Church and the Faith in the Digital Age Pt. 2

In the previous installment, we have taken a look back at the status quo, on how the Millennials and the Generation Z’s are taking less and less effort to attend church or be a part of a congregation. Now, we’ll look into how the church responds to the rising problem.

Efforts of  the Church

These efforts include a church set in virtual reality. Pastor DJ Soto’s Virtual Reality Church performs what they claim to be baptisms in the digital platform. Although it raises some concerns on the legitimacy of the action, Pastor DJ Soto sees it differently. In an interview, he claims that the symbolism of baptism is directly felt even in the virtual realm.

Even the oldest church in the world, The Vatican, is trying its best to keep up with the times. In light of the massive success of the game Pokemon Go, it has inspired the Vatican to allow players to embark on a spiritual journey in a faith-based mobile game called Follow JC Go! In it, players will ‘collect’ the characters they encounter by correctly answering questions about the Catholic religion.

It is reported that Pope Francis approved of the game, and had commended it for its utilization of technology in an effort to reach a younger audience. The game was launched last year for iOS and Android.

A Call For Theological Reformation

It could be said that maybe the younger generation has adopted this ‘know-it-all’ attitude and would choose not to defer to the older generations for guidance about how to go about life. But in a closer perspective, it could be said that maybe one of the reasons why these younger people do not go to them anymore is because of their outdated ideologies that are no longer fit in the times.

The institution is often referred to as rigid and unyielding, and at a certain point, it is what the world needed when it was clamoring for a moral compass. In truth, that has not changed but the search for the truth and meaning in life requires conformity to the needs of the now. This is the time and age to re-evaluate the morals and ideals that the churches stand for, and that might work better than Alexa playing saying grace.

What can you say about the approach they came up with?