A casual study in Facebook religious views
Ok. I’ll admit it. I’m a little bit of a Facebook junkie. Yes, I teach Pilates, volunteer at the preschool, facilitate youth groups, and raise two kids. And yes, I am 35 years old. But still, I find time to peruse Facebook on a daily basis. Much to my husband’s dismay, I will sit on the couch glued to my laptop “wasting time” on Facebook.
For those of you unfamiliar with Facebook (which from here on out I will fondly refer to as FB), it is a networking website where you can connect with people you know, people you once knew, or people you would like to know (I guess). You must send a “friend request” or accept one, to view people’s profiles.
Don’t feel bad if you have no idea what I’m talking about. I too was a FB virgin until the teens in my youth group encouraged me to join so that we could communicate about our meetings conveniently. They were sure that I would be the oldest person on FB and discouraged me from being “one of those losers who puts tons of pictures of their kids up”. And 469 “friends” later, I am one of those losers.
Anyway, what does any of this have to do with religion?
When you fill out your profile, you can be as vague or as detailed as you like about your stats. Hometown, Relationship status, political views, etc. So a few days ago I noticed what one of my “friends” had put for religious views. Jedi in training. Funny. So I decided to look at what others wrote. The majority seem to leave their religious views blank. Others just give a straight answer. Here is a sample of the more creative ones:
Surely we’re not alone in this big universe! All modes of transportation lead to the same destination The Jew Crew To each his/her own No time for church The matrix of leadership Zen Catholic Virtue The Grateful Dead Jewish hybrid Hebrew school dropout Go Jews I believe in mankind Depends on the day I’m a big fan of the sun Druish Open minded Jewish - I converted Ultra-violet Jew -ish. My parents told me so. L’chaim God is for suckers I believe in a higher power ummmmmmmThanks for reading. Gotta go check FB…


Kim Wallis, 33, currently facilitates Rosh Chodesh groups for Jewish teenage girls in the St. Louis area. A graduate of the University of Miami, she worked in asset management for several years and now teaches Pilates part-time. Originally from Chicago, Kim is starting to feel at home in St. Louis with her husband, toddler daughter and infant son.
Some of those are really good! I’ve noticed a lot of my Christian friends also have some really creative descriptions of their religious views (”The Way,” “Jesus is my homeboy,” “Christian - crazy bible thumping variety,” etc.)
So fun, Kim! I too am a… oh, let’s call it a satisfied Facebook user. You inspired me to take a look at my Mormon friends’ “religious views” category. Interestingly, it looks like the over-30 crowd tends to call ourselves “Latter-day Saint,” while the younger crowd uses “Mormon.” Hmmm, I may need to post on this…
Kim, What a delightful and insightful blog. I couldn’t help laughing at those answers. I think there is a future philosopher somewhere in your group.