Religion vs Religion -on social media

In today’s society you see that there are more people open about what they believe in. Though the freedom of having an opinion is a positive, it could also be a negative.

Pastor Bill Whitford of the First Baptist Church of Calumet City in Illinois sees religion on social media as a necessity, especially in current times.

“Social media should serve as a means of connection among church members and others interested in the teachings of that particular church and religion and should serve as a means of concentrating on maintaining a person’s spiritual life and development when actual in-person activities that would help this concentration are impractical or impossible to engage in,” he said.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Shackleford agrees. “I feel like every religion has a right to be on social media, but it doesn’t have to be heavily present,” she said.

People have a right to share their beliefs, but do not need to be forceful with people who don’t.

“I don’t like it when people try to push their religion onto others. It’s annoying and it really makes people uncomfortable. If they aren’t part of your religion or don’t want to be, stop trying to force them. It’s not your decision to make,” said sophomore Brianna Manual.

Pastor Bill agrees.

“I become deeply grieved, especially when I see people trying to influence their beliefs on others. I believe social media can serve as a good platform for a decent respectful conversation focused on issues related to personal faith and what goes into that personal faith. However, it has been my experience that these types of conversations often degenerate into name-calling and other disrespectful, impolite, and sometimes even degrading conversations,” he said.

There is a difference between being open about what you believe in and trying to force people into your own beliefs. On social media, we need to see the difference.

Has this happened to you? What do you think? Let us know in the comments!