The Interwebs are @aleksk’s antfarm once again: Did the Internet make you an #atheist? The BBC wants to know…

My name is Elizabeth Ann Duffy, and I’m working for a new BBC Radio 4 technology series called ‘The Digital Human’. Presented by Guardian technology writer Aleks Krotoski, we examine how the evolution and spread of digital technology is changing the way we live, work and communicate.

For our fourth programme, our producers would like to explore the impact of the development that the internet has had on religions. Of course the internet has enabled a greater exchange of ideas and information, which has challenged traditional religious authorities. There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence of an increase in the number of atheists since creation of the internet. However, there are very few recorded personal accounts.

We would like to interview an atheist who had grown up in a faith community, but chose to leave religion because of the internet. We would be very grateful if they would share their story with us and how they think their lives may have been different if they didn’t have a means to access the wealth of online information or communicate with other atheists.

We’ll be recording in the next two weeks, and I can give more details to people regarding studio locations and interview slots on request. If any would like to listen to our first programme they can find it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvlft

via BBC Radio 4 request.

Comments

One response to “The Interwebs are @aleksk’s antfarm once again: Did the Internet make you an #atheist? The BBC wants to know…”

  1. Dave Walker

    I wish her luck with this, and quietly suspect she’s unlikely to get many responses from anyone older than their teens…

    The Internet’s a great source of material for discussion in this area, of course, but I would be surprised if it did more than encourage people to go and look things up – which, of course, is easier to do online than otherwise – so it may well have reduced the time necessary for people to reach the conclusions they’re at, but not much more.

    There’s also some irony in that some of the BBC’s own best programmes on religious history and analysis is now only available on YouTube, owing to licensing restrictions – I hope they don’t take it down…

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