Observing a “fast” from Facebook and Twitter and even email is becoming a popular spiritual practice — at Lent, for example — as shown by this National Public Radio story from March 2009.

Observing a “fast” from Facebook and Twitter and even email is becoming a popular spiritual practice — at Lent, for example — as shown by this Star-Ledger story from March 2009.

In his message for the Catholic Church’s World Communications Day of 2009, Pope Benedict XVI also cautioned that if “virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence, and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development.”

Read an Oct 10, 2009, Houston Chronicle article about pastors encouraging their congregations to tweet during sermons.

Read a column by Henry G. Brinton, pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia, about social networking’s effect on religion. The column appeared June 20, 2010, in USA Today.

Read “Why I lead an online synagogue,” an Oct. 4, 2010, column at CNN.com’s Belief Blog by Rabbi Laura Baum, head of OurJewishCommunity.org.

Read “Facebook rules for pastors,” an Oct. 5, 2010, post at the blog of The Christian Century magazine by Adam J. Copeland, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hallock, Minn.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued guidelines for the use of social networks among Catholics.

Read the text of Pope Benedict’s message for the 45th annual World Communications Day, titled “Truth, Proclamation and Authenticity of Life in the Digital Age.” The Pope said new media and social networks offered “a great opportunity,” but he warned of the risks of having more virtual friends than real ones, saying that “it is always important […]