There are privacy worries too, as people share some of their most intimate life details with their spiritual communities.
“Our hope is that one day people will host religious services in virtual reality spaces as well, or use augmented reality as an educational tool to teach their children the story of their faith,” she said.įacebook’s summit, which resembled a religious service, included testimonials from faith leaders about how Facebook helped them grow during the pandemic. “Faith organizations and social media are a natural fit because fundamentally both are about connection,” Ms.
Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s chief operating officer, shared an online resource hub with tools to build congregations on the platform. Last month, Facebook executives pitched their efforts to religious groups at a virtual faith summit. “I just want people to know that Facebook is a place where, when they do feel discouraged or depressed or isolated, that they could go to Facebook and they could immediately connect with a group of people that care about them,” Nona Jones, the company’s director for global faith partnerships and a nondenominational minister, said in an interview.
Over the past week, President Biden has criticized the company for its role in the spread of false information about Covid-19 vaccines. Facebook has faced scrutiny for its role in the country’s growing disinformation crisis and breakdown of societal trust, especially around politics, and regulators have grown concerned about its outsize power. The company’s effort to court faith groups comes as it is trying to repair its image among Americans who have lost confidence in the platform, especially on issues of privacy. But many religious groups see new opportunity to spiritually influence even more people on Facebook, the world’s largest and arguably most influential social media company. Virtual religious life is not replacing in-person community anytime soon, and even supporters acknowledge the limits of an exclusively online experience. It is developing new products, including audio and prayer sharing, aimed at faith groups. The company aims to become the virtual home for religious community, and wants churches, mosques, synagogues and others to embed their religious life into its platform, from hosting worship services and socializing more casually to soliciting money.
Now, after the coronavirus pandemic pushed religious groups to explore new ways to operate, Facebook sees even greater strategic opportunity to draw highly engaged users onto its platform. But the company has been cultivating partnerships with a wide range of faith communities over the past few years, from individual congregations to large denominations, like the Assemblies of God and the Church of God in Christ. “Together we are discovering what the future of the church could be on Facebook.”įacebook, which recently passed $1 trillion in market capitalization, may seem like an unusual partner for a church whose primary goal is to share the message of Jesus. “They are teaching us, we are teaching them,” he said. Collier could not share many specifics - he had signed a nondisclosure agreement.