particular meaning to me, not my day by day journey of faith I'm happy to talk about my faith which is a major part of my life. Most of my FB friends are aware of my faith.

As long as you use wisdom and tact in what you say then there's no problem It is the same for me in real life.

Because they are my thoughts, so if I want to I am entitled to share. They are not forced on anyone.

Because it is part of my identity A lot of my 'friends' on social media do not have faith and I don't feel the need to push my views on them.

It's very easy Talking about faith online is not the f stereotype of proselytizing. My faith should relevant to the wider sphere of my perception of the world.

People are a lot more open than you think People can choose to read or ignore it, feels less "in your face" than face to face conversation. Can say things to a wider group of people than I would naturally share my faith with.

The people I am friends with on social media know I am a Christian anyway, so it isn't uncomfortable to express it.

It's something of a blunt instrument, and can be really intrusive.

Because my faith sharing is usually face to face and in conversation rather than just waving a flag of information.

We have been conditioned as 'consumers' in a capitalist, materialistic society. The Christian faith exists, for good or bad, right or wrong, moral or immoral, in a competitive market place. Since its birth, it has always interweaved aspects of contemporary culture into the way(s) in which it has interfaced between public life and culture. It has to live and breathe in this space and be seen to offer an alternative narrative, informed and guided by Jesus Christ, God's values and inspired by the Holy Spirit (we ought to have faith that the HS stays at the 'cutting edge'). Today, such spaces are ever more fluid and devoid of cultural barriers -­‐ e.g. the internet and social media enable the entire world to be at the end of a click of finger tip, which in and of itself is mind-­‐blowing. Therefore, each follower/believer is charged with being responsible in communicating the life-­‐changing and saving grace found in JC. It is a good way to talk about religion with people from other parts of the world.

I don't care if people hate me for discussing my beliefs, I don't care if people hate me for being mormon; it makes me happy, it's what I believe, I want to share it.

Faith is quite personal and intimate at times and can leave you in a very vunerable place if you allow anyone to comment on what you believe. I've had many arguements about faith in social media.

I am confident in my faith!

Because my social media use is a blur between church and non-­‐church friends and family, there's always a slight feeling of unease, but that's me rather than them!

Any person should be comfortable with their faith no matter the circumstances Because majority of my "followers" are close family and friends Uncomfortable with social media generally.

All my friends know my religious beliefs and have had many rigorous debates about life the universe and everything.

Part of who I am and the role I fulfill as a university chaplain I don't like to get into arguments on social media.

I don't post any personal information online.

Because no one can put me down.

It is a non threatening environment.

I usually share articles that support my views and don't get into debates Don't think it the social media apps i are effective or appropriate platforms Mainly because I am a competent writer and can put things gently when I need to. Also I believe in sharing my faith rather than shouting the gospel.

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I'm aware that my potential 'audience' will be from a mixture of faith backgrounds and none, so there is not a bespoke nature to the use of social media that means not everything fits or is relevant to every reader I can control who I interact with. I mainly discuss Christian issues in closed facebook groups. One of our churches facebook groups is about praying for each others needs. Other groups might be about specific doctrine. I do express some issues openly but I keep these to a minimum and mainly share ones that I think would help those who are not believers on their spiritual journey rather than hinder them. So I am careful to avoid sharp disagreement in public with other believers.

Because my faith is core to who I am and if folk don't like that they cant unfriend me or scroll down the page. It comes as naturally to me as breathing I have nothing to hide The media site is mine to use as I see fit. No one is forced to take part.

I don't want others to feel that I am pushing my faith in them. I want people to know about me and about Jesus in a relaxed way.

I am aware how to limit my audience through Privacy settings BUT I am also aware that what I write online lasts forever, and I don't want anything I say to come back and haunt me through my employer or through another route in the future.

I probably try to share my faith explicitly on Facebook as often as I would face to face with people, to try to keep people's opinion of me balanced to how I am in "real" life. Often easy to post more things online about faith than you would face to face, which makes me uneasy.

Because I'm worried some people may judge me for who I am Because it is my page to express my personal views on.

Always slightly wary that I don't want to cause offence to people of other faiths, people of the same faith, people of no faith..... I don't want to start a fight! However -­‐ I've learned many lessons in how to be non adversarial (not quite enough but some!) and can be generically Christian without too much fear!

As above Important form of evangelism and Christians have stuff to say as Christians I am a minister of religion I work as a researcher for a University. I have colleagues that are part of my social media networks. Sometimes I feel that they would take my professional opinion less seriously as there is a general attitude at University level that to be a Christian you check your critical thinking at the door before walking into a church. Sometimes I also feel ill equipped or not confident to defend my Christian views in the tea room at work when surrounded by so many non-­‐Christians.

For all the plus sides to social media there are also many downsides. Twitter, for example, is a difficult forum in which to talk about your faith as unfortunately you inevitably engage with keyboard warriors. 'Opinions' and the way in which they are expressed on Twitter are very different to an Alpha group.

Considerations about audience, pastoral concerns, trolling, just not worth the stress. However, my church does use social media to good effect.

Partly, esp on FB, it's because my friendlist is genuine friends (or at least acquaintances), some of whom are also Christians and all of whom are aware of my faith. Partly (and perhaps this is the opposite of the reason above), SM interactions are cushioned from the fear of negative responses -­‐ not entirely, but partially cushioned.

Because I am open-­‐minded, and write well, and think through things deeply, so I am confident that people will be inspired or appropriately challenged. I never post offensive or nonsense religious slogans.

Because I am sure in my faith and sure in its message and have seen and experienced the message shared online and it he way it can change those who want to receive it It's an open space which needs to reflect the diversity of our society -­‐ not just the secular elements I am a very open person, what you see is what you get. I also believe that faith is relevant -­‐ I am not a Bible basher!

Occasionally, one wonders about the potential for words to be misunderstood or repeated in a different sort of context.

Unfortunately the nature of social media means the 'keyboard warrior' aspects of it make having a reasoned discussion on anything faith wise a rocky road. Responses on social media would probably not occur in say an Alpha group.

I am unashamed and my friends and family know this.

It's part of who I am and I can't deny that.

I don't have a problem with people knowing my beliefs, but I don't reply to comments etc that appear to be venting anger, rather than asking for others' opinions, answers, or advice.

As above I'm very careful about what I post on social media because of who might read it.

As a minister, talking about faith is what I do!

My faith is central to who I am It's who I am.

Others may use the information with bad intent.

As above in Question 4, I don't want to be 'in your face' about my faith, I respect that not all my friends would be comfortable with this. Also, it's not naturally how I am in real life; I chat with close friends about my faith but not all 379 friends I have in Facebook !

Because people who follow/ friend me know what I stand for.

I have control over what I write and the conversations I get involved with. I normally only post Christian context to Christian audiences or moments when Christian perspective chimes with cultural morality.

It is a place where I discuss theology, pray for others and share my own thoughts.

I feel uncomfortable expressing my faith by any means.

As an ordained Presbyter in the Methodist Church it is part of my ordination vows to share my faith.

Many of the people I interact with online are Christians, and those who aren't are free to ignore posts they don't like.

Because a lot of my friends on fb are Christians

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For the reasons outlined above. Also, the limited character count in, for example, Twitter, and the problems of expressing nuances of emotion without face-­‐to-­‐face interaction mean that opinions can easily be misinterpreted.

Because it's easy... There is no other unfiltered platform where people are looking and waiting to hear opinion on specific subjects, so talking about faith naturally catches peoples eyes.

I only do it in a way that I think is socially sensitive to my audience.

I try to be sensitive and contextual Because I personally find it much easier putting thoughts 'on paper' rather than aurally expressing them.

My faith is an important part of my life and something I am open about to all those I know so it seems natural to want to post on social media about it too.

I am very careful about aligning myself with faith communities that may not reflect my values. Unfortunately the word 'Christian' has so many negative connotations and doesn't always reflect my faith. Although I believe deeply in Jesus, I don't want to align myself with it's cultural values.

I don't what someone to mistake what I am sharing for me pushing my views or faith apon them. I sometimes feel i need to justify why I am posting something and therefore don't bother. On the rare occasion I do share something it is going to be something positive.

It is helpful to have a large number of Christian friends also on Facebook.

I trust my friends to be tolerant of my beliefs Other expressions of Christianity on social media and bickering between Christians puts people off.

Some people are going to disagree, and that's okay!

I'm worried about offending others and more concerned than I'd like to be about what others think, but I think it's important to put forward the Christian perspective sometimes.

It is easier to express things in writing for me, and I can easily type words without feeling as vulnerable as I might do in person with someone. There is a certain sense of detachment from the audience, but at the same time it is easier to meet/find people with interest in and/or similar views on faith, which brings you closer.

Well there is freedom of speech and express people say or post what they want or what important to them so do I do post about my faith which is important to me :-­‐).

Because it's very often easier to express your feelings/experience *on paper* rather than verbally.

Why do you think Many of my friends on SM are christians. I do choose carefully how I engage as I also have many friends who aren't and I don't want them to be weirded out by 'well meaning' christian friends who have no sensitivity towards those who aren't Your views can easily be misinterpreted to be extremist, which has bad connotations.

As I hail from India, where Secularism is predominant, sometimes I took careful attention regarding my status as I have many friends who are non Christians and therefore does not want to hurt their sentiments in any such.

Social Media brings out the worst in some people. The reaction can be horrific at times I know that some will like it, others will disagree but most will ignore it (i.e. not respond).

While its easy to reach millions if people I would prefer talking to people on a one-­‐on-­‐one basis I want to share what Jesus has done for us, not just me. I've learnt to speak up for Him and share on social media.

Desire for integration -­‐ to be whole.

I don't generally share my faith by using words. I use actions.

It's a reflection of who I am Jesus saves.

I feel comfortable expressing my faith, when I feel the need to do so, whether in a non-­‐digital context or online. not just social media -­‐ generally very unconfident and inarticulate There are a lot of people out there ready to ridicule people with faith and I do not feel this is the platform to fight that battle. I would never however renounce my faith.

If people don't want to read, they don't have to Any discomfort I feel is purely with social media itself as I am a bit of an IT dinosaur.

For instance with Facebook I am aware there are a lot of my 'friends' who are not Christians and may get fed up if I did it too much as they have to scroll through their news feeds!

It is part of my life and I share that and other parts of my life via social media. I don't share everything about my faith just as I don't share everything about other parts of my life.

I like to be able to have conversations about my faith, social media is not the best for that and I don't like to make alienating statements which they can easily come across as.

Other Christians & the hideous job some of them do. Lack of nuance & being able to interpret how things are received.

I think it's ineffective.

I am not ashamed of my Christian faith Plenty of others do the same and it can be a good way to spark a conversation about beliefs.

My social media friends are either Christians themselves, or are supportive lovely people. I wouldn't want to link on social media with people with whom I couldn't share such things openly.

I tell my stories -­‐ sharing as others tell their stories.

I am a Christian! My whole life, my identity is bound up in my faith and my relationship with God. Love me, love the fact that I'm a Christian because it is the unescapable foundation of all I am and do and think and say.

Because I want people to know me for who I am and what I believe in.

I only use Facebook and all my fac book friends know I'm a Christian Not sure how it will be received May be its my age (55+yrs). Doesn't bother me Because my faith is a integral part of my life it seems appropriate to talk about or reflect on it from time to time. Not to do so would feel like my faith was just something for Sunday or for Christian settings -­‐ which would seem hypocritical or false.

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• • • •

• • • •

• • • • •

• •

• • • • • • • • •

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I believe what I write and there are many who share my views. because I am content with who I am Partly because my privacy settings are set to exclusive so I'm pretty sure those who read my posts are actual friends.

Because the things I express about my faith on social media would not be things that would make me uncomfortable or I wouldn't do it. I am comfortable with things like expressing gratitude for answered prayer, or asking friends to pray for things Same as above My experiences with church and lgbt+ have been negative -­‐ mainly I don't want to upset people on my more private accounts (tumblr etc). On facebook I would never post publicly.

Because it is my true belief that I want to ease the path to the Lord for as many lost souls as possible and by whatever means.

Depends which social media, facebook for example, i don't feel comfortable because there are people that i know offline that i don't know /that/ well that i don't want to get preconceptions about me based on my faith because that can be seen as a negative thing at times, although i know that is bad. Also, because I don't really post ANYTHING on there apart from occaisionally pics with friends, it would seem out of character maybe.

It feels a bit cliched. I am happy to share my faith, but don't feel as though I have to. And I always feel face-­‐to-­‐face is better rather than hiding behind the internet.

Part of my life I only really use Facebook, my friends know I'm Christian and I don't see why I should not post/ write about my faith, it's an important part of me See above.

The posts that I make on social media that are related to my faith are usually a word of praise and thanksgiving to God, answered prayer, or scripture to encourage (or sometimes that has challenged my thinking and may cause others to reflect too). I have found that this often encourages others (some who share my faith and others who don't, but have still appreciated it) And because my I am open about my faith in my everyday life it is not so strange or uncomfortable to be the same on social media.

I only put what I think is appropriate or not make others too uncomfortable Despite the above, there is still an underlying atheistic hostility. Although I am not judged for anything I do share, so I probably should do it more, I feel I am preaching to the pathologically inconvertible, happy to shoot down well-­‐argued apologist contributions with pat responses about David Attenborough's least favourite eye-­‐burrowing maggots and shallow Dawkins propaganda.

I am selective because I am aware that I have a very broad 'audience', christian and non-­‐christian. I don't like 'propaganda' or cheap answers but try to be open and honest I like to get "feedback" from the person or people that I am communicating with so that I can adjust how I am sharing my faith. Social Media is too random.

I see it no different to talking to people, or broadcasting via TV or radio.

As mentioned earlier, the reactions are mostly neutral (= no reaction) or positive (= likes), so it doesn't feel threatening to bring up my faith.

Just the way I am People express lots of views on line -­‐ why not what I believe I worry about receiving unkind comments I'm selective about what I share.

Easy at certain points in the year... E.g. Christmas, easter, campaigns but as for status updates not so. As I have said, people like to pick fights and I find it hard to discuss faith in a couple hundred words. It is like social media promotes free speech as long as that speech is in line with everyone else. As a minority in my friendship group that is not so.

Mostly because I'm a private person.

As above, I can write what I want -­‐ others can choose whether to read it or not. I'm not ashamed of my faith, so I'm happy for it to be in the public domain.

Because it is so. I feel uncomfortable only when there is something embarrassing someone else of faith did, but I still express my view and defend what I see as right Christian stance.

As a minister people kind of expect me to talk about faith stuff. However, I do sometimes feel an awkwardness since many of my family and friends have quite different (and often strong) opposing views. And so the desire to avoid conflict sometimes wins out.

Not firm enough in my faith I am only socially linked with people I actually know which makes me sure I won't be abused for sharing views. Friendly discussion is fine!

I don´t want to push my faith through, but let people learn my values and learn that they are based on my faith and Bible.

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APPENDIX 2: Freedom of Information Act data Incidents of religiously-­‐motivated hate crime recorded in period Jan 2010–Apr 2016, where social media was used in the offence, or used as evidence to bring a charge

ENGLAND Avon and Somerset Constabulary Bedfordshire Police Cambridgeshire Constabulary Cheshire Constabulary City of London Police Cleveland Police Cumbria Constabulary Derbyshire Constabulary Devon & Cornwall Police Dorset Police Durham Constabulary Essex Police Gloucestershire Constabulary Greater Manchester Police Hampshire Constabulary Hertfordshire Constabulary Humberside Police Kent Police Lancashire Constabulary Leicestershire Police Lincolnshire Police Merseyside Police Metropolitan Police Service Norfolk Constabulary North Yorkshire Police Northamptonshire Police Northumbria Police Nottinghamshire Police South Yorkshire Police Staffordshire Police Suffolk Constabulary Surrey Police Sussex Thames Valley Police Warwickshire Police West Mercia Police West Midlands Police West Yorkshire Police Wiltshire Police Putting Your Faith in Social Media

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total 0 0 R * 0 R 1 * 0 * 0 R * 1 R 1 0 0 * 1 1 0 R 0 * 1 0 3 F R 0 * 0 R * * * 0 0

1 0 R * 0 R 2 * 0 * 0 R * 4 R 0 0 0 * 2 6 1 R 0 * 3 0 5 F R 0 * 2 R * * * 1 0

0 1 R * 0 R 2 * 0 * 0 R * 1 R 2 0 0 * 4 7 2 R 0 * 3 0 5 F R 3 * 0 R * * * 2 1

2 0 R * 1 R 0 * 0 * 0 R * 3 R 1 0 0 * 11 4 1 R 0 * 1 0 3 F R 2 * 2 R * * * 2 1

2 0 R * 0 R 4 * 3 * 2 R * 5 R 5 0 0 * 9 7 3 R 0 * 8 3 5 F R 5 * 4 R * * * 3 2

8 2 R * 0 R 7 * 2 * 1 R * 15 R 8 0 1 * 3 2 7 R 0 * 14 2 10 F R 2 * 5 R * * * 1 2

3 1 R * 0 R 0 * 1 * 0 R * 6 R 4 0 0 * 0 0 0 R 0 * 0 0 2 F R 0 * 0 R * * * 1 0

16 4 R 3 1 R 16 2 6 1 3 R 4 35 R 21 0 1 47 30 27 14 R 0 3 30 5 31 F R 12 27 9 R 2 12 15 10 6 84

NORTHERN IRELAND Police Service of Northern Ireland

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

1

SCOTLAND Police Scotland

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

N

WALES Dyfed-­‐Powys Police Gwent Police North Wales Police South Wales Police

0 0 N *

0 0 N *

0 0 N *

0 0 N *

0 0 N *

0 0 N *

0 0 4 *

0 0 4 15

TOTAL UK

Notes:

10 27 33 34 70 92 22 413 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 TOTAL

R: FOI request refused -­‐ cost grounds N: Data not held F: Failed to respond *: Data not broken down by year

2016 data is generally valid at 10/5/16

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APPENDIX 3: Transcript of interview with Sarah Ager (Muslim, Female) Interviewed in Bologna, Italy 25 March 2016

My name is Sara Ager, I’m from the UK. My parents are Salvation Army officers and I was raised in TSA [The Salvation Army] and I was very happy, self-­‐identifying as a Christian. Until I was at university and then I started studying Islam, and then I sort of slowly transitioned and became a Muslim. Which surprised me as much as everyone else. As a result of becoming a Muslim, I became interested in interfaith. Firstly because by converting my family became an interfaith family and it interested me.

How long ago was it that you converted?

That was four or five years ago.

So within the social media era?

Mm-­‐mm, yes. When I converted, I suddenly got a huge following!

Were you sharing your previous Christian faith on social media in any way?

Yes, but I wouldn’t have said it was a main topic of conversation. I wouldn’t have put it up there as one of the main things I spoke about. Probably because I think I took my faith for granted a little bit, because everyone around me was Christian – everyone around me had a faith of some kind or identified as Christian. So it wasn’t really an issue, if you like. I didn’t really talk about my faith that much. If someone had asked me about it, I’d have talked about it – I’ve never been embarrassed talking about faith or religion, because I find it very interesting. But in all honesty, it wouldn’t have been the top thing I was talking about.

So this process of conversion – was that something that was a surprise to your family, your friends? Was it generally well received?

It was actually. I am very very fortunate in that it was received in such a positive way and I didn’t fall out with anyone, and no one fell out with me about it. No family problems or friend problems. Just surprise really. I think because I was so visibly Christian in the sense that I went to church every Sunday and wore a junior soldier uniform. I was so active in the church I suppose that would have then been a shock to people that someone who expressed their faith so strongly as a Christian would then convert. I think that would be a surprise to people. And I think people have a preconceived idea about what a Muslim looks like, what a Muslim acts like – and I didn’t really fit that perception. So that surpised people. But I think when people saw that my character hadn’t changed as a result and that I hadn’t suddenly become a different person, I think that put people at ease, I suppose.

After that moment of converting to Islam, were you more or less likely to talk about matters of faith through your social media platforms?

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Far more likely. Yeah. During the process of conversion, I spoke about religion a lot, because it was obviously on my mind. And so I was interested in Christianity, Islam. I became more interested in religion as a topic, rather than just my own personal faith – on an academic level. And then, I suppose I became interested in talking about my own faith, my own transition, how people had responded to me. And also – just because I converted, I suddenly found that people were interested in me, so I suddenly had a huge influx of people who were wanting to speak to me, asking questions – either Christians, atheists or Muslims. Muslims wanting to know why I’d converted and wanting to speak to me about it. Christians wanting to … and then different people. For a brief period where suddenly a lot of people were interested in me. That’s died down now, but it was very noticeable when I converted.

And how did you grapple with those kind of questions? Were you frustrated with being asked the same question over and over again? Did you view it as an opportunity?

It was a very useful opportunity for me, because every time I was asked that question, I had to rethink and revisit why I was thinking of converting and then why I had converted. And I’ve found in particular social media’s been very very good for me to really reflect on my decisions, my beliefs – how my beliefs and my political views interact and that sort of thing. And whether it’s someone who agrees with me, has the same faith or has a completely different faith or no faith, I’ve found that people asking questions really helps me to work out what I believe. Because although I’m Muslim and that’s been the same for the last five years, my beliefs still fluctuate if you like – because I feel my faith is always evolving, just as I was when I was a Christian – I never felt it was static.

Are there particular faith leaders you follow on social media?

Oh, hundreds. Hundreds and hundreds. I’m interested in a lot of interfaith leaders of various backgrounds. For example the Christian-­‐Muslim forum. Do you know Peter Adams? He’s involved in Luton. He’s quite a public figure. You might recognise his face because he’s often been on television – a representative who speaks about interfaith and things. Then I’ve been very interested in humanism, speaking to different humanists, because I often find that my political views match humanists. But then my only thing that stops me becoming a humanist is that I have faith! And that’s a sort of non-­‐negotiable part of my identity. I did a quiz online about humanism and think I was about 75% humanist. The only thing that let me down was faith! Really funny! So that’s quite interesting. I find speaking to people who don’t have faith – especially humanists – quite interesting because we agree on so much. And we’re able to see so many commonalities between our beliefs and our approach to life, et cetera. And in a way, the fact that I have faith and they don’t doesn’t really matter because we agree in so many other ways. So I found that very interesting. Who else? So many people. A lot of Muslim leaders in America, especially Muslim women who are feminists. Because I identify as a feminist, so I find them particularly interesting. Oh! There’s another person! Julie Siddiqi – she’s also a convert and she’s awesome.

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Do you find that having that number of people around you who share your faith perspective is nurturing, cathartic, beneficial?

Yes. Especially because I have a blog – called Interfaith Ramadan – I haven’t been very active recently, but I will be during Ramadan. And basically I invite different people of different faiths, and no faith, to write during Ramadan about their experiences.

Struggles they have in their own faith, with interfaith, things in the news, inclusion in general. As a result of that I have really learnt so much during Ramadan. Often not from Muslims in particular, it’s from people so different from me – or seemingly so different to me – who I can relate to, who really make me think. So for example, a few Pagans have written to me – who else? – There’s a really interesting man who’s Ásatrú, a kind of like heathen, Nordic religion. And he’s really fascinating because interfaith is so often Abrahamic – and maybe Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh get in there as well – but generally speaking it’s the same faiths around the table. So he really made me think about what it means to be inclusive and what it means to talk about faith with someone who’s not generally accepted or included by other people. It’s so easy to talk to Christians – firstly because I was one, and also because I believe that I’m a Muslim but I wouldn’t be the Muslim that I am now without my Christian heritage and upbringing. That’s very much influenced the Muslim I am.

What sort of things would you post on which social media platforms?

I use Facebook primarily for family and friends, whereas with Twitter I think I have about 5,000 followers now – and I think I’m more active on Twitter than I am on Facebook. That’s where I would share… I talk about politics a lot and religion. And how they sometimes intertwine – for better or worse. And also, I’ve always been uncomfortable with being ‘evangelical’ – speaking about my faith in order to try and persuade someone to have the same belief as me, so even as a Christian… I’ve never been comfortable with that, and as a Muslim that has continued. And so I don’t necessarily talk about faith in an always positive way because I think it’s important to talk about faith and religion in all the different ways – so how religion can be abused, how people can get power with religion, or how it can be used as a force for good in society. And I find that people appreciate someone of faith sharing the difficulties of religion and also the not-­‐so-­‐attractive side of religion – and maybe distinguishing between faith and religion as well. Organised religion, or the traditions of religion – and then personal faith. A lot of people find my tweets beneficial for that reason – that I’m not trying to rose-­‐tint religion or trying to make my own faith look better than someone else’s. That’s sort of a philosophy I have when I tweet.

It sounds that your experience as a Muslim woman expressing these issues of faith, politics, religion, feminism online – has been broadly positive?

Yes, and I’m surprised by that to be honest. I really feel that I should be getting a lot more hatred online than I do. I don’t know why I don’t. I know I only have 5,000 followers but I really feel that I should get more than I do. As you say, I’m a feminist – which causes its own problems. I’m visibly Muslim, because I also wear a hijab. I’m very

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outspoken as a Muslim woman. I do get some criticism as well – it isn’t all positive. I do, I suppose, every other day I’m called a terrorist online. Every day I’ll get someone saying something awful about Muslims in general. I’m used to people criticising Islam, because I also criticise things in Islam or the practices of certain Muslims, or whatever.

So I don’t… I’m not offended by that type of thing. But when someone says something about Muslims as a group of people in general – anti-­‐Muslim bigotry – I do experience that. But not as much as I feel I should be getting, which is really odd. Although I do feel that I interact with people maybe differently to many others who are visibly Muslim online. Or, well, because whenever someone says something awful to me, I often try to defuse the situation with humour, and often I find that although the person won’t change their mind and maybe will still have the views that they had before – for a brief moment they consider me as a person like them, and maybe laugh at a joke that I’ve made. And at least they think for one second ‘that’s a Muslim who made me laugh’ and ‘I liked that Muslim’ and ‘that Muslim didn’t say something horrible to me’. Because it would be very easy to say something horrible like ‘oh, go away’ or block people. And I try not to. I think I’m friends with several people who originally I’d have considered trolls. Because they find that they can express their opinions – even if they’re awful opinions – and they know that I will respond, or try to respond, in a fair way. I’ll try to answer questions. I’ve had a few occasions where someone has criticised me publicly and it’s caused a big palaver online and I’ve found that I’ve had people of all different faith backgrounds – and non-­‐faith backgrounds – defending me saying ‘OK, I know you don’t like Islam or Muslims, but she’s nice … she’s trying to be fair.’

So you’ve got some online allies around you?

…and that makes things easier.

Let’s pick up on that topic of trolling, and I guess this week has been particularly bad with the hashtag #stopislam as a result of the Brussels bombing. How do you feel as a Muslim when that sort of venom and vitriol is flying around the Internet?

When there’s a terrorist attack and it’s committed by someone who identifies as Muslim – firstly you feel awful on a human level that people have been killed and then there’s another layer when you start to worry about yourself. I do feel bad about it, because I shouldn’t be thinking ‘I hope it’s not a Muslim’. It’s awful to think that, but from past experience – whenever something like that happens, you know in that week you’re going to get a lot more vitriol than in the week before. And also it’s tiring because you often get people asking you to – or demanding you to – to apologise for something. And you think ‘of course I condemn it’. When people ask me ‘do you condemn this?’ my first reaction is I think ‘why are you questioning my humanity?’ you know, ‘why are you assuming that I’m going to agree with someone killing another human being?’ So that’s very tiring. I was exhausted this week. Because also I’m a teacher, so every day I would have people who would come into the classroom and obviously they would want to speak about Brussels because it’s news that’s just happened. And maybe they want to ask my opinion as well, and also on social media having people asking you. It can be quite exhausting.

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Do you think the Muslim community handles this sort of thing well?

A very good question. Yeah. It really depends who. I don’t think you can really say ‘the Muslim community’ because there are so many different versions, there are so many different groups of people. And Muslims respond in many different ways to this sort of situation. So you have, for example, people who will get really defensive straight away, before they even know who committed something, they’ll start posting things about ‘Islam is a religion of peace’. You have the group of people who’ll say ‘groups like ISIS have nothing to do with Islam at all’, and ‘they are not Muslims, they’re not representatives of Islam’, blah blah blah. And then you’ve got people more like me – who say it has got something to do with Islam, you can’t remove it from its context.

Because if they believe that they are doing something Islamic – or if they at least say they are – you’ve got to look at how they are justifying it, and how they are using the Qu’ran, and how they are either being manipulated or manipulating the text themselves to create this. It’s not that easy, just because they do something bad, to say ‘oh no, they’re not Muslims’. And also the fact is, ISIS – or groups like them – would turn around and say I’m not Muslim. Because I’m feminist or because I’m involved in interfaith or because I support ex-­‐Muslims – I would not be considered Muslim. And I think that in many Muslim communities we already have enough sectarianism going on – people saying ‘they’re not Muslim’ or ‘they’re not proper Muslim’. It’s horrible to think that anyone who has just committed a terrorist act has anything to do with you … has any connection to you at all. It’s a horrible thing to think. But there is something there. That because they are using Islam in some way, you have to think ‘how is that being allowed to exist?’. These things don’t exist in a bubble. Does it mean there are some interpretations of Islam that then grow into this when it becomes extreme.

Getting a bit dark!

What is your personal inclination – if you were tweeted with one of this Islamophobic #stopislam hashtags?

I very very rarely block people. Often because people stop. I think sometimes they get bored of me, perhaps because I don’t give them the response they want, so they get bored of me and leave me alone. I think I’ve only blocked ten people and I’ve been on Twitter for a really long time! So I very rarely block. I probably would respond. If it’s really obvious that they’re just saying something really awful and very personal, I probably wouldn’t respond – but if it’s someone who you can see maybe you could talk to, I would.

Another dynamic this week was that Twitter took the #stopislam hashtag out of its trending topics. Do you think that was appropriate action for Twitter to take. Do you think social media platforms in general are doing enough to curb this very venomous anti-­‐faith rhetoric?

I’m not sure with regard to that hashtag actually. Although I know it started in a really negative way, I feel like one of the reasons it was trending was because people were saying ‘why is this trending?’. And that’s often the case. People say we shouldn’t be saying #stopislam, because it’s not all Muslims or it’s a warped version of Islam or it’s

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not the Muslims I know, etc. So I’m not sure how social media websites and applications should go about dealing with that sort of hatred. Because for some people that hashtag could have been beneficial for them, if they’d seen negative things and then people defending Muslims. Because I clicked on that hashtag and it was funny because half of me was depressed and then the other half was happy, because I could see that there were many people saying positive things or interacting. Because you never know what conversations and what friendships even can come out of horrible hashtags. Sometimes I’ve made friends with people online who have very different views to me; we maybe started a conversation from a really horrible incident. So I really don’t know how they should deal with it – I can see why they removed it. They don’t want anything so obviously anti-­‐Islam to be the top trend globally. But I don’t know if it’s actually helpful. It could also encourage those who already think Muslims have preferential treatment to feel justified as well. I don’t know.

Are there any hot topics you would tend to avoid online, because you know they will result in a backlash from the anti-­‐Muslim brigade or from sectarian Muslims perhaps?

There aren’t many topics I don’t talk about, but I don’t talk about Palestine and Israel. I don’t know anything about Palestine and Israel – I really don’t. So I just don’t comment on it. There are enough people commenting on it, and it just becomes so ugly. I don’t want any involvement in that.

Hot topics would probably be apostasy, ex-­‐Muslims, blasphemy laws. Talking about images of the Prophet. It hasn’t come up for a really long time! But I’ve spoken about that. Talking about sectarianism, including certain Muslim groups – talking about them under the label of Islam is enough to cause a hoo-­‐ha! There aren’t really many topics that I wouldn’t talk about.

The images of the Prophet with the tweeting of the cartoons… do you think that the inclusion of that sort of imagery that could be seen as offensive by many, do you think that deters Muslims from using social media?

I honestly don’t know. I don’t know any Muslims who have been deterred from using social media in general. I do know clergy who often take social media breaks because they just find it exhausting, spiritually and in other ways. I know a lot of reverends and some interfaith leaders who will take regular breaks from social media – especially after an event like Brussels – just to look after their own soul if you like. Just to look after themselves and heal from that trauma, I suppose. Sometimes it’s self-­‐care, preventative or after a big event. I don’t know about Muslims in particular, if the image of the Prophet would deter Muslims from being online. But maybe I just know a lot of vocal Muslims!

Is social media a helpful tool for helping different faith communities understand each other better?

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Yeah, I’ve found it incredibly beneficial. For sharing information, for interacting with people instantly. And finding people with similar views and with different views as well.

I’ve found it incredibly helpful for my own views on interfaith. Any bad experiences are really outweighed by the good, and the positive ones I’ve had.

You mentioned previously people who’d been quite unpleasant online and you’d turned it around and count them among your friends now – what do you talk to them about?

Often those people tend to be very interested in human rights, so any criticism they have of Islam, or of Muslims, tends to come from passages that involve punishment – or obviously incidents in other countries or even in the UK of violence that comes from believing Islam is the correct way or something along those lines. So often then we’ll talk about things involving human rights. I suppose because they know because I’m interested in human rights as well, they’ll often talk to me because I’ll do my best to be honest. I think that’s how it’s possible to get on with people when they really dislike your religion – if you’re able to admit when there are problems. I think that becomes a strength because they don’t feel that you’re trying to cover up or to protect your religion at all costs – you’re willing to have a proper conversation about it. They can see that you’re also not interested in hiding problems but interested in actually dealing with them head on. I think that’s how it’s possible. If I always deflected and said ‘I don’t want to talk about Muslims who do bad things’ it just wouldn’t work. And I wouldn’t want it to.

So, an issue of credibility?

Exactly. But that does mean that I do get criticism from Muslims sometimes who suggest – or say outright – that I shouldn’t wash dirty laundry in public, or that I’m giving Islam a bad name by doing that. And my view is that Islam is given a bad reputation when Muslims do bad things, so we have to deal with it. If you try to hide it, it suggests it’s OK or it’s not a big deal. The interesting criticism that I get from both extreme right Muslims and people who aren’t Muslims but are anti-­‐Muslim is that I’ll often be told I’m not a real Muslim. Sometimes in the space of the same hew minutes.

One will think I’m not Muslim enough, and ‘you’re not a proper Muslim because you talk about LGBT rights’, ‘you talk about this…’, ‘you’re not really a Muslim’ and then I’ll get someone else saying – someone who is anti-­‐Muslim – saying ‘you’re not a Muslim because you’re not violent’, ‘you’re not horrible’, ‘you’re too liberal’ and things like that. That can be really frustrating. That can happen a lot.

But I think everyone on social media has something that people will find about them that they don’t like. Even if you’re just being a woman online, that’s something that seems to cause problems. I don’t know if my experience is typical, because I really do feel that I get an easy ride on social media compared to other people. I shouldn’t complain!

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APPENDIX 4: Transcript of interview with Ros Clarke and Dan Stork Banks, TGI Monday (Christian, Female and Male) Interviewed in Little Drayton, UK 25 April 2016

Ros, you’re the Online Pastor for Lichfield Diocese. What does that role involve?

RC: Well, my brief is to work with 13-­‐ to 25-­‐year-­‐olds across the whole diocese through social media. So that involves building communities on Facebook, networking on Twitter, providing devotional resources on Instagram and Snapchat and also being involved in TGI Monday producing video content to go online. So the idea is to build up and encourage young people in their faith, people who are already in churches. It’s a time of real transition between 13 and 25 – everything in your life changes in that time – so it’s a way of providing some continuity for people during that time, when perhaps they might be moving away from home, going to university, starting work. To give them a place where they can keep connecting, but then also to be encouraged – to seek out a church where they are or to move on.

And also I think, just to provide a stepping stone for people outside the church who might be interested in finding out more about faith, they might have questions but would perhaps find it daunting to turn up at church one Sunday, or to go and talk to vicar or somebody like that. But online you can lurk, you can listen, you can ask a question but not feel put on the spot when someone answers it. So yeah, to provide and easier way to find out about faith.

So do you think that safety, that anonymity of an online relationship is helpful in people taking first steps towards a faith?

RC: I definitely think so. I would be nervous and uncomfortable if that’s all that ever happened – that people lurked at home and were anonymous and thought that was enough of a way to engage with faith. But I definitely think for first steps, it’s brilliant.

We have not just a generation, but several generations now who have not necessarily grown up going to church, for whom that is all very unfamiliar. And I think it’s still a taboo subject for a lot of people. It’s not a thing that’s easy to chat about with your mates always, so I think the more we can do to find people easier stepping stones to begin to ask those kinds of questions and hear matters of faith discussed, the more helpful that will be.

Where did the idea of TGI Monday come from? What’s it setting out to achieve?

RC: We had a day – the four of us, and Simon who does our camera work and is involved in the discussions as well. He was doing a day for us on how to do better audiovisual stuff, to help us think about vlogging as individuals and so on. And as we got together, it just seemed that it would be a good idea – rather than trying to do four or five separate things – to try to do something all together. It turns out that Dan had had this idea for ages, but you know. The rest of us were just like ‘ooh, that sounds

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brilliant, let’s try that!’ So it was sort of an experiment, sort of an accident but something that we thought ‘well no one else is quite doing this’.

DSB: All of us were involved in some way with a ministry that could have a wider public audience. Ros, the Online Pastor; Hywel had a blog and [is] very popular locally; Zoe was on General Synod wanting to promote ministry to disabled people, but didn’t really have a public platform; and I’d studied social media in my MBA, so I was quite aware of the things that were needed. So when we all got together around my kitchen table that day, we were looking at potentially going off and being independent YouTubers – I was just trying to help them think things through, just because I’d done the research on it. But the reality was that this was something we could do together. I had already had this context kind of planned out in my mind for other people, and thought I could deliver it in a Christian context as well. Which is why we are where we are today!

RC: We know that video is a way that people really like to engage these days, we’d seen one or two secular things doing something in this kind of format and we just thought ‘let’s give that a go’. We were initially just doing it as a trial – not really publicising it at all – and we were amazed that hundreds of people started following it in the first few weeks and were sending in questions and really engaging with it. People we knew from within our churches, but also people from outside of the church. I’ve had several people from outside that I only know online – from all over the world – who tell me that it’s been incredibly helpful for them. They’re not churchgoers, but they’ve found a way of just listening… I think one of the things that I think people have found helpful is that we don’t always think the same on everything. So there is always a discussion, and that’s been helpful for people to realise that as Christians you don’t have to sign up to a sort of blanket set of ideas about everything. That there is room to have difference and discussion and debate. And in the last few weeks we’ve had quite a lot more publicity – we’re going to be on Songs of Praise in a few weeks’ time, which is really exciting. And I think we’re just starting to see that this has the potential to become a ministry that has a wide-­‐ranging influence. It’s very exciting to be part of.

How did you bring this particular team together? As you say, you’re quite a diverse group…

DSB: Yes! Well it was just kind of who just happened to be there on that day. We looked around at the five of us who were there, and thought ‘well actually there is quite a mix here’. We don’t have any real ethnic diversity, but other than that we do have men and women, lay and ordained people, different backgrounds and experiences, scientists, a former policeman and Zoe, who’s involved in a lot of social justice campaigning, and it just seemed like between us we covered quite a breadth. So we didn’t feel at that point we needed to go seeking other people to add to the team, to try to diversify it in some more controlled way, we’d just go with who we’d got.

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In the recording today, you’ve covered topics such as healing, the nature of heaven, critical thinking… what sort of topics would you cover? And are there any you wouldn’t touch on?

DSB: It’s not so much what we would and wouldn’t cover. It’s how we cover each particular topic. What’s really important about the show is that we don’t decide what we’re going to tell people, but the show only starts when people have asked us a question. So it’s very much viewer-­‐orientated. We do get questions that we’re not going to answer on the show, but they tend to be very complex questions that just that person wants to know. We had a question a few weeks ago about analogies of the Trinity – it’s not really something that would work on the show, but it was really important to that particular individual. So I just went back and answered as best I could.

I had a question the other day about the hypostatic union [theological concept of Christ’s simultaneous humanity and divinity]. Well actually, the hypostatic union is really important for your average Christian, but no one knows what ‘hypostatic union’ is! So I said to the person ‘could you rewrite it?’ – I think this person was trying to sound clever and trip us up, and that is a reality. I said ‘we’ll answer it, but can you put it in such a way that it’s meaningful for every viewer and not just for yourself?’ And that’s the other thing – you do get questions from people who are not very keen on what we do, for whatever reason, and they’ll send in questions to try and trip us up.

Hywel was asked the other day ‘why do you call yourself Father when the Bible expressly forbids it in such-­‐and-­‐such a passage?’ And I went back and knew a bit about that person, because I’d seen their social media profile, and they were a very hostile person to other forms of Christianity outside of his own tradition. In fact I figured him out because he put me on his ‘false religion’ Twitter list. And then his question comes in. This isn’t someone asking a question because they want to know the answer for their own spiritual journey, what he’s trying to do is make us look like idiots or heretics.

I must admit, I still wanted to do the question! But actually some things aren’t going to work, so we’ve just got to be discerning and do our best.

Who do you consider as the main audience for TGI Monday?

DSB: It’s hard to know precisely without really drilling down on the analytics, which we do to a certain extent, but we’re all in full-­‐time ministry of some description or another, and it’s hard to find the time to do the level of work that you’d do if you were a full-­‐time person. When you look at the Internet, there’s signals and then there’s noise at the end of the day. You’ve got to discern the difference. The indications that we’re getting are that our Facebook figures are much higher, and our positive feedback all comes through Facebook. And Facebook has a demographic – tends to be people of 35 and upwards. And on Facebook profiles you can see how old people are as well. And so we are tending to get people in their 30s and upwards – family people. We’re not going to get theologians watching – that’s not what we’re about. But we are finding that people who are maybe in the pew day-­‐to-­‐day, they haven’t got time to read lots and lots of Christian books, they haven’t got time to listen to lectures or go off and get a theology degree. But they have genuine questions. And they want to know the

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answers. They can’t always find it at church. Or they can’t always find it in their friends at church. For them, it’s helpful to have a place to go – and we’ll chat about it, give them a little bit more.

What’s the reaction to TGI Monday been so far?

RC: It’s been really great. We’ve had a number of people who have contacted us individually to say they’ve been really helped by it. We’ve had some local publicity – local radio, local news, who’ve been really excited about it. Churches have been excited about it. We’re holding an event in a couple of weeks’ time where we’re going to have a live version. We’re going to show the Songs of Praise episode and record a live show and do some questions and answers. It’s really exciting that the local community feel that they’re part of it and excited that it’s happening here among them. So yeah, it’s been really positive. We were in Church Times last week! It’s been good!

DSB: I think in terms of a negative reaction – it was predictable in a way. I knew because of my own church background – I came out of quite a critical tradition, and so I know that some people who are in those critical traditions might not always be… I should be careful what I say really! But some theologies attract certain personalities.

It’s not that they’re there necessarily because it’s true and they’ve worked out the truth. They’re there because they have a personality and that theology fits. And that then comes through with their questions – so you can get some rather superior attitudes towards us, either that they’d answer the question a million times better than us – and that’s fine, I don’t mind that. The thing is: you might be able to answer the question better than we do, and I’ve got no problem with that, but can you answer it in a way that the people asking the question will benefit [from]? And that’s what’s important. It’s also quite hard when you’ve got cameras and lights on you, to answer the question! And also there’s four of us – five of us, including Simon the cameraman – and we’ve all got something to say and the conversation can go in different directions.

So it’s easy to criticise when you’re watching, it’s much harder – I think – to do it. And my response is ‘if you can do better, great – put your money where your mouth is and go and do it!’ Otherwise, shut up!

Are the majority of critics Christians of other types, atheists or people of other religions?

DSB: Both. We’ve had some atheist trolls. So often they’re parodies of … everything they think Christians are [supposed] to be. You can talk until you’re blue in the face and they won’t listen to you. You can win every argument, but they’re still unconvinced.

You just have to accept that’s part of human nature. They will come back with really hostile comments. We’ve had some really nasty things said about us by one or two trolls, but that really doesn’t bug me. We knew we were going to get that when we put ourselves out there. That’s part of the reality. Look at [historian] Mary Beard for example, what appalling things have been said – by the thousand – to her. And if she can handle it, then so can I.

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Do you consider this as a local initiative within the diocese or a national/international ministry?

RC: It’s both, and that’s the same with all my ministry really. I am in Lichfield Diocese, but inevitably when you’re online you can’t police who’s watching or who’s engaging.

It’s local in the sense that a lot of the individuals who are sending in questions, or who we’re working with – we’re making an effort to follow up – are relatively local to us.

But obviously, it’s going out – people are watching in from wherever, sending in questions from wherever, and so it has that reach as well.

What’s your hope for TGI Monday?

DSB: Two things. Firstly, we want to be a flagship really for the rest of the church. To show the church that social media is a really important part of mission and engagement with the world. As Christians, we have to tell our story in the most relevant places for people that we’re trying to reach. Social media gives you that.

Because there are millions and millions of people there. And you’re able to craft your questions much more accurately than you can through normal television and media.

People are speaking to you more directly. That six degrees of separation just isn’t there on social media, so you have a great opportunity really to do something. Also through the Internet, you have an great democratisation of media – the costs have come down extraordinarily. I don’t have to be on TV now to get my voice heard – I can just point a camera at myself and put myself on YouTube. Now the reality is that with 300 hours of YouTube footage going up every minute, it’s not as simple as pointing a camera at yourself and having people watch you, because you can be boring and people can filter you out. So with all that competition on YouTube, the quality is now being pushed up.

And you look at vlogging and whatever goes on – for the popular people, the quality is going up all the time. The nice thing is that the cost is always coming down as well. So everyone can be a thought leader, as it were, but not everyone is going to be a ministry. If we can encourage the church to be more positive on a national level on that, that’s great. That’s one of the ideas.

The other thing we want to be is a genuine mission ministry to people who have questions. We’re not there just to show the church it can be done, we’re there because God wants us to do this. Because people are being helped by it. And that’s the most important thing in the world. If the Holy Spirit is not involved and directing us, then it’s a complete and utter waste of time, it’s just ego. So I want us to… if we’re just ministering to 100 people and that’s all we ever minister to but actually we meet that need – wonderful. We’ve been exactly what God wants us to be and the success we need to be. But the Internet has a scale that’s been unreachable in the past, so it’s important for us also to grow the ministry, because we’ve got a lot – what we’ve got to offer will help a lot more than 100 people. So learning the skills it takes to find an audience out there that would like what we do, and find what we do helpful, that’s part of it. If we can become a ministry online that people find important, that would be really great. But let’s see what God wants out of it.

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Is there an element of building a community, a relationship with those people?

DSB: A big part of what we do is relationship. So with television, for example, it’s much harder to have a relationship with people. Because they can’t speak to you – they can’t just call up the BBC and say ‘I’d like to see this next week’ or ‘I didn’t like what such-­‐ and-­‐such said’. On YouTube, that’s exactly what you can do. And in fact if you email us, there’s a good chance you’ll get a reply from one of us directly, or get some kind of response directly. So relationship is really, really, really important. The show wouldn’t work without relationship, because we wouldn’t have any questions from anybody and it’s a questions-­‐and-­‐answers show. But it’s more than that. We’re trying to co-­‐create the entire show with the viewers. So for us, if viewers give us feedback – and I must admit, we don’t get a lot of feedback – we take it very seriously. If we thought it would have a net benefit to what we are doing, we would definitely take it on board.

The last thing in the transparency side of what we do – we’re trying to be as transparent as possible. One of the ways we try to achieve that is through our camera work. We’re not just a film set with cameras filming us, but actually we’re filming the entire set – so people feel as close to the action as possible. Also, Simon -­‐ our camera and sound man – is as big a part of the team as anyone else. He talks through it! So again, you’d never see the cameraman having a conversation on Loose Women, would you? It just shows the difference between what we’re trying to do and what standard television tries to do, by being as inclusive as possible – including everyone on set – and we’re including everyone who’s watching into our programme. We think that’s a way of meeting the need and growing the ministry at the same time.

Is TGI Monday church, or something different?

DSB: It’s church insofar as we are the Body of Christ ministering to the Body of Christ online. That is right. But we’re not church in terms of we have no sacramental ministry, we have no occasional offices. And certainly we’re not an alternative to church. There are some people who have said to us that we’ve become their church. And that’s wonderful – I know what they’re saying. These are people who are really on the outside of church, not going [to church]. They’re either not Christians yet or on the fringe – maybe church wounded and they’re just outside the congregation, not really part of church. If we are that bridge that kind of helps them in… if they’re our congregation and we’re their ministers, as it were, wonderful. But it’s always got to be a directional thing, so we’ve always got to be pointing towards church rather than pointing away. I’m not trying to gather people up around our show to the exclusion of church. You cannot get Holy Communion through the Internet. You cannot get baptised through the Internet. You cannot have that relationship with other members of the congregation through the Internet. So we’re not an alternative to church, but we’re part of the wider ekklesia – definitely.

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APPENDIX 5: Transcript of interview with Estelle Blake (Christian, Female) Interviewed in Rome, Italy 12 March 2016

I’m Estelle Blake, a member of The Salvation Army – fully ordained. My title is Major Estelle Blake but I prefer Estelle – because ‘major’ was given to me after I was named ‘Estelle’! My title is, at the moment, the National Coordinator for Anti Human Trafficking and Green Light Project Ministries here within the Italy and Greece Command. I am the Associate Officer at Rome Corps [church], but in about three weeks I will be the Commanding Officer also at Florence Corps, with the additional national appointment. So yes, it’s a long badge title! In Italian, it’s even longer.

So you’re a Christian and a Salvationist – how long have you been a Christian?

I became a Christian when I was seven years old. My parents were Salvation Army officers, but that didn’t mean automatically becoming a person of faith. People always ask if I’m religious, and I say ‘yes – about my football team but not about my faith’. I became a Christian because I felt that was the right thing to do as a child. I knelt at a Salvation Army drum, because they were at an outpost, and we didn’t have a mercy seat [the focus of prayer in a Salvation Army church], so my mum put a drum down and that became our mercy seat. I gave my heart to Jesus then. So that’s 40 years ago, which seems an awful long time! God’s Spirit took over me when I was a young person.

I wanted to leave The Salvation Army ’cause I was bored with it – which is hard when your parents are officers. But because of the people they were, they were usually in charge of the big Salvation Army corps. But they encouraged me to go off and discover.

They were more concerned about me being a person of faith than they were about Salvationism. And God clearly told me to get back to the Army, because it would never change while I was out of it. So I went back and then one day went to a summer school when I was about 18. God clearly spoke to me at the summer school and said ‘Estelle, it’s time for you to take it even further’. And after a week of fighting, I went forward for officership.

So I’ve now been an ordained officer since 1992 – this year it’s 24 years! – and I’ve done my officership between Italy and the UK. Strangely enough, all my officership in the UK has always been London-­‐based – not because I asked to be in London. And all my officership in Italy has been in the south, up until now. I’ve always been further south than Rome, in places that most people have just heard about. I came to Italy because God clearly called me to Italy. I speak Italian, but Italian that could probably be better. But people say my Italian is good enough – it’s great. Actually, Italians always tell me my Italian is great. So that’s who I am. I’m here.

My involvement with prostitution and anti-­‐trafficking is entirely because of The Salvation Army. In 2002 when I left Italy the first time, I was appointed to The Salvation Army’s Faith House project in Kings Cross [London]. I had never asked to do that appointment. I ended up being there 11 years. So it was quite an intriguing time to be there. As a result, because of other people, I returned to Italy and am now serving in this role.

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You’re clearly comfortable talking about your faith, but also a prolific user of social media. How do you use it, and what platforms do you use?

I’m on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I use them differently. I am very comfortable about ‘being my faith’ because I decided it’s very hard to hide behind it when you’re in The Salvation Army. Facebook, I use an awful lot – it’s funny – it’s a really personal thing, but an informative thing as well. I find it really informative. I find that I can have incredible conversations, but also find that there are people who can just use it as a place to moan. I’ve made a concerted decision that I wouldn’t use it as a place to moan and to moan about situations. I decided that, genuinely, a lot of people use Facebook as a distraction. So I want to make sure that when they see something I’ve put on, it’s going to be a positive post. That can be comedy, that can be a silly meme, that can be a story. But I try to use it as a place that’s just encouragement as much for me, because I do have friends, and accountability partners and prayer partners. So if I need to get rid of any frustration, I can tell them. But that’s a private thing.

As much as anything, yes, my life is public. I mean someone once said to me ‘you are prolific in Facebook’, and I said ‘yeah, but if you just type my name into Google, you’ll see hundreds of articles written by The Salvation Army’. So there’s no point in me trying to hide.

I love Twitter for catching up on soundbites, and use that much more as a professional thing. I’ll often use that to pick up on bits and pieces – a good way to follow politicians as they have to say something in a short space of time, rather than a longwinded thing.

It’s been quite funny – I went, in the UK, to a hustings a couple of elections ago, and I’d been following our candidates. I asked a question at the hustings and the first thing the candidate said was ‘you’re the person on Twitter who asked me that question’. I’ve found it’s given me the chance to connect with politicians and people of different influence in a safe way – for them and me. So that’s that.

And then Instagram… I have an absolute passion for photography, and I tend to use Instagram as well to give people just a glimpse of what I was doing in England, in the UK; part of my work, but also my life. And also part of what we do in Italy. Everyone has an image of Rome and every city you go to. It’s good to be able to show opposite sides of that city. Like the area of Rome we live in at the moment is filthy – it’s dirty. I don’t care – that doesn’t worry me. It’s also a Communist area – that doesn’t worry me. It’s full of students – that doesn’t worry me. But it’s full of everyday people. But I think it gives another option as to what Italy’s like as a place.

So part of what you use social media for is to dispel people’s preconceptions of a situation or place?

Yeah. And I think about a population. When people say to me ‘when you first came to Italy what was your theory?’ I used to say ‘pizza, pasta and the Mafia’. And I wasn’t far wrong to be honest with you! The first three months I was in Italy, I was at kids’ camps, and I ate pasta at lunch and dinner time – twice a day! And then pizza on a Saturday.

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Then I lived in the mountain villages and everything revolved around pizza. In fact, if you don’t have pasta on a Sunday, there’s something wrong with you in Italy! Just this week, I’ve told people ‘I don’t want to have any pasta today’. ‘But why wouldn’t you have pasta?’ ‘Because I’ve had it for four days running – I don’t want any more!’ And the Mafia is a very real thing, and I think we see it as a film set and everything but it’s actually a reality. So for me, it’s very much about helping people to see the reality of a beautiful city. I have to say that I have the utmost respect for the Salvationists in Italy, because when you’re a small Salvation Army – I don’t say this lightly – but I felt there was a responsibility to say ‘[The Salvation Army in] Italy may be small, but it’s a huge part of belief – and we’re doing amazing things!’ We went as a group of 25 to the [Boundless 150th anniversary] congress in the UK last year. When you think there are only about 350 Salvationists [in Italy], 25 out of 350 Salvationists is a massive percentage.

It’s nice to be able to dispel myths. The myths about Italy are huge. They can often be seen as lazy. I can tell you, they’re not. And it’s also about what being a Salvation Army officer is about. People have this whole idea about it. So yeah, I did the same in Kings Cross and Camden. I used to feel that about London as well – it used to be seen as a tourist [place], but I used to remind people that there was another world.

How do you try to achieve the balance of your intentionality of providing a ‘positive’ experience for people in your posts and the reality of the situations you’re describing?

Well, the reality is that I will post pictures of the dirt. I don’t see that there’s any point in hiding any of that. But I also point out that within the dirt and the muck, there’s this beauty. One of my favourite things about Italy in particular is not the architecture, but the colour of the architecture. It’s the fact that everyday buildings are painted pink and orange and yellow and brown. And then they get dirty, and the paint fades, and there’s no money to repaint them. But when the sun shines on those – with the old dirt and the wrecked old building, actually the sun shines on those beautiful colours and it changes shade. I think that’s the same in London, even. Rome is one of the most beautiful cities. Naples was the same. They’re the most beautiful cities, but it’s not just because of the place – it’s because of the people.

So there are beauty spots around, even in the muck and junk where we are. I think it’s hard, but if it’s about your life… I was always brought up [to appreciate that] even in the muck and the junk, there is beauty in the muck and the junk. It’s that old adage, isn’t it, that a piece of coal gives warmth, a diamond is just a polished piece of rock really. That’s all it is. I think that of Italy – and Rome in particular. It will be very strange going to Florence where I think most of Florence is beautiful. I’m the same distance from the city centre here as I will be in Florence, and yet the atmosphere there is completely different. The whole idea of ‘how does it work?’ and I think it’s allowing people to see real life. And real life is that Italians do go out for a cappuccino. They do eat pasta every day. The Roman life is not easy – it is hard work – but it’s a great place.

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With regards to Twitter, you mentioned it being a ‘safe place to share’. Can you expand on that?

I’m a lot more picky on Twitter than I am on Facebook, about who… because I see it much more of a place of professional use than personal use. A lot more picky about who I connect with, how I connect. So I think the fact you’ve only got 140 characters to say what you need, means that you actually say what you need. Although I say it’s a safe place… it’s never been a problem for me, but I’ve had friends who have actually had a lot of problems. They’ve been threatened. But that was particular cases. I’ve also hooked up and connected with people on Twitter much more than Facebook… and become friends with people through Twitter. Because there’s a connection you find.

Because it’s a place where you are choosing who you connect with – I think the hashtag thing did that. It’s a lot easier to professionally connect with people.

Using hashtags to find topics that you’re interested in, passionate about?

Yeah. And a lot of my friends, I think, who I’d say are quite prolific on both Facebook and Twitter – we’d use Twitter more for that. The likes of [other Salvation Army officers] Malcolm Martin, John Clifton and Nick Coke. I find Twitter funny, because I think you can get away more with irony and sarcasm on there than you can on Facebook. You know, Facebook is such a public platform, with pictures and everything.

But I do think the limited character thing [on Twitter]… you can get away with a lot more! And you can be a lot more punchy, because there’s less discussion, there’s less ways to write a whole essay answer to what’s somebody’s just written on Twitter. You can only respond with a short amount of characters.

Reflecting back to a previous answer, where does faith appear – among the beauty or the dirt?

It has to be in both. One of the ways I’ve used Facebook and Twitter quite powerfully – but not Instagram at this point – is the work that we do here in the Green Light project in Rome. It’s called the Green Light project because in Athens – we’re Italy and Greece Command – so the first outreach to women in prostitution was in Thessaloniki, and they called it the Green Light project. Then they went to Athens and we had the Green Light project in Athens. And now we have the Green Light project in Rome, and hopefully we’ll have the Green Light project in Florence – that’s another one. So, that’s the main reason we have that whole thing. And I don’t use Instagram for that because that’s an image thing, We have to be very careful image-­‐wise about what we share.

What I often share is words. And I use it as a prayer place. For people who commit to pray for us, and they want to use that time, we use it to post updates: ‘Would you please pray for this situation?’ ‘Can you pray not just during, but after?’ And it’s one of those places where I’ve found the beauty in the dirt.

In Rome in particular at the moment, which is intriguing – going back to the faith thing – all churches are discussing the topics of homosexuality and lesbianism, the rights of gay people, human rights, bisexuality. And they sometimes forget the ‘TQIA’ bit. But we feel we’ve gone beyond that, and now we’re working with transsexuals, transgendered

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[people], transvestites, and not just victims of trafficking. It’s given us a chance to take it beyond the discussion of LGB and start the discussions on the TQIA. It’s a way that I pick up the beauty within the dirt of the discussion, because I see, often, lots of people saying things – it can be quite painful, quite open – my plea to them is ‘please don’t forget that in the midst of all this, we are people’. It’s people ministering to people. For us, Instagram we haven’t used because it’s photographic. I did use it quite a bit more in my previous appointment because we’d take pictures of saunas and use Bible verses specifically to ask people to pray one night a week at a certain hour. But we haven’t used it much here because of protection of identities. And also not just of theirs, but protection of our identities. Because here there is a lot more dirt going on in the underground and the behind-­‐the-­‐scenes.

Facebook we use more – we have a closed group, which is monitored by myself. I’m the administrator, but it’s monitored by my leaders and a couple of Italians who I will let post articles – anything to do with anti-­‐trafficking issues. But that’s such a closed group that we’ve set quite strict parameters there. We use that as a place to have discussion, but also to share – I even share things from home. Because I think everybody thinks are we doing anything in the fight? I want people to know we are. And see victories. So when something good happens – like we took a Bible to a trans [person] the other week, I got people to pray because this person wants a Bible. We were then invited to go, so I put messages on Twitter and Facebook asking people ‘please pray before we go’.

And what sort of reaction to you get to this, bearing in mind that sexuality is perhaps a difficult topic for some Christians?

Because I actually say, ‘remember whenever we have a discussion it’s about a person – it’s not about a stereotype’. Because we’ve had some discussions, I will not post anything without speaking first to my leaders about it. They’re very aware that I am the representative for The Salvation Army. Whatever anyone says, that’s who I represent.

So I’m very aware they need to know what I believe. So before I post anything that could overstep that line, I ask their advice – because that’s what they’re there for. And up until now, they’ve come back to me and asked ‘Estelle, why didn’t you post that article?’ and I’ve said ‘because I thought it was a bit dodgy’. Not a dodgy article, but we’re going to get some flak – but let’s post it. Some of the backlash we’ve had – it was intriguing that I was talking to someone here yesterday – a social worker working with women in prostitution – and she said ‘the difference is you go and offer them faith, you offer them Jesus – we used to go and tell them they had to leave the work and all the legal stuff. You say to them “if you want to come, we can help you”’. Obviously, I think, that’s the difference. We don’t say we can fix anything, but if they need help – we’re there. I think that makes a big difference.

Have you seen any of the women that you work with come to faith through what you do?

We have. On Christmas Day we had two women come. We’d only met them twice.

They asked ‘can we come on Christmas Day?’, so we picked them up – they finished

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work at 6am on Christmas morning – we brought them to the meeting, they asked to come back. The reality is we’re quite a long way from where they live, but one of the most beautiful things is they’ve started going to another church. There are two things that I’d say – there are a lot of people in the trans community that come from Pentecostal backgrounds in Brazil, and to be gay or transgender is [considered] ‘a sin’.

A lot of them have been on the verge of death because family members have tried to kill them. One of them said to me: ‘Estelle, why do you come to me?’. I said: ‘When was the last time you went to church?’. She said: ‘about six years ago’ and I said: ‘well, that’s really working out for you isn’t it?!’ So I said: ‘I thought we’d bring the church to you instead, because it seems as though you going is not working.’ And she turned round and went: ‘yeah, you’re right – it isn’t. But you are.’ So maybe the success stories I’ve seen are being asked to pray.

We accompanied a woman to court, and she allowed me to pray with her before she went in. We prayed at our Christmas party and sang ‘Silent Night’ in Portuguese to our Brazilian friends. I turned around with my heart full. Because there’s [senior Salvation Army leader] Lieut-­‐Colonel Anne-­‐Florence Tursi and the other volunteers praying with them all in a huddled group and I had tears in my eyes because that was our desire and our wish.

We’re trying to show Jesus by being Jesus. I used to say this to cadets [trainee Salvation Army officers] in the UK Territory all the time: ‘We’ve got very good at “doing” Jesus but we’ve not been very good at “being” Jesus. And now is your chance to ‘be Jesus’ in all things’. And that doesn’t mean giving up on what we believe. But it does mean that we are Jesus in every situation. And that does mean that they know what we believe.

Transsexual, transgender – they don’t need to have that conversation – we’ve got past that discussion. We’re now at the point of ‘what can Jesus do for you?’ So often, we’re asked ‘can you pray for me?’, ‘can you pray for my family?’ and that’s the privilege of who we are. So have I seen results? Yes. But they may not be the same kind of results that everyone else is expecting.

Have you received any encouragement on social media? Or negative reaction to what you’re doing?

I’ve lost some friends. I’ve lost quite a few friends. And that’s OK, because I can understand. There are two situations. I’ve had some old school friends, who are not Christians, who’ve had the courage to write to me about private issues and asked me to pray for them. Because they know I won’t judge. Nothing to do – nothing connected – with my work. No connection at all. But they know that I won’t judge them. And that’s because of my posts that I put on.

While I’ve been here in Rome, I’ve had the use of vehicles here. But my appointment in Florence is starting outreach, so I put on Facebook ages ago that I was moving to Florence, praying that I would somehow get a vehicle and that was the end of it. No discussion. About four days later, a woman who I know said ‘Estelle, you’ve got lots of friends – if we all gave £3, you could get your car’. So I wrote back and said ‘I can’t just do that, I need to talk to my leaders about it. I spoke to my bosses – they didn’t see

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there was any issue, as long as we made it clear it was personal. And I was a bit hesitant, but a friend from Twitter who I’m now friends with on Facebook – strangely enough we’ve never met, but we have an awful lot in common – said ‘you should do this’. And I said ‘don’t be so stupid – nobody’s going to give me any money, it’s not going to happen’. So we started this GoFundMe thing, and – incredibly – within 24 hours… the total was €5,000. Within 24 hours we’d hit €3,500. I was just shocked! My friend said to me ‘I’m not getting out of bed until it hits a thousand!’ She was really annoyed, because she had to get out of bed a lot earlier than she thought! And then another friend said to me the next day: ‘I’m not very well, I’m not getting out of bed until it hits €4,000.’ And it hit €4,000 by lunchtime. 31 hours later, we’d hit €5,000. The total as it currently stands is nearly €6,000. People are just shocked. Somebody’s written a blog about it! Friends are sending me messages saying ‘Estelle, what the heck is happening?’ and I’m going ‘I don’t know!’ Absolute… craziness. People phoning me up and saying ‘this is madness’. And as a result I’ve had offers of funding from outside of the project on the social media … wanting to give me money for the maintenance of the vehicle. It’s just been crazy. The reality was that in 31 hours we hit €5,000. That’s the power of social media at its best.

And – just to clarify – that wasn’t a deliberate marketing campaign either?

Well no, because I said I didn’t want to do it! I noticed the other day, I looked – it’s had 500 shares. When I went through the shares, I thought I don’t even know most of these people. And people have just shared it, because it’s captured somebody’s heart. One of my friends who’s donated – he was running around his office asking people for donations, and he and his office are now going to take it on as their project to maintain the vehicle. Maintain it, insurance, tax and all the other stuff you have to pay. It’s just crazy. I don’t understand this.

What do you put it down to?

I put it down to God’s inspiration. I put it down to God’s time being right. I put it down to social media – I have been open about my ministry. I keep telling people I’m not a superhero, and I’m not. People say to me ‘I couldn’t do what you did – you’re so brave’.

I don’t know what they think is brave. All I do is get in a van and get out and talk to someone and say ‘do you want a cup of tea?’ The reality is I’ve allowed people to share in the ministry and I’m allowing people to share their faith and share in a way that they can.

And perhaps a little of your own vulnerability?

Yeah. I think the reality is – having the courage to say ‘I need this, I can’t do this on my own’. Having that reality of saying ‘it’s OK’. My home corps is Norwich Citadel – they put it on their own Facebook page. I could guarantee there are four people I know that would share it. To have that many shares! I had notifications on my phone – it kept pinging up! I’ve had 500 emails from GoFundMe. This is stupid! And it’s there. I do think it’s because people have invested. I’m half-­‐thinking of printing all the names out of people that have given and making a sign that says thank you with every one of their names and sticking it in front of the car when I get it. And take a photograph. Because

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actually it’s not my car, it’s their car. Maybe it’s their way of being practically involved in ministry and maybe that’s what the power of social media is.

Do you think there is a role for doing ministry on social media too?

There is. We’ve had a discussion about a Facebook page, because last week two people said to us could they add us as friends on Facebook? And my boss looked at me. And I said no, we won’t do that – it’s a discussion I’ve had with people. And she asked ‘why won’t you do that?’ and I said ‘because that’s our private, personal space’. But actually let’s set up a Facebook page – a closed group called Green Light Project. And we give the women – only – the chance to join it. Let’s do it that way. And let’s have it so that if I’m away we’ve all got access to it so we can use it say ‘we’ll see you tonight’, ‘we’re out this evening’. And it’s a way to offer ministry. There’s an officer in the UK who has severe health issues, but her ministry on Facebook – sending scripture verses , encouragement – is out of this world. And that’s a result. I think there is ministry. I joked with someone in the UK that there’s almost a need for us to have a chaplain just for Facebook. Because I think we’re getting to the point in the UK. In Italy, we don’t use social media quite as much, but that’s about normal – it takes about six years to catch up. Even teenagers don’t use Facebook as much. They don’t use social media as much.

It’s become a joke: ‘watch out, Estelle will take a photo and it’ll be on Facebook in a minute’. I always turn around and say ‘be thankful for Facebook – that’s where we got £1000 for your machines!’. And they’re beginning to understand that it’s about specific things. I think there is a ministry, definitely, and it’s allowing people to participate. The Loneliness Report that came out in the UK, and I think we’re hitting that [here] even more so. I’ve got family members who won’t let their parents on there, but they’ll let me! I keep an eye on them for the family! So there is a ministry within it.

But also issues of safeguarding?

I always think it’s a really useful place in terms of young people. Because of my ministry and outreach, because I’ve done lots of talks to summer schools – both in Italy and the UK – kids will always say to me ‘can I add you on Facebook?’. And I always say yes.

Then I write to their officers, or youth officers, and say ‘they’ve added me’. The reason I do that is because it’s a lot safer platform for us to have a conversation. And then if they write to me, I always tag in the youth leader. I say ‘check this out’. And it also means the history is there, so that if anyone needs to pick up it gives us safety, it gives us safeguarding, it gives us accountability.

Would Jesus be on social media?

I think he probably would be! I’d like to see Jesus on Twitter! Because I think there’d be some quite funny things with Jesus on Twitter. I think the Queen [parody] Twitter account is the funniest, but I’d like to see Jesus on Twitter. I think that could be quite intriguing. I think Instagram is an underused social media, but the one we really don’t pick up on enough is Tumblr. That’s one a lot of teenagers use – that’s a huge one. I know our youth coordinators here in Italy use different social media a lot.

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Does social media help you as an ex-­‐pat – enabling you to maintain those links from the UK?

Definitely. It’s notable the difference between the first time I came here when there was no Internet (there was a fax machine!) and this time – it really has made it a lot easier for me to connect with people internationally who are doing the same work as me as well. The same ministry I have. But it’s also been a great way to connect with family, friends, apart from text messaging and everything. Especially with friends who are that kind of social media people. It also gives me a chance to tell people when I’m going somewhere. People say to me I shouldn’t do that – tell them you’re not home.

But it’s not going to be hard – you’re going to knock on the door and no-­‐one’s going to answer. And I live in a gated community. In London there were cameras, so they weren’t going to do anything anyway. But it has given me that chance to connect with home a lot more. There are a lot of people who are friends with on Facebook, a lot I don’t have regular interaction with – but it’s been a way to share a lot of my life here, so when I go home they know at least they can talk to me. It does help me not to live with one foot in both places, so you can live fully where you are but also current with what’s going on back home.

Would you say that in some ways you’re also a ‘faith ex-­‐pat’ living as a minority denomination in a majority Catholic population, and does social media help with that?

Oh, definitely. It’s become a place where I can connect with other Christians here.

Intriguingly enough, most of my connections with other Christians here are with American or Canadian missionaries, because social media is so important to them. So I have a lot of friends because of that. Strangely enough, made friends though weird connections and ended up becoming really good friends with them. A ‘faith ex-­‐pat’ is a strange way of putting it, but it’s very much the truth – it’s a way of showing a different side of what church is about.

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APPENDIX 6: Transcript of interview with Anna Greathead (Christian, Female) Interviewed in London, UK 21 January 2016

What does being a Christian mean to you?

OK. I think being a Christian, when you bring it right down, is about following the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. Who, whether you’re a Christian or not, is a historical figure – someone who’s teaching is quite broadly respected and admired and whose person is well documented. At its very basic level, that’s what being a Christian means to me. I am also a church member – a regular attender and a participant in lots of different church activities. So I’m quite an active Christian in that perspective.

I am also – I’ve not had formal theological training, but I have read a lot and discussed a lot of things. I have some understanding of different Christian perspectives and of church history and theology and things like that.

How frequently do you talk about faith?

Obviously with church people, it would be in every conversation almost – there’d be some reference certainly to church, maybe to prayer, to Bible studies, church activities, that sort of thing. With other people, it would very much depend on the context.

Obviously when you’re at work, you’re there to work! I would say that most of my contacts – anyone I’ve known more than a few weeks – would know that I’m a Christian and a churchgoer and I’m a believer.

Would you say that it’s an important for you as an expression of your faith to tell other people that you’re a Christian?

Umm, I think it is. That kind of way of talking makes me feel guilty because I don’t do the ‘preaching’ as much as I feel I should – I don’t do the witnessing. It’s just that I’m quite a garrulous person; I talk about my life. If I’ve known anyone for a few weeks it’s going to come up that ‘I was at a church thing last night’ or ‘a friend from church…’ – that sort of thing. So it’s more just sharing my everyday life, which features a lot of church!

So, then, talking about social media, which platforms do you use most commonly?

OK. I use Facebook a lot! I’m definitely a daily user, if not multiple times a day. I use several things within Facebook, so I do photos, I do Messenger, all that sort of thing. I also use Twitter. I find it difficult to keep regular on Twitter when I’m very busy, so I’m more hit-­‐and-­‐miss with Twitter, but I’ve got more than a thousand followers, so I must be doing something regularly enough.

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Does social media reflect your faith in the same way that face-­‐to-­‐face relationship does?

Well, my Facebook… obviously you’re ‘friends’ with your friends, so people who actually know you, which in my case is a lot of Christians – a lot of people I know. So certainly as a church we use Facebook to arrange church events, to call people to prayer with the circumstances and situations we want to be aware of so that we can pray for one another, definitely that happens. I’m also friends with lots of Christians who aren’t in my church and I will sometimes engage with them and talk with them about things in their life. I’ll offer to pray for them if any situation comes up for them; or rejoice with them when they have their own prayers answered. However, I also have lots of friends who are both people of other faiths – I’ve a handful of Muslim friends – and people who are of no faith. And people who are maybe hostile [to faith] as well. So that really does colour what I generally will post. I am aware that if I post anything overtly ‘faithy’ there may be a backlash. It doesn’t mean I never do it, but it does provide a brake sometimes, and I’ll be careful how I will express things to try and minimise that. Because these are people I actually want to have an ongoing friendship with – I don’t want to fall out with them, so I don’t want to come across as being pious or holier-­‐than-­‐thou or anything like that. I’m just cautious. Yeah. It’s always in my [Facebook profile] information – my religious views are there. But in Twitter, it was in my bio for a while but I actually changed it and took it out – not for any reason of shame or anything, but because I felt the word ‘Christian’ on Twitter in particular – given its very American weight – communicates something which politically doesn’t reflect me, so I took it out.

Coming back to the ‘backlash’ you mentioned – what kind of situation are you talking about?

OK, so say for example something good happened to me and I was to post on Facebook saying ‘this marvellous thing has happened – so grateful to God for his blessings’ or something like that. Or something frivolous like ‘the deliciousness of bacon sandwiches is proof that God is good’. There are some people who backlash just in an inconsequential way – like, you know, ‘bacon sandwiches just taste good, it’s nothing to do with God’ or ‘that good thing that happened – I’m glad it happened but I don’t think God made it’. I can live with that. But some people are quite evangelically anti-­‐ God, anti-­‐faith. They will sometimes try to engage you in a much deeper conversation which, maybe, I’m not really wanting to dedicate a lot of time to. One thing about faith is that it’s very personal and very important to you, and in the same way that I wouldn’t want to engage in conversation with anyone about the failings of my husband – because he’s my husband and I love him – similarly when it’s something that it’s important to me I don’t want people to be criticising it. And I don’t want to engage with people on that level. There are times and places for that kind of discussion, but maybe not as a result of a ‘thank you Jesus’ type of status.

So you would feel sometimes that people make mountains out of molehills when you’re intending just to make a very basic statement?

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Oh, goodness! Absolutely! I’ve got some extremely argumentative friends on Facebook – Christians and non-­‐Christians alike in fact. One of the other things I’m very cautious of is that I’m aware of the breadth of doctrinal positions amongst my Christian friends.

So I’m cautious there as well. One of my personal things is about the position of women in the church, and a conviction that the New Testament instructions regarding women were culturally-­‐specific and don’t apply now. That’s something I’m convinced of. Not so of all of my Facebook friends. I’ve had so many circular arguments about it that now I just don’t post anything like that. Or sometimes I do, but I set my privacy settings so that certain people won’t see it, because I don’t want to engage them on this subject again.

There are particular areas of doctrine that you will particularly avoid referring to online?

Exactly. And also there are theological positions that I now hold that I know people in my own church may not agree with. I’m not interested in having an argument with them about it. Certainly not on Facebook. We’re all on journeys, and what I believe now is not the same as what I believed ten years ago on every issue. And they’re on a similar journey, so it’s not worth falling out over.

Do you find that the collegiate use of social media amongst your church friends is an encouraging thing? As a body of local believers?

Absolutely, yes. Certainly our church has a [Facebook] group – a church prayer group.

And that’s very encouraging, because people not only post points for personal prayer on there (‘can you pray that my house sells?’, ‘can you pray that my daughter gets well?’), they post situations in their family and friends, people that they really felt they wanted to pray for, and they also go back and post when things have been resolved (‘X has got better’, ‘our prayers have been answered’). So that’s very encouraging. And we have another group which is just for arranging church events and things like that – that’s useful because most people now are on Facebook and it’s a central place for organising.

Do you follow or like any Christian speakers or leaders on social media?

I don’t know if they’re leaders or not, but I follow them because I like their stance on things – I like what they post, I like the angle they take. They’re not famous. There’s a person called David Mackie – who is a Christian leader from my youth – who I follow.

And someone called Malcolm McGee – another person who I’m aware of. But they’re not the ‘big’ people. I’m not sure whether I follow Nicky Gumbel or whether so many people share everything he’s posted that I see it. But I wouldn’t be averse to doing that – it’s just that sometimes I have and sometimes I haven’t. I certainly haven’t got a plethora of them.

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What do you find useful about the social media output of those that your do follow?

Inspiration, really. I think I would hesitate to say it was even – the people who I mentioned by name and a few others, who probably aren’t church leaders but just popular theologians. I find it useful because they express things that I think ‘that’s interesting’ or ‘I like that’. There’s blatant confirmation bias, because of course I chose to follow the people who comment on things the way I see them. I wouldn’t for example follow of the prosperity [gospel] or health-­‐and-­‐wealth people, because I’d get annoyed with what I saw. And actually I have Christian friends who do post things by people like that and I just stroll past – I don’t engage with it at all.

You mentioned that you have a handful of Muslim friends on Facebook and people of no faith. How do they react to what you post from a Christian perspective?

My Muslim friends are my work colleagues, so they know me. And I think that’s a really crucial thing – people you see on a daily basis will look at your Facebook account and judge it against their knowledge of you. So if you say something [online] that sounds a little bit insensitive, they’ll say ‘well, I know Anna, I know she’s not insensitive – it’s just been phrased a little bit awkwardly or something’. Whereas people you don’t see a lot…

My work colleagues see me a lot – they are appreciative that I’m a person of faith.

They’re happy that I have a faith – it’s not a bone of contention between us. Certainly I can’t imagine them ever engaging in a theological discussion or even the most gentle of arguments. I just can’t see it happening.

And amongst those people you’re connected with on social media who are also Christians, do you find that you’re generally in agreement?

[Pause] Hmmm… more so on Twitter. Though I don’t follow that many Christians on Twitter. For me Twitter is more of a political thing than a religious thing. On Facebook, am I broadly in agreement? Hmm. Well, on the fundamentals. I’ve got to an age where I’ve realised that even with the Christian you’re furthest away from theologically, you’ve got more in common than separates you. You have to chose what to talk about!

But yes, there’s definitely confirmation bias in terms of people I chose to be friends with and in terms of what we choose to discuss or talk about.

Expanding it further... how do you feel about Christians online who you disagree with? How do you feel about interacting with them, how do you decide whether to take them to task about a particular belief? Would you ever do that?

Oh yeah! But I usually get my fingers burned! Yes. A lot of people I follow are quite clever. So sometimes you’ve got two quite clever people discussing an issue which, if was easily solvable, would have been solved. So we’re not going to resolve it, you know. Do I take people to task? What I would more likely do is defend people who might be coming in for a bit of a beating. Maybe ‘I don’t really agree with what you’ve said there’, or ‘you’re just trying to blind with science’. And I might defend them a bit.

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There may be arguments that are entirely valid, but because they’re not expressing themselves that clearly… I’m more likely to engage on that level, to stand up for someone who maybe has a point but maybe isn’t able to express it as clearly as they’d like, you know.

It sounds that your church is very supportive of social media – is that the case with other churches you’re aware of?

No, I think other churches are much better at it than we are! Our prayer group was set up by someone who got injured and was going to be off work for several months, so in that time he set it up so he could pray for other people, and he just carried on. I think the church leaders are involved in it, but I don’t think they particularly police it or control it – they only monitor it in the sense that anyone on the page is monitoring. I think it’s definitely the future and the church should be more engaged. I think it’s almost at the point now where you don’t need a church website, you need a church Facebook page for publicity. There are other churches who do it better – who put more content out. We don’t really advertise at all, there’s no content on our church page.

In the lead-­‐up to Christmas, you were putting out some Advent haiku – where did that come from, and what was the motivation?

I just really like writing haiku. I find it fascinating how you can say so much in such a few syllables. One night prior [to] Christmas, I suddenly had this idea and thought ‘I know – I’ll write a haiku for every day of Advent’ – to tell the whole Christian story right from Creation up to the Resurrection, with Christmas obviously being the focus. I thought I’d do it by comparing with traditional Christmassy things which maybe don’t have a direct link to the Christmas story as Christians understand it, but that can be a parallel or a contrast or something can drawn. So one evening, in a couple of hours, I wrote them all – put them on nice pictures, whatever. To be honest, not many people engaged with it, so from that point of view it wasn’t hugely successful. But I quite enjoyed the process!

Was the original intention for people to take them and share them themselves?

Yeah, I thought that might happen. But one thing I did notice, that did happen, was that because I’d got them all ready-­‐made I tended to post them as I woke up. But a couple of days, I posted them later in the afternoon and more people engaged with them at that point. But I kind of thought people might engage with it, because a lot of things I put on people do engage with. But it sort of sunk without a trace. Perhaps I’ll do it next year as well!

So was that a Facebook thing? Twitter?

I started off on Facebook and Twitter, and Instagram in fact. But it finished on Facebook only.

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But undeterred, we’ll see Advent Haiku mark 2 this December?

We shall see!

Is social media an appropriate place for the sacred?

I think absolutely social media is a place for the sacred because social media, now, an extension of life. It’s not something ‘different’. People I’m friends with on Facebook are still my friends, even if I don’t see them. I think it’s just part of life now. In the same way, in Jesus’ time, a train journey wasn’t part of life. But a train is still an appropriate place for something that’s sacred – to talk to people, to pray for people, all that sort of thing. As with everything, we have to be wise about how to do it, how we engage. But absolutely, it’s a place where huge numbers of people can be reached. It’s probably not the best place to bring about conviction, but it’s certainly a good place for encouragement – a fabulous place to bring – not correction, but teaching, information.

A wonderful place to share prayer, to share testimonies, that sort of thing.

And what do you find most encouraging about social media’s ability to help you express your faith and learn about the faith of others who share your views?

I find it really encouraging when people post something pithy and clever that neatly encapsulates a complicated idea – you know, that sort of soundbite kind of thing. I find testimonies very encouraging. There is an issue, especially on Facebook, where you can get a bit cynical and not really believe them. You can think ‘did that really happen?’, because it’s happened many times hasn’t it? The problem with social media is that you can get a photo, write something on top of it and people believe it – I make those on my iPad! But I certainly find testimonies where it’s someone I can attest to – someone I know or a friend of a friend – I find that extremely encouraging. One thing I do follow is Faith in the News, and I don’t think they’ve got a particular theological bent. They publish stories are happening – sometimes quite negative things, perhaps Christians being persecuted somewhere, in which case I might be prompted to pray. Or it might be something about legislation that’s happening, or something really good. And that keeps me up to date and helps me feel more informed, and that’s very good. Certainly, as much as the next person, I enjoy seeing a beautiful picture with a Scripture on it!

How about the detractors or barriers that dissuade you from talking about faith online?

It would be mainly to do with the potential for backlash. But the way I would do that is that I would rarely put anything on which could be read as criticism. So I wouldn’t put anything on about ‘you are sinning by doing this’ or ‘you are wrong’, ‘you are destined for hell’, ‘you are…’. I would always try to frame it in a positive way, so that even people who are taking offence aren’t feeling accused or got at or anything like that.

And of course there’s always the risk of cynicism. I’d say that. You’ve just got a bit careful that everything is authentic because people are savvy – some people are savvy – when it comes to assessing ‘is this real?’ or ‘is this fake?’.

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Do you think that social media is an authentic space to talk about faith?

I think it can be. As in the same way, a platform is an authentic place to talk about faith but we all know of situations where it has been the exact opposite. I think social media is exactly the same. It can be done well or it can be done badly. I think maybe the key with social media is that it needs to be true and it needs to be verifiable. It either needs to be about people you know in real life or very well sourced. Not just a meme with something written on the front.

Have you used social media to pray for someone?

Yes. Yes. One thing we were encouraged to do in our church some time ago was when someone says ‘my daughter’s got tonsillitis will you pray?’, rather than just say ‘yes I will’ – to write your prayer out. Which I found very useful because I would say – I think this is common among Christians – but I would say ‘yes, I’ll pray’, and then you don’t.

Not because you’re deliberately lying or misleading, but because you’re busy and you forget. So just that action – three minutes of writing out a prayer – it’s a prayer. God can read! It’s also encouraging to see how other people have prayed and add your ‘amen’ or your ‘like’ to it.

How about worship?

I tell you what, I went to a church in Brentford on Sunday – obviously not my home church. And they were a bit short of musicians, so we sang a couple of songs to a YouTube video, which I thought for smaller churches was quite OK! It was horribly pitched, I couldn’t reach the high notes – but you can’t have everything. And certainly I have listened to YouTube videos of worship songs I like, and felt very encouraged and shared them as well – on Facebook and whatever. So, yeah, I think anything that inspires you just to quiet yourself and centre your focus on something greater is worship, isn’t it?

And in terms of Christian teaching via social media?

Only very selectively. In that I have chosen the people I’ve followed and read their stuff. In the blogosphere – I don’t know if that counts – Rachel Held Evans, who of course is this generation. And Sarah Bessey – two Christian feminist bloggers. I follow both of them on Facebook. So I’m a little cautious – picking and choosing the teaching you’re receiving is a recipe for getting into a very insular place. But certainly I have learned stuff. I listen to a few Christian podcasts – Daily Audio Bible, where a guy reads five chapters of the Bible as you drive to work or whatever. I listen to a guy called William Lane Craig who has a podcast called Reasonable Faith, and that’s about Christian philosophy and defending the faith from a philosophical level. I really engage with those two in particular.

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Do you think the church itself is a social network?

Well it should be, shouldn’t it? Because we do pay lip service to ‘we’re all one family’.

And it’s not just lip service – but the practicalities of making it feel like one big family are considerable when we’re made up of millions and millions of imperfect, fallen people. So maybe social media is a way to start to break down some of those barriers, if you know you’re going to be visiting a church that you’ve not been to before, if you can contact them on Facebook beforehand and find out a few of the crucial things – what time does the service start, is there a dress code… all that sort of thing. Maybe that’s a useful thing, but it does require churches to be active on their Facebook pages.

You mentioned contentious issues in some parts of the church, such as feminism and the role of women? Do you think there’s a role in social media to overcome some of those problems?

I think that social media is a place to have a discussion. So people who aren’t absolutely deadset entrenched either way might be involved in the discussion – ‘oh, I can see it a bit from that perspective now’ – however, has anyone ever managed to change someone’s mind by having an argument with them on Facebook? I don’t think it’s happened. It tends to be just an argument. There are lots of people who aren’t decided, but they tend not to engage with the discussion – because they’re undecided!

But they might read it.

How about the potential anonymity of a social media account? You could have a female teacher who adopts a pseudonymous male name?

…and accidentally brings a whole load of men into sin! Yeah! Well, I suppose that’s more of a thing on Twitter, where you can be anonymous as you like. On Facebook, I know people do have anonymous accounts but they’re a little bit more traceable. I think the anonymity thing is a blessing and a curse really. I wish I’d set my Twitter account up with something other than my name, because I realise now what different animals they are. On Twitter I engage with strangers, some of whom become friends.

On Facebook, they’re friends who sometimes seem like strangers! That would be way to express views that might not be very popular – do it on Twitter, because you’re not going to get a knock on the door form your elder telling you you’re in error!

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APPENDIX 7: Transcript of interview with David Lucas (Christian, Male) Interviewed by phone 10 June 2016

My name’s David Lucas. I’m a low-­‐vision awareness trainer. I’ve been active in the church all my life really. I trained for the priesthood in the Roman Catholic church in the early 80s, at the time when all the paedophile priest revelations were emerging in the press. And the order I was with was particularly rife with the problem, so I left. And then for about ten years, I didn’t really get involved in very much. But I was around the group of people who eventually became the Northumbria Community. So I was around in the early days of that. In the last ten years, I’ve been heavily involved with the Anglican church and became an Anglican. And Disability and Jesus came about as a result of a conversation one evening about the lack of good quality info for people with disabilities within the church.

Aside from social media, are you active in sharing your faith in face-­‐to-­‐face conversations? Do you think that’s an important part of your faith?

Absolutely. Yes, very much so.

Could you explain how social media has worked for Disability and Jesus?

When we got together, we had no funding. We had no idea how we might get funding.

We felt the problem was a national problem, we didn’t want to just deal with it in our local churches. So we decided that social media was free and that we’d use it as best we could. So I’ve dedicated the last two years as more-­‐or-­‐less a fulltime job to tweeting and Facebook and the like, and that’s how doors have opened for us. We’ve grown on Twitter particularly – almost 7,000 now. And we police that as well – we don’t allow people who are just there to increase their numbers or promote their business or anything. We don’t buy in followers or anything, so we think we’ve done quite well.

When I’m talking to people like the BBC, Channel 4 – they’ve all found us through social media, or the website.

So the people who are interacting with your social media accounts – are they disabled Christians or people interested in advocating for people with disabilities?

It’s a very good mix. We have quite a strong following from members of the disabled community among our followers, but we also have others. I would say that because we come from the Anglican church, the majority are Anglicans – a good number of them are Anglican clergy and who are aware of the problem. The problem being that not many disabled people attend church. And they’re looking for solutions as to how to solve that. That’s why they’re following us really.

And do you think the lack of disabled people in churches is down to access problems or because disabled people tend not to be Christians in the first place?

No, I think it’s more to do with attitudes and access. A lot of disabled people who we

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talk to have encountered negative attitudes in churches, and as a consequence don’t go. I think they’re warm to the idea – they’re ripe for evangelisation in that sense really. Modern churches with falling numbers who are constantly looking for new groups to reach – the disabled community is ripe for it. But there has to be a significant shift in attitude.

What sorts of attitudes are we talking about?

We’re talking about disabled people who feel that they’re sort of pounced upon as soon as they walk through the door to be prayed with and ‘cured’. And there’s an awful lot of pressure in that area. There’s a lot of people who have just been made to feel unwelcome – people with learning difficulties, people with sensory impairments.

Families with autistic children who maybe make a little bit more noise than the average child have been made to feel unwelcome. Myself, as a guide dog owner, I’ve been told ‘you can’t bring your dog in here’. You know, that kind of attitude. Or I’ve had literature snatched out of my hand with people saying ‘oh you, don’t need that … because you’re blind’. Those kind of negative attitudes we come across a lot. There’s a lot of work to do there.

Why do you think social media is working where perhaps other forms of communicating have failed or work less well?

Well, one – because it’s free. And two – because in the disabled world, that’s where a lot of people live. Because of restricted mobility and lack of access to things, they spent a lot more time than the average person on the web – so that’s where they are. So the two things – a free way of building up a following and for people with limited mobility [social media] is a perfect place to be.

Do you think social media, because it perhaps ‘conceals’ a person’s disability enables people to take part in conversations on a more equal basis?

Yes, I do. I’m aware of a few people who are following us who, when they started following us, weren’t in a church. And through following us have returned to church and they’ve been able to have conversations online with various people so that by the time they get to turn up at a church, the first thing being talked about is not their disability. That’s already been ‘dealt with’.

So also, in a way, a confidence builder?

Yeah. I think for a lot of disabled people, when they turn up at church, it’s not a negative thing in the sense that people mean the disabled person any ill or anything.

But there is a shock. When a disabled person turns up, it’s ‘ooh, we don’t know how to deal with this!’ And that initial panic. ‘What do we do?’ People are afraid to do the wrong thing. So when you meet someone online and you talk about all of those things beforehand, the first time they physically turn up there isn’t that uncomfortable feeling of ‘what do I do?’. You’ve already resolved those questions.

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Does Disability for Jesus help disabled people feel that sense of belonging before they feel able to participate in a local church?

I think for some it has, yes. I don’t think that’s our reason for being, but it’s certainly a consequence of what we’ve done, yes.

Is social media a ‘safe place’ for people with disabilities or is there still that negative stigma associated with disability even online?

I don’t think it’s any worse than it is in society at large. I think the good thing about social media for disabled people is that they can reveal as much as they feel comfortable with and build that up over time. Whereas if you turn up [at a church] with an obvious disability, then it’s there right away.

How do the followers of your social media accounts support and encourage each other?

There’s a lot friendships formed. I know a lot of our followers are talking to each other privately online now, and by iPhone and the like. They’ve mentioned to us that they’ve gone off and formed their own friendships. We keep each other informed about what events there are and I’ve met up with a lot of our followers who go to events. We’re hosting our own event this weekend with quite a few people.

So there’s a physical element to your work as well as the online?

Yes. It’s about awareness. You know. And social media is a good place to do that.

Are you able to maintain that focus on the Christian faith, or does it run the risk perhaps of becoming a negative environment where people are criticising this church, or this organisation?

It doesn’t feel like that. We’ve had the occasional question via Twitter of ‘why don’t you tell more good news stories about disability?’ and when we find them, we tell them. The problem is there is a lack of good news stories about disability in the church.

So it may sometimes come across like it’s a bit negative, but that is the way it is in reality, so we have to reflect that. What we try to do is presented a rounded view of ourselves as a team. So we don’t just tweet about church stuff. We have a bit of a joke and a carry on! We had a virtual new year’s party online. So we try to show ourselves as fully rounded people.

An online party!

Yes, we pretended the party was at my house and we invited people to come along like you would with a party at any friend’s house. Bring a bottle – that kind of thing. And we were just being silly – having an imaginary party! And it went on for 4 or 5 hours. We had 80 or 90 people on the thread! And a lot of people said how much they appreciated it, because they were going to be on their own. So it was really good.

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So it’s about finding creative ways to foster that feeling of involvement and inclusion – community, I guess?

Yes. We’ve been thinking whether, actually, we officially call ourselves a community.

Because that’s what it feels like. Not all of our followers are as involved, but a good 30 to 40% of them are actively involved and engaging with us on a daily basis.

It sounds really positive, but have you experienced any more negative comments – either from Christians, or people of other or no faith?

We haven’t had any trolling, no. We have had some negative comments, but so few that it’s not really significant at all.

What about difficult questions like ‘why does God allow disability’, etc?

We’ve had particular people contact us and say ‘this is my specific situation’ and ‘this is what’s happened to me in this particular church’, and we’ve tried to make contact directly with the church leadership. We’ve had a few successes, we’ve been abroad a couple of times. You have to be careful, because you’re only getting one side of the story.

How about expressions of the Christian faith like prayer and worship? Do you do those online? Is there a place for them?

Yes, absolutely. We occasionally put – particularly at night time – we often have a closing prayer. People who are feeling any kind of isolation, that would be their worst time of day. So we often close with a prayer on a night time.

Are social media platforms themselves accessible?

Oh, they’re a nightmare!

So there are problems with accessibility?

Yes. Particular in the visually-­‐impaired world, people who use text-­‐reading software, that kind of thing. All kinds of issues. But it’s what we’ve got, and having said what I’ve said about visual impairment, most of us have had some kind of training – whatever devices we use – to access the web. So it’s solvable. Most visually impaired people have been able to solve it. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

What about churches and Christian groups? Do they do enough themselves to make their content accessible?

Absolutely not, no. There’s still a lot of churches, for example, who don’t yet have a website. Or churches that have a website, but it’s the same one that they’ve had for twenty years! And it’s not kept up to date. It doesn’t work well. That kind of thing. But the saddest thing I come across is clergy who say ‘I don’t do social media’.

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And I think that’s really sad, because our experience tells us that that’s where a lot of disabled people hang out, so what it feels like is that ‘I don’t do social media’ means ‘I don’t care about disabled people’.

And is the language of Christians that do engage with social media appropriate for disabled people, or are there phrases that are causing offence?

I don’t think that’s particular to the church – that’s an issue for society in general.

When people first encounter a disabled person, that whole degree of awkwardness.

What we say to people is ‘just ask!’ – just be really straightforward and ask. Each disabled person will have their own preferences about how they want to talk about it and the language to use. But the only way to find out about it is to ask.

What are the best examples of disabled people using social media effectively to express their faith and identity?

One of the things that I like at the moment is TGI Monday on YouTube. They’re attracting loads of questions via YouTube – it’s a way that lots of people can engage that otherwise wouldn’t be able to get in to a church to do that. I think it’s a brilliant example. There are several different groups doing online services. I don’t use them myself but I’m aware of lots of people who do, so I think it’s a great opportunity and, as I say, for organisations who don’t have any money – free.

I think the use of Periscope and Facebook Live to stream [church services] is great. And conferences. This is a big issue for disabled Christians – getting to conferences. Just the actual, physical getting there – the journey – is too difficult. The venue might not be great, that sort of thing. But when an event is live-­‐streamed, via Periscope or whatever else, they’re then able to take part. In a way that they couldn’t otherwise. So it’s a great thing. Even a live Twitter feed where people are tweeting from the event – you know. It enables people to feel that they are part of something.

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APPENDIX 8: Transcript of interview with Tash Oakes-­‐Monger (Christian, Female) Interviewed in London, UK 24 February 2016

I’m Tash, I’m originally from Hampshire but have lived in London for a while now. I go to UCL and I study medicine. I’m in my third year at the moment so I’m doing an integrated BSc which is Global Health – and I’m enjoying this year a bit more than my previous years!

How would you describe your faith?

Previously, when I was younger, I was very… kind of… anti-­‐faith I think. For a long time I was vehemently against organised religion. I think probably because my parents – or my mum anyway – thought it was ‘you had to wear a dress to church’, which was a big issue for me when I was young! So, yeah, I joined a football team so that I could play on Sundays and get out of going to church. And then when I was about 14, I went on a mission trip with my church to South Africa, and that was where I changed my mind about the whole thing. When I came back I had a period of maybe about six months where I was very in to organised religion – went to everything at church – had a period of intense focus. After that, it mellowed out a bit and – I don’t know – I think that was a high of having been away and everything that happened there, and then I settled more into myself and now, I suppose, I’m at more of a place intellectually where I’m happy with what I believe. I go to a church at the moment in Marylebone. It’s quite different – not very different – from the church I grew up in. Quite ‘not religion’ but focused on relationships, which is what I agree with. Probably a bit more evangelical – I don’t want to use the term ‘happy clappy’, but that’s what I’m thinking in my head – than my views. Because I think I’m quite liberal. I’ve been going to Greenbelt festival since I was born and still go every year. That’s my basis for what my faith is and where my faith is at. If I could describe my faith, that would be it – that kind of social justice, arts and faith coming together.

Take us back to South Africa – what you were doing there and what your motivation was?

OK, my motivation was: I really wanted to go to South Africa! That was literally it, embarrassingly. I remember at the time my parents said to me ‘you’ve wanted to go for ages, you’ve wanted to do something like this – just go’. And a few people I knew from school who weren’t Christians were going, so that was the tipping point for me. I remember I was not in a very good place with how I thought about religion and my life generally at that time, and I thought ‘right, I’ll do this – maybe this will be a turning point, I’ll go’.

And ever since I agreed to go, the whole time I was like ‘oh no, why have I done this?’

Every time we had to go to a meeting, I was ‘ohhhh!’ I really was very anti. Every time they did prayer, I just stood there thinking ‘what am I doing?’ I didn’t get in to any of that kind of… any of that. Until we actually went. I struggled, because I was 14… was quite anxious about it. And when we got out there, we were kind of thrown in at the

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deep end a bit. But one of my qualities is that when everyone else is in a really bad place, that’s probably when I excel. If there’s a few people who are taking the lead, then I’ll let them do it, but when everyone else falls down and has their terrible moment, that’s like my moment when I’m like ‘OK, someone needs to do it, I’ll do it’.

We had one night like that which was I think on the fourth day we were there and everyone else… we had driven for hours and hours, and in South Africa when they say ‘we’ll be there in a couple of hours’, what they mean is ‘we’ll be there any time in the next two days… two weeks!’ So yeah, we got to the camp at about 11, 11:30 at night, it was dark and we had to light our own fire, cook our own food and everyone was really grumpy because we’d been driving through a desert all day and it was a really miserable atmosphere. People were hungry, we were getting really grumpy. So that was the night when I kind of felt like I came into my own, basically. That was my day. I was like ‘it’s going to be OK’. Other people were dropping like flies, crying with all the stress. But I thrive on those awful conditions – that’s when I’m at my happiest! So we had to do this exercise where we had to go and pray somewhere. I remember I drew a circle around my chair in the sand – I don’t know why I did it, because we were in the middle of nowhere. And it was so unbelievably quiet. You don’t know silence until you go somewhere like that. We were up in the mountains and you could see all of the stars, you could see the actual Milky Way. So, yeah, if I could pinpoint a moment that was when I could say ‘yes, I believe in this’. Then, after that, I think you get very caught up in that feeling of everyone going through this intensely-­‐emotional, physically-­‐ draining time together – we were doing a lot of hard labour, painting, chopping wood, stuff like that. So that was the changing point for me. I’ve been out again since, twice.

In my gap year, I went there for six months, so I’ve spent quite a lot of time there now.

So back to 2016 and you’re in a thriving church in London. How comfortable do you feel talking about your faith with your friends at uni and other acquaintances?

Not very. I think some friends, if I know that they are Christians or they have faith, I don’t worry about it so much. But I think because I’m part of the LGBT community that adds another dimension. For me, I’m very aware of how I felt when I saw other people talking about how great religion was. But particularly Christianity. I didn’t have the same thing with Islam, or Hinduism, Buddhism, anything like that. It was Christianity.

And I’m painfully aware, if I post something [on social media] how it could make other people feel. And also being LGBT and being Christian is giving you backlash from both communities. LGBT people don’t like it. Christian people don’t like it. It’s a struggle of a place to be with the crossover.

You touched on social media there as well. Are you a regular user? What sort of platforms do you use?

Yes, definitely. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr…

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Do you feel more or less comfortable sharing about matters of faith on social media compared to face-­‐to-­‐face?

Face to face is a lot easier, because you can justify your position and talk about how you feel. It’s very difficult if you just throw something out on to Facebook. Facebook is the place I would share the least things – not just about faith, but about my life.

Because I have people on Facebook from the LGBT community who wouldn’t like it, and from the Christian community who wouldn’t like it. But I am aware that I do post more things about LGBT stuff that I know will upset Christians than I do about Christian stuff that I know might upset other people.

Is that an intentional decision? Or just something that’s just developed?

I see the LGBT stuff as more of the human rights thing. So, for example, I’ll share things about horrific cases of LGBT persecution. But I probably – I don’t know – I’m very aware that sometimes Christians are the people that are doing that persecution, so I probably don’t share things about church or Christianity. It’s a difficult one. But I probably would be more likely to share something about some kind of Islamophobia, which I have actually shared about. So I think it’s a point in me, a struggle, this Christianity thing.

Have you received any specific criticism online about your sexuality from the Christian community?

Yes, I have. And I’ve seen other people post negative things about Christianity. Only this morning, me and my girlfriend were sitting talking. Someone she knew posted a video of the couple who owned the bakery who wouldn’t make the cake for the two brides. And it was really hard. This woman was saying ‘it’s our right to not make this’ and ‘we’ve lost our whole business’. And the girl who posted it was saying ‘I feel so sorry for them’. And our reaction was that’s one couple who have lost their business, and if you look at rates of horrific things happening in the LGBT community, it’s so much more. The rate of suicide among trans people is something like 45%. I know – I’ll bring this in here – I’m a member of community online called Diverse Church, which is an LGBT church. I met some of the people who are involved in it at Greenbelt. They are led by a vicar called Sally Hitchener – she said I could say her name. Part of the rules of the community are that you don’t tell anyone anyone else who’s in the community. It’s a secret group online. It’s really helpful for prayer and for sharing stuff. I brought it up because there was a guy who posted there the other day ‘one of my friends is in hospital in a coma, beaten up for being LGBT’. So that’s the kind of level we’re talking at. That is where I think things on social media can be quite damaging, in terms of – for example, there’s been a lot of stuff about Westboro Baptist Church, that’s very ‘on’ social media. I think perhaps part of the problem is that other people who are less… the most radical people in Christianity or the people with the least accepting views are the most vocal on social media. Most of the posts I see on social media from Christians are anti-­‐abortion, anti-­‐homosexuality, anti-­‐gay marriage. There isn’t much of the rest, to be honest.

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I know you can’t say too much about this group, I understand that, but would you say that you find comfort in that privacy and anonymity? Is it the case that you can share things in that group that you wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing in your physical church?

100% yes. I’m out to some people in our church, and I guess that most people assume we’re together. We don’t overtly display our relationship when I go to church with my girlfriend. But the guy who runs the church knows, we had a direct conversation about it. A couple of other people know. But yes, definitely, on this group there’s a lot of people who are out – there’s a lot of people who are studying to be vicars, studying ministry who aren’t out, and it’s actually quite amazing. Yesterday, someone said she’d got engaged to her partner and she got called in by the vicar – she wasn’t sure if she was going to be allowed to preach at the church any more. There are people who are studying who’ve been told they’re not allowed to sit next to certain people in their classes because they think they’re having a homosexual relationship. There are people who have been banned from working with children in their churches. There’s a lot of that kind of thing going on, and it’s really nice to have a place where both parts of your identity can be accepted. I definitely would ask for prayer for things there and discuss things that I wouldn’t discuss outside. At the moment, we’re doing a Lent series so people make videos and record themselves talking about certain passages and post it on there – and that’s really nice. Even though it’s not always a physical community, we have small meet ups in different areas, so different hubs – there’s a London hubs and hubs across the country. So we do have meet ups – it’s much less often, but that social media presence means that as soon as you need prayer, someone posts it on there and you’ve got 10, 20 people praying about a specific issue. So it’s definitely a really good outlet and we’re feeling it too – ‘we know what you’re going through’, ‘we know you might not be accepted at church and that’s pretty tough’. So yeah, it’s really good for sharing.

You explained about a kind of split identity. Would you say you identify more with your Christian community or the LGBT community?

LGBT community – I’ve got to go with that. Because shockingly … I would say that my experience of the LGBT community is far more accepting than my experience of the Christian community. It pains me to say that, because that is not what it should be like.

But me and my girlfriend, when we were looking for a church, did a church tour in London, so we went every week to different churches. We tried lots of different ones.

We started with a list of LGBT-­‐affirming churches and there’s probably about 8-­‐10 in London, and maybe 15-­‐20 in the whole country who will say they are LGBT-­‐affirming.

That doesn’t include churches that don’t state that, but this is places that have said ‘we’re an LGBT-­‐safe place’. And surprisingly a lot of them are very small, old, hymn book and very traditional churches, which is actually really interesting. We went to a lot of those, like St Paul’s and places like that, and it was a really good experience to see how people accepted … I think those churches really loved to see us coming there as well. That was an eye-­‐opener to us as to how few places will be openly accepting [of LGBT]. In this church, the vicar said to us – we said we like this church, we’d like to be a part of this church, but we’re not going to stay here if ultimately what you believe is

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that we are wrong. And he actually said that he was baptising his first ever, what he termed ‘practising homosexual’, which – well, the language barrier – but we’ll get over that! That happened a couple of weeks ago, so he actually baptised someone who was gay and open about it. He gave his testimony in church which was amazing, and spoke about how that was part of his identity and he didn’t feel a compromise with his faith, and he was baptised in a church. Everyone was really supportive – yeah, that was a really nice experience of church, but I’ve had a lot of really negative experiences.

Have you come across any positives from the church community towards you and your girlfriend?

Apart from this church, usually if we go into a church our instinct is that we don’t hold hands, we pretend we’re not together and don’t acknowledge our relationship.

Previously, I’ve had positive experiences from other young people. From church leaders? Not so much. I had a good experience at college with the chaplain, who helped with everything there. I actually ran the CU at my college which was a big thing for me because I was very much not open about my faith and I was embarrassed to tell people that I did that. That was a good experience. The chaplain was a multi-­‐faith chaplain. A Christian, but obviously catered for all faiths. She was really supportive and LGBT-­‐affirming. Really great. So there are really good experiences, and as I’ve said at Greenbelt, it’s very, very accepting. They’re so over it. Ten to fifteen years ago, they started putting on programmes and talks for the LGBT community and now it’s so beyond that – there are other things that Greenbelt has moved on to that the church hasn’t caught up with yet. For them, it’s so not an issue. We met older lesbian couples who were saying ‘we just want to get married in our church – that’s all we want’, and they were asking ‘why is there not so much stuff in the programme?’ We were saying ‘well, it’s not an issue here any more, it’s totally fine – no-­‐one has a problem with it’.

And it’s such a nice, accepting community – there’s people who are speaking who are trans who are on the main programme, there’s gay priests and vicars – people who are leading that are showing that they have accepted themselves and they don’t feel a conflict between their faith and their sexuality. And that’s amazing.

Are you aware of any online equivalent of Greenbelt – that is affirming and allows you to express your faith and your sexuality in the same place in an authentic way?

That, for me, would be the Diverse Church community. Apart from that, I do share a few things on Twitter sometimes, mainly when I’m at Greenbelt I’ll share things about Greenbelt. I know I’ve seen people in Diverse Church doing that, sharing things. Other friends share sometimes, not always things that I’d agree with, about their religion. I see a lot of other religions talking about their faith online. At university, we have a big Islam Society and they are very open about what they’re doing and their events; they have a really tight-­‐knit community. Actually, I quite often think it puts the Christian Union to shame – I don’t think I’ve seen anything from the Christian Union. Maybe that’s because I’m not connected with the right people. But I see a lot of posting about Islam Soc and how much charity work they do, all the amazing things they do together.

They post a lot of pictures of them as a community and it’s much more embedded in their culture. They’re much more vocal about it, certainly, especially on Facebook.

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Are there any faith leaders or speakers that you follow on social media to be inspired?

Yes. I follow Kate Bottley, a poet called Pádraig Ó Tuama who’s from Ireland – he works in a place called Corrymeela, which is to do with The Troubles in Ireland, reconciliation.

I follow him. I follow Peterson Toscano. Giles Fraser, I follow. Sally Hitchener. Lots of people who I’ve seen at Greenbelt and go on to follow them from that. I actually follow Rob Bell on Facebook – I’ve read a couple of his books, I think he’s quite cool. He’s a big voice in America; I think he shocked a lot of people with his most recent books. I like that.

There’s a been a few fairly high profile instances of Christian leaders being more supportive of the LGBT community. Vicky Beeching perhaps as well?

She spoke at Greenbelt as well, a couple of years back. That was incredible! An incredible talk – the whole audience was in tears. And also Tutu’s daughter was there – she was very affirming. There’s been some really big cases of people saying ‘this is unacceptable’. At the Primates’ meeting recently with the awful stuff LGBT community was really hard, people took it really hard. On Diverse Church there was a lot of posting about it. I wouldn’t have known about that meeting even happening if I hadn’t been part of that community. Yeah, that was really tough for a lot of people.

What are your hopes for the future in terms of being able to express yourself authentically on social media?

I mean… I feel like, perhaps, because people in the Christian community would see my views as controversial, that’s more probably where I worry about the backlash from.

I’ve been told before that I’m not a proper Christian or can’t be a Christian if I’m gay or I can’t be a Christian if I believe that gay people aren’t evil, or I can’t be in a relationship if I’m a Christian and I’m gay. Lots of different things. And also different assumptions from people in the Christian community that, you know, about my sex life – questions that you would not ask any other couple. Totally unacceptable. So I think just being able to be without feeling that judgment. Even if it’s not necessarily there, if someone’s posting ‘being gay is wrong’ and you’re posting ‘I’m gay and I’m a Christian’, it’s hard not to feel judged even if there’s not direct action. So I think just being able to feel as accepted walking into a church holding my girlfriend’s hand and being able to talk about being a Christian in an LGBT space. All of those things are going to take a long time. Because people in the LGBT community if they’ve been hurt by church, talking about church can sometimes be insensitive. And walking into church holding hands – some people find that offensive.

Have you ever felt the need to justify your faith to the LGBT community? Or the other way round?

Me and my girlfriend go to a lesbian discussion group and one of the questions that came up the other day was ‘is it OK to be faith and LGBT compatible?’. And there were

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a few deeply offensive voices in the room who said outrageous things. But there was also a consensus that if we are perpetuating stigma against Christian people, we’re no better than Christian people being cruel to LGBT people. And so, I think, it’s very slow progress but there’s definitely bigger acceptance of LGBT Muslims in the queer spaces.

Christianity is the one faith that seems to be lagging behind – I’m not going to lie!

Why do you think that is?

I think there’s a very vocal presence in terms of quite conservative, strict Christianity, particularly in America, particularly my friends in South Africa who have quite strict views – very anti-­‐abortion, anti-­‐gay marriage. There’s a lot of that that’s online. That can be… a lot of painting Christianity as one group of people, which I really don’t like because the Westboro Baptist Church, for example, is so far from what I believe that I almost don’t want to call myself a Christian because it comes under the same label. I think the almost parodying of that by documentaries makes it even harder because it paints everyone under that level, which is definitely not the truth – there’s a big spectrum. I just think both ends are not very representative.

Do you think social media could be part of the solution? Enabling different groups talking to groups they don’t currently agree with?

Yeah, I definitely do because I know that even within our Diverse Church, people have come out from conversations on there, on Facebook or Twitter, or other social media spaces. Previously me and my girlfriend weren’t allowed to spend Christmas together, because we were together. We asked for prayer in our group and she posted something about it on Twitter saying ‘Christianity is about being accepting – it’s not about not being able to spend Christmas with my girlfriend’ and lots of people retweeted that who she would never have expected to kind of support her in her religion. The really interesting thing is those people understood what Christianity is about more than the Christian community. That was really affirming for us, because – yeah – people realised this was unfair. When she posted about it on Facebook someone had attacked it. She posted ‘LGBT people, I’m with you in this time, I’m really sorry if you can’t be with who you want to be and where you want to be’. And someone had posted something like ‘not just LGBT people’. And instantly a lot of people came to her defence and said that obviously the focus of this status was on this, and supported her. I think that can be really positive. There’s always the worry that it can turn in to a Facebook argument, which can be a disaster, but there is definitely much more support if you have people who can vocalise that it can be a really useful tool. We found that helpful in those ways, in that we now have a community from all over the world – we have people from Australia in Diverse Church – and you can see their experience in difference countries. So it can be a help. There are positives. There are positives amongst the church community too, when you talk about being queer there are definitely more people accepting it now – it’s less of a controversial topic.

Slowly, slowly. There are always going to be people who don’t agree and want to know exactly what’s going on in your relationship, but I think we get less glaring stares when we’re in church together.

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Anything else that we haven’t covered?

We’ve covered a lot of stuff. My main thing is that I do struggle with both those aspects of my personality and my characteristics and my beliefs. For me, I’m more proud of my queer identity, and that makes me sad. I want to be proud of my Christian identity and my faith, but my experience thus far with what good things the church is doing hasn’t been enough for me feel proud and I think that’s why Islam Soc and Hindu Soc and other societies like that at uni are much more vocal. Because they have things to be proud of; they’ve done cool stuff within uni, they’ve fundraised huge amounts, they’ve done big charity movements, they can post that. Whether or not you believe, you can still believe that doing good things for people is good.

I don’t often get that sense of pride in my faith, other than when I’m at Greenbelt.

That’s probably when I feel most proud, because I feel this looks like what Jesus was aiming for – acceptance, diversity and creativity. How can you read the Bible and not get that? For me, that is – on a basic level – one of the first things you get from the Bible. And, if that can be replicated in churches, not at a superficial level – it’s very easy to welcome a gay couple in to a church and then make no effort to talk to them, make no effort to include them, not make sure the space is safe for them. Even at previous churches where I grew up, having sessions on how being gay is wrong – without thinking 1 in 10 people is gay, there’s probably going to be a gay person in this room.

It’s definitely becoming more acceptable to be queer and to be out about it, and as that happens, more and more are coming out – especially among young people. And it’s so not an issue with young people.

You’re alienating a generation of people who are going to find more acceptance from the LGBT community and so reject religion and Christianity out of hand as an organization. When they asked in America the top things people said were ‘hypocritical’, ‘homophobic’ and ‘judgemental’ – the three things, top descriptions.

Love didn’t even come into it. That is where the core issue is. Acceptance has to be acceptance. You have to love that person. I understand not agreeing with being gay. I see why people feel that. For me, I need to feel accepted by church because that’s what church is supposed to be, and that’s what I get from Greenbelt and I think that’s what I would have to get from church as a whole.

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APPENDIX 9: Transcript of interview with Jeff Piepho (Christian, Male) Interviewed by Skype 9 March 2016

I’m Jeff Piepho, from Salina, Kansas. I pastor Revolution Church – and our website address is revo.church. I’m also one of the creators and hosts of the Church Meme Committee page on Facebook, along with another pastor friend of mine. I wouldn’t say we spend a lot of time, but we spend some time each day just coming up with some funny ideas about what happens in churches and the life of churches and pastors and stuff like that.

Some of the memes that we’re talking about are very humorous – quite absurd at times, quite a lot of sarcasm. Can you explain what your intention is with them?

It really started out – our audience was some friends of ours who are pastors. And so, I’m sure you’ve experienced this where you have a frustrating day but you can kick back with someone who understands what you’ve gone through and say ‘oh boy, I preached a sermon today and it was awful – it just bombed’ and someone else says ‘I preached a sermon a couple of weeks back that just bombed too’. It helps you not get frustrated – you can go ‘yeah, other people are dealing with the same thing I am dealing with’. And so, in some sense, that was how it started – you know, ‘funny things happen’. So this other pastor and I are very close geographically – about half an hour apart – and we would get together with other pastors in our region and we’d just talk sometimes, and we’d laugh about things that happened in our churches. We saw some other Christian memes and we just thought wouldn’t it be fun if we had our own memes for our crowd – for pastors, church leaders, people who have to deal with the same stuff that we deal with. That’s kind of where it started.

So was it a reaction against some of the memes that might be thought of as a little bit sappy?

Yeah. You know, in my church we often talk about our mouth and how the book of James talks about what we speak about. I think, certainly, if James had been alive in 2016 he wouldn’t have limited it to the tongue, he probably would have included the keyboard. And that sort of idea. So there’s this whole area of social media – Facebook, Twitter – that really just has nasty stuff on it. Stuff that, well let’s be honest, in your flesh that’s funny. It’s easy to be attracted to those sort of things. I wouldn’t say we’d created this directly to oppose those things, but because we did want there to be funny, engaging Christian material there for people who saw the world the way we see the world.

And are they crafted to convey a spiritual message of their own or are they ‘just’ funny?

Hmm. That’s a good question. Certainly we’re not trying to communicate evangelism through it. We’re not necessarily trying to communicate the gospel through it. More camaraderie among Christians. So I would say the emphasis lies in the humour, but it’s

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built on a foundation of the Christian religion. So, for instance, one of our most popular memes says ‘when someone says “I disagree with the sermon”, they actually mean…’

And then the options are: • ‘the Greek verb blah implies something else’ • ‘the light of the historical context implies something else’ • ‘the exegesis wasn’t spot on’; or • ‘I took that personally and think you’re a stupid head.’

Obviously you’d have to know what ‘exegesis’ is, you’d have to know that the New Testament was written primarily in Greek, you’d have to understand why we were talking about historical concept. So you’d have to have this foundation to even think that was funny. So without the Christian foundation it wouldn’t even make any sense.

But I think humour would be the point, based on that foundation.

How are the memes being received among those you intended them to be valued by?

By and large positively. Every once in a while, we’ll get a funny comment. I posted something about being up on stage and not being able to remember what anyone talked to me about on Sunday mornings. This meme was shared by 800-­‐and-­‐some people as we’re talking right now. And in there was a comment about ‘hmm, “stage” is not a word I like to use in referring to Christian worship’. Every once in a while you get someone who just makes a little jab like that. But by and large it’s been really positive.

People sharing ‘this is exactly how I feel’ … ‘I hate it too, that I can’t remember what anyone told me on Sunday mornings!’.

Do you think there’s a role for humour and absurdity in talking about matters of faith?

Yeah, absolutely! I think too often the Christian church – because what we deal with is such a weighty, heavy subject. The death of Christ, the Resurrection, the spiritual matters, Creator of the cosmos… It’s so weighty that we sometimes forget who put joy in the heart. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. That isn’t to say that all humour produces joy, or that joy is merely a product of humour. But too often we deal with these weighty things and forget that we can laugh, it is OK to be humorous, it is OK to poke fun at ourselves, to not take ourselves so seriously all the time. Yeah, I think that’s a really important facet of Christianity.

At our church even, we have this thing we call the FIASCO – it’s an acronym that reminds us what kind of personality we should have when doing ministry. And F stands for Fun. We reach primarily a group of people in poverty. There’s a study by Ruby Payne, Framework for Understanding Poverty. She talks in there that if you can’t find humour, if you can’t laugh at yourself, people in poverty tend not to listen to you as well. They won’t take you seriously as an authority. So I think from a ministry perspective it’s important. And just in the day to day – we can’t be so serious all the time.

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Are you surprised at how popular the sharing of a meme is? Or when you think you’ve got a great one and it’s not shared at all?

Actually, both of those! Pretty much every time we make a meme. When we make one that I think ‘this is hilarious… this is so good’, it’ll just get a couple of shares. But when I make one that I think ‘this is true, but it’s not that great’ – it seems like just blows up and everyone likes it. I haven’t figured it out – I don’t have a formula, apparently! But I’d say I’m more often surprised than not. We started this page to share with just a couple of our buddies, but now there’s a couple of thousands on there, it’s getting thousands of shares.

Have you chosen your social media platforms strategically?

I would say as far as the Church Memes goes, no – very non-­‐strategic! We just started it to share with some buddies and it just kind of grew unexpectedly. But when it comes to our churches, a lot more strategic. We have the Facebook page, we have Twitter, we have rules about what we should post, when we should post, what it should look like, that sort of things.

So how important is social media in your everyday church life?

It’s extremely important. In fact, I am on Facebook every single day because I probably have more interactions with church members and church leaders on Facebook than I do through email or even phone calls nowadays. Because they’re always on Facebook, some of them on Twitter. They’re always on social media. They may check their email a couple of times a week. Text messages are really good too, but social media seems to connect a lot better because they’re always checking it.

Is it that connectedness that’s important, or do you find that your church members are able to have conversations that they feel they couldn’t have in a face-­‐to-­‐face setting?

Definitely. Probably both. There are times where if this conversation was important enough, we should have made it face-­‐to-­‐face. But we tried to do it on Facebook, and it got convoluted and misunderstood. On the other hand, there’s a lot of conversations – especially group conversations – that can take place on Facebook and you can get stuff moving in a matter of a few minutes or hours, where in the past you’d have had to schedule a meeting a week in advance, then everyone should have come together but a couple of people were missing. But on social media, you just have to send a group message, everyone can throw in their two cents and you can move forwards. And that’s really helpful!

And do you find that sense of community is as obvious in the Facebook group as it is perhaps after the Sunday meeting?

Yes, I think so. Especially for people who have a personal connection before they connect on Facebook. We have some people who connect on social media and they

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use that as a way to get in to our church. We’re big on Facebook ads, so people see ‘oh, Revolution Church – interesting, they posted this thing and my friend liked it and look at that , I’ve got two friends who go there – this is interesting – maybe I’ll check it out.’

So it goes both ways. You take people who aren’t in church and get them interested in church because they see their friends are going there. Or you take people are already going to church and enable them to have a deeper, more meaningful conversation because they already know each other.

So would you view Facebook ads as a recruitment tool, an evangelism tool?

Yeah, absolutely. We make videos, we make posts. We use boosting or just creating a straight-­‐up ad. And we target people who like us already and their friends. It’ll target people who like our page – so people who already go to Revolution Church. And a lot of people from our church will see that and they’ll click ‘Like’ on it. There’ll be like 15, 20 likes on something. And their friends who don’t go to our church now will see it because we’re also advertising to them. And they’ll say ‘wow, I’ve got five of their friends, they all clicked “Like” on this’… it’s a funny little picture or it’s an interesting video.

We used humour in a video advertisement we made for our church about what people smell like or look like. It really got a good return. We ended up doubling the number of people who came to our Christmas Eve service because of it.

What sort of content works most effectively for you as a church?

As a church… the engagements where it has to do with real people. People aren’t as concerned about information as we Christians would like them to be. They’re more concerned about people, which is the whole social media concept I guess, right? They want to know ‘did my friend like this?’, ‘does my friend go there?’, ‘are there people who are interested in this?’, ‘does this church care about me as a person or are they just throwing out tons of information?’. A lot of times we post pictures and try to make sure they are connected to a person, or if its an advertisement it has some kind of personalised hook in there somewhere. We post photos of people being baptised and we post videos with people talking about their experiences, things like that.

And is that sort of content well received?

We have had hardly any negativity on our actual church page. It’s almost always been positive.

What do you see as the future for social media for people of faith?

There’s going to have to be a decision in the near future. People in churches are going to have to decide whether or not social media is going to be a primary mechanism to advance people into their churches as we advance the gospel – or as a ground for the gospel itself. I don’t see it as a new type of church – I don’t. But I see it as a way to advance the gospel to get people into church. Maybe I’ll change my mind on that at

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some point. But churches all over are going to have to make that decision I think in a few years about whether or not social media can be a kind of church community on its own.

[Social media] gives people a taste of what church is like so that they don’t have to be as scared to come in as they were before. They can get a feel for what the people look like – they’ve seen the pictures, they’ve seen the videos, they know what to expect.

They can come in and more readily accept what the church is doing.

Would you say social media is more or less important than a traditional website?

Probably more important. If you could only have a Facebook or only a website – I’d probably say, well – gosh – that’s hard. I’d probably say only have a Facebook page if you had a lot of people in your church on Facebook. If you didn’t have a ton of people in your church on Facebook, go with a website. If you have a lot of people who are using social media, your church needs to be on social media – it needs to be. You’re losing a lot of ground there by not catalysing those people who are already there.

As a church leader are you consciously and deliberately encouraging your church community to engage with social media?

Yes. We actually, during our church service, put up a slide right before the sermon that says ‘check in on Facebook right now – and tell your friends to go to our website live.revo.church’ and people can watch the sermon live there. So we’re telling people ‘hey, check in right now on Facebook’ – so hopefully out of 300 people there, 20, 30, 40 people will check in and hundreds of people will see ‘wow, my friends are going there – I can watch it right now if I want to’.

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APPENDIX 10: Transcript of interview with Nik Stevenson (Christian, Male) Interviewed in Corby, UK 2 March 2016

Could you introduce yourself , where you’re from and what your role is?

I’m Nik Stevenson, pioneer minister at Oakley Vale. I’ve been here about five years and we are developing, although I’m personally moving jobs in May, we will keep what we’ve developed – which is Digital Saints, which is a digital community who pray together online currently. We currently just do Night Prayer. We’ve just started this month, at the beginning of Lent actually, a good time to do it. So we pray Night Prayer, we use Periscope to begin with. We’re actually questioning whether it’s the best platform at the moment, but it’s a free platform and it was easy to start and didn’t require any equipment, so no investment. So we decided to do that. We had various interactions with folk – some people with prayer requests, other people who are responding to what we are praying, joining in conversation. So it’s interesting. We haven’t got a core group of people yet who are turning up on a regular basis, but I think we probably need to create some other… because Periscope is very instant… we need, maybe, a Facebook group, a website, some other bits and pieces around it so that people can connect more regularly in different ways I think.

So is this an extension of your physical ministry, or is it intended to be something that is further-­‐reaching?

It’s intended really to be separate. Shelley and I when we moved here – because as a pioneer, you’re plonked in a place with no already-­‐established church, you know. It was up to us to find out what God was doing, drum up the deal and develop that into a church community. We started sustaining ourselves by using a Benedictine office of prayer. We found this very useful. So it hasn’t been something that has necessarily spread to the church community – a lot of our community are quite vulnerable, we’ve got adults with learning difficulties, we’ve got young families – it’s not something they’re really keen on. It’s not a problem. We didn’t know if it would develop there, but we still feel this burden to do something with it. And so we wondered about this idea of making it available digitally.

One of the problems of asking people to turn up physically, especially if you’re saying 2 or 3 times a day, that’s impossible for most people. So this concept of a digital community: something that Shelley and I will carry, potentially, very long term. And who knows? It might become part of my employment at some point! Who knows? Or it may dwindle off in 5 years or so, I have no idea. But the intention is that we will create this digital community of folk who meet digitally, pray together, support each other in their walk with God, give themselves a daily rhythm. A new monastic concept really. A new monastic digital community. Potentially meeting maybe biannually physically, but as a kind of celebration and a touching point rather than a regular thing, I think.

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How would people find you and get involved in your prayer community?

We’re out through our networks on Twitter, Facebook and Periscope and currently that’s all there is. There has been some physical advertising within the diocese. If I’m honest, we’ve gone for a soft launch approach – ie we’re just going to do it probably until Easter, and we’re going to work all the bugs out, probably get some different equipment, maybe change the way we stream, and probably go for a hard launch some time between Easter and Pentecost, with more publicity. Shelley’s a communications officer so we can generate publicity when needed, but it seems silly to generate publicity for something that hasn’t really been worked out yet [laughs]. And a lot of social media, a lot of digital stuff does this – it does a soft launch, we’re beta testing essentially. The enthusiastic amateur will join us for now and then once we get some stuff out, there’s a possibility of going out through various media platforms, and getting some stuff out there. I think, you know, most people seem quite supportive of it.

This structure of meeting to pray online – how often is it happening?

Daily. Daily at 9:30 at night. We go on line at 9:20, with an aim of praying the Night Office specifically at 9:30. So there’s a bit of chat, time for people to arrive. It’s kind of peaceful. If I’m feeling so inspired, I might have a thought that we might just throw out there – sometimes there is, sometimes there’s not. Sometimes we just talk about how our day’s been. Being Periscope though, it is quite flexible, so for example we were running late back from a meeting, we stopped the car in a Tesco car park and prayed from there. And people were just as willing to interact with that, so there is something about that flexibility in being able to broadcast from anywhere that we’d probably want to keep.

And talking about that interaction, I’m interested in how people do interact. It sounds like there are elements of quite established tradition in the Benedictine model of praying Night Office, but also the brand spanking newness of Periscope.

How do you see those two extremes working with each other?

There seems to be, in the folks who are joining us, do at least appear – it’s difficult to know – to be more on the Catholic end of the spectrum. And there isn’t, as far as we can work out, there isn’t a lot of any interactive, more traditional, forms of prayer on the Internet. There’s a lot where you can view monasteries… you can view their prayers, you can see them doing it. But the liturgy isn’t provided, or if it is – well, no, I don’t think many places provide the liturgy. Or other people will provide the liturgy but you can’t feel present while it’s happening. So that was one of things we wanted to do.

There is a sense of people wanting to join in. One of the problems of Periscope as well is of course that you’re watching this video, so we’ve got to work out a way of subtitling it so people can join in, for want of a better phrase. So that’s something that we’re working on, because we don’t want people to have to click away or use another device to view the prayers. So, there is some limited interaction. I think that’s something… that’s again why we’re thinking at moving to a different platform, because the interaction is limited at the moment. There are people who say ‘amen’ at the end, there are people who’ve got prayer requests, there are people who are questioning

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what we’re doing or what church we’re from. People who’ve accused us of being Bible bashers at the end, and you’ve thought ‘the description of what you’re joining is fairly obviously Christian and praying, so it’s surprising that you’re confused that we’re mentioning Jesus or the Bible or praying psalms’. That seems surprising to me.

That’s one of the interesting things about Periscope – when you pop up with your live stream, you get a whole heap of people in perhaps without having read the title – just because you’re a live stream. Have you seen any more positive interaction as a result of that?

Yes, there has been some positive interaction. People have asked to be prayed for, people have asked for help and advice, people have joined in with some of the praying – and that’s been good. It’s been fairly minimal to start with. There’s been a little bit of trolling, but having my background in youthwork, you know, people were taking the mick. I was on my own last night – Shelley wasn’t home so I did it on my own. I just said ‘look guys, we’re here to pray – if you want to join us, that would be awesome – if you don’t it’s really not helping others who want to pray’. Not in an aggressive way. They came back a couple of times, and I said ‘look guys, it’s really not helpful to others’. And in the end, they stayed and they put ‘amen’ at the end. I don’t know whether they were being serious or not; I’m not going to take any great spiritual movement in their life from that. But I think that’s the difficulty – that fine line to tread between banning people straight away if they’re a little bit difficult, because I know from St Benny’s there’s a group of people who wouldn’t ordinarily turn up to church and probably our digital community will be of similar people too. So you can’t have a ‘shh, be quiet’ attitude because you’re inviting comment, you’re inviting people to be part – you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth on that, which is interesting to learn.

How would you position an online prayer facility like that? Would you consider it a church? Is it a small group within a church?

I would never want it to become ‘church’ – I think that’s incredibly dangerous. And I would never want to encourage people not to interact physically if it was possible.

Presumably we have people who are isolated for various reasons, whether that be due to mobility issues, mental health issues or it might be the country they’re in – that there aren’t any churches locally. There are all sorts of caveats, but I think on a general basis I would expect this would be a support to their prayer life and something they can get involved with. It’s a dispersed monastic community – it’s an opportunity for people to join together.

It may be that they may gain a lot from it, but if it does develop into a church that would be very long-­‐term down the road and I would feel I would need to hear clearly from God if that was what I was to do. The sense I get at the moment when praying about it and trying to discern the way forwards is that it should be a support to church, because I think it’s dangerous without having a huge amount of physical interaction to know what’s going on with folk. And being pastorally responsible for people who you can’t check up on is interesting – I don’t know.

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I want to unpack the monastic nature of the community – could you expand on that?

Both Shelley and I attend Benedictine abbeys. Shelley goes to a convent in Leicester, I go to an abbey down in Alton. We’ve used the concept and the rule of St Benedict. The church’s name St Benedict’s here after him because we like this concept of being – and our tagline is ‘apprenticeship in community – this idea of trying to foster a community of people and help them how to learn to be community together. That’s fundamentally… that idea of stability is really key. One of the things we’ve found here in Oakley Vale is that kind of monastic flavour has helped us with our willingness to just be here and be hospitable… and be open. And for whatever happens, whether it be house groups or church, whatever group – that comes from the needs of the community, not from our desire to impose a particular desire on folk.

St Benedict’s isn’t the church that I would develop if I had a blank sheet of paper and I would decide about a church I would like to go to. It’s a church that is for the folk here.

It doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy or don’t think it’s amazing. But what would float my boat specifically is not necessarily what we do here. It would be a lot of things, but there’d be differences. But that’s really important for us, the idea that it’s contextual to the place. And that monastic concept of being, praying and discerning… and developing that sense of community is really important to us. We’re part of a few new monastic networks. To be honest, both Shelley and I are from a charismatic evangelical background and on returning to the Anglican church to me, discovering the more Anglo-­‐Catholic side of things… I don’t know whether you have this, but people write books: ‘I get up at four o’clock every morning and read 17 chapters’, you know, ‘and then I’ll write several sermons… that’s just my morning routine, that’s what get’s me going with God’. And you think ‘Crikey, I could never do that!’ Or you try, don’t you, and get halfway through a chapter and fall back to sleep, or you do it for three days and die off.

One of the things we’ve found by agreeing to pray together and having the liturgy set – not that we don’t have extemporary prayer – but there’s something there to focus your mind on. You can just crack on. There’s something about praying the psalms that just connects you with God that in some ways feels effortless … just going through that routine it connects you with God and I think that’s something really special. I could never be that person who has a quiet time that is totally in my head every morning. I need some structure and that’s what this Benedictine office produces for us, and that’s something wonderful.

In your experience of your trial so far, what is the factor that will encourage people to pray? Are people praying the liturgy and then extemporary prayer as well?

I think the opportunity to have prayer requests is very important to them, that degree of interaction. From what I can gauge, the opportunity to join something that already exists is quite nice, to feel they’re being part of something seems to be something they like. Those are the key things. The opportunity to express where they are spiritually or what’s happening with them personally, but then the opportunity to join in with

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something that’s bigger them. And Night Prayer is a great place to start – it’s really nice, it’s calming, really easy. I love it. And it’s quite short too, which has helped.

Do you think Christians should be praying in a public setting like social media?

I think so. I think you need to be careful that you’re not preaching when you’re praying and that it’s not a political or spiritual or religious statement mocked up as a prayer. I think that could be dangerous. And ironically that’s what they were accusing the Church of England of doing [with the ‘Pray for Dawkins’ prayer]. Shelley knows the guy who wrote the prayer. It’s no different to praying for David Bowie’s family or whoever.

I don’t care what you believe – I’m going to pray for you. An atheist is the only person who’d get upset by that. We have friends from a variety of different faiths: Jewish, Muslim, Hindu. If I said I was going to pray for them because their family was having a difficult time, they’d appreciate it.

Do you think prayers can be offensive?

I think people can be offended by them. I don’t think prayer in itself is offensive. I think the folk who are getting offended by it are probably looking for something to be offended by. I think you need to be tactful. I would be careful about praying for specific outcomes. I remember, it reminds me… I’m a chaplain of our local rugby club, there’s a group of guys who get together. Somebody was saying ‘would you pray for us to win on Saturday?’. Well, no! Because what if there’s a chaplain on the other team? Some [kind] of prayer contest to see who’s got the better hotline to God?

You don’t need the rugby ball in the end, do you?

Exactly! So… issues like healing, war, political things… I think are very dangerous and you need to be very careful. A very good example might be the situation in Calais. If I was going to pray about it, you’d pray they are able to find a home, to find a country that accepts them, they are able to flee from war, and that you’d give them peace and they’d have somewhere nice to live. Although I would say it – I think the UK should let them in – I probably wouldn’t pray it. When you start praying things, you’re almost suggesting that God agrees with you. And that’s rather sticky ground. I might say wildly political and controversial statements on Twitter, but to include them in prayer… you’d have to be careful.

Do you think Christians are reluctant to pray on Twitter because of that potential for criticism?

I suppose some people might. I think it’s all about what your percentage of what you’re doing is. I don’t know how I’d feel about someone who was constantly praying for this, praying for that – not that that would be bad – but if that was their Twitter feed all the time, I’d wonder where is the opportunity for social interaction. They could be saying they’re praying for five things a day, and then the rest of their Twitter feed is comment, and other things and links and pictures and everything else – that wouldn’t be so bad.

But I think – Shelley’s a bit of a social media expert – and she was saying when she was

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teaching some groups at church – about the percentage of self-­‐promotion, which potentially praying can be seen as, it’s important that your percentage of self-­‐ promotion is probably 25 to 30% max. The other stuff needs to be commenting or linking or helping or stuff that’s interesting to most people, otherwise you’re going to narrow down the number of people who are going to look at you. I would see it no different to if you look down the list of church activities – if it’s all church service, Bible study, prayer group. If there’s no toddler club, you know, no youth club, no everything else – if everything is focused on church community and people who are already in church community, and new Christians, and not focusing on serving the community I think that’s a disparity – and the same goes for your Twitter feed, Facebook page, whatever. You need to make sure there’s a balance there between serving the community and devoting your life to God, praying, and so on. A bit of balance.

Thinking about your personal social media presence – do you achieve that balance?

Ha ha ha! No, I don’t strike that balance at all! I don’t pray that often. I suppose the only promotional stuff is publicising what Digital Saints are doing. I find it hard to get involved in social media sometimes, I suppose. I’ve just started using some tools, like Hootsuite, to start scheduling some stuff. Probably because I’m studying at the moment while I’m working, I think once I move and become a curate it’ll be a little bit easier – I’ll have a bit more time. So I’m kind of resigned to not doing very much between now and when we move. Post-­‐June, I think. I’m going to make it part of our new routine in our new place to have some time to do it, and do it seriously. I think it is something I’m aware that … you know, I’m of the generation where this thing came in during our adult life – my social life is already set up and I have circles of friends. We did email each other at university, but you know! Most of us were sat in computer labs.

We weren’t at home on laptops. There were a few posh kids with laptops, but most of us used a Hotmail account that we went to the computer labs to use. But I am aware if we want to connect with the next generation, this is something we need to learn. It’s like a photograph, the telephone, or the printing press – any cultural revolution that can take place with any sort of media. You need to get on board… to be part of it.

Do you think there’s a space for the sacred regardless of the method of delivery?

Oh yeah, definitely. And I think people will continue to desire. The advent of the Kindle has not killed book sales at all. It’s killed a specific type of book sales. Social media may reduce the necessity for many meetings at the church, so prayer groups and stuff that always happens physically could happen virtually. And it might be better. They’re always the poorest attended of any group. So maybe there are things that can happen virtually that will actually increase [participation]. I think, certainly, I would say that weekly services need to happen – for me – there’s a need for people to get together physically. I’m hoping to do my dissertation actually on the possibility of a digital Eucharist. Theologically, it’s really not an issue. If you start really talking about what’s going on – if my bit of bread is here and your bit of bread is in Devon, for example, if I pray – it’s not beyond God to bless them both at the same time! As with the wine. Not a problem. But then there are all the – certainly in the Church of England – canon law

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issues, all that sort of thing. Is this communion by extension, is it going to stop people going to church?

That moment of unity – communion effectively – social media has a role in achieving that across geographical boundaries?

I think so. For me, communion is something that is done with people you already have a connection with, or should be ideally. There are people who turn up randomly for it, and that’s OK – it’s between them and God. But nine times out of ten, it’s not only about us connecting with God but on a personal level, us connecting as a community with God. So you’d have a group when you’ve got to that point, it wouldn’t be a totally public thing. A private group, or at least an invited-­‐only group.

Thinking about other things that Christians do for a moment – is there a role for evangelism, outreach, teaching, mission on social media?

I think ‘classic’ evangelism on social media, you’re in danger of sounding like the bloke with the war-­‐horn on the corner of the street. Although it has produced fruit, I think people are weary of that. People tend not to be willing to engage with that on a regular basis. However, there are different ways in which you can do those kind of things by looking at ‘thought for the day’ ideas. Even just thinking about what Jesus has said about particular issue. If there’s an issue in the news, you could comment on it using biblical reference. I think that’s totally cool. I think publicising what the church is doing in a positive way to serve the community, serve the poor in their area – I think that’s really good. There may be people who come to faith that way – it would be interesting to see. But I think you need to be aware of you’d be perceived and imagine anything you do as being in a public context. So are these things that you’d be willing to have published in a newspaper or shout in a market square. If they’re not – well, you’re essentially broadcasting whether you mean to or not. Shelley and I met in radio – would you be prepared to say it on air, if it was an appropriate part of a radio show?

Probably not. I probably wouldn’t do ‘classic’ evangelism in that kind of setting, because I don’t think – people may have responded to it 20 to 30 years ago – but I don’t think they respond to it now. They feel like they’re being preached to.

So more relational?

I think relational. You know. Like I do in Oakley Vale physically. When I’m talking to the mums at Coffee Stop, we talk about the reality of life. But for me, Jesus is very much a reality of my life, and I’ll talk to them about my faith as a reality. Not as an extra level that I have that makes me superior to them. But as fundamentally a part of who I am.

So I’ll offer prayer, I’ll offer guidance. People will say ‘what shall I do?’ and I’ll say ‘Jesus had some real wisdom on that, he said this…’, you know. I’m reticent sometimes to say ‘the Bible says’, because I think that’s sometimes a bit of a red flag… But most people are open to what Jesus says. Most people are quite amenable to Jesus. Maybe not so Christians! So if you ground stuff in his teaching, most people are willing to accept it.

Do you think Christians convey effectively who Jesus is on social media?

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I read a book recently by Shane Claiborne which is ‘Red Letter Christianity’ – basically doing stuff Jesus told us to do. And ‘Jesus For President’ is another good one, which has a similar take. I think one of the problems that Christianity suffers from is that it gets tied up in a lot of doctrinal issues and we forget about what Jesus calls us to do. A good example of that is the debate around homosexuality – it doesn’t matter which side you fall on, this should be a sidenote to first loving and serving our community. The doctrinal issue of whether to allow gay marriage or accepting homosexuality to a greater or lesser extent in our church should be a sidenote, not the headline. We shouldn’t be spending a lot of time on it. Because I think that skews people’s image of us as Christians to be judgemental and prescriptive about life. There are some things that we can probably all agree on – not killing people, not stealing stuff. You know, most of this stuff people agree. The contentious issues – just don’t go there. Somebody once asked in a public setting for someone’s opinion on homosexuality and their response was ‘my response might have great possibility of hurting you one way or the other, depending on what side of the fence you’re on – I don’t want to do that in a public forum, I’d rather have a conversation with you so I can make sure you’re understanding where I’m coming from, because it’s a really sensitive issue’. I thought ‘that’s great’. I think the mistake that – not all, but some – Christians make is lacking a loving response. There were those bands when I was a teenager: What Would Jesus Do? Maybe – this is cheesy – it’s now What Would Jesus Tweet? in response.

Would Jesus be on Twitter?

Yeah – I totally think he would be! I mean he was with the people more than he was in the synagogue. So I think he would be. Jesus tended to respond to direct questions.

The only people Jesus really ever judged or criticised were religious authorities. He rarely criticised anyone who wasn’t professing to be part of the Church – well, the Jewish community. So I think that’s maybe a good model for us to follow.

Finally, what’s your hope for Digital Saints?

I think for us, I would hope that it could become a resource for other people. I’d hope that enough people come on board – and maybe more talented people – that would mean I don’t necessarily have to drive it all the time. Not that I don’t want to be involved, but I think this needs to be borne across a range of people who can contribute. I do not want it to become the Nick and Shelley Show. I think that would be terrible. I genuinely hope for a community of folk who can come together, to share this opportunity to reach out through prayer. And that it would become a sense of a community. I would love in a few years time to get together – to say ‘see you at Greenbelt’ or to book a particular place or retreat centre to meet up at one weekend.

That would be great. And I would hope that it becomes a resource for Christians to resource their relationship with God in the same way that a church can. I would see it as something that works alongside church. For some people it may be church, for some people who for social or cultural reasons cannot access another church. But I would never want to encourage people to use it as their sole form of church if they had the opportunity, because I think that would be dangerous.

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