In an effort to encourage today's hip youngsters to go back to church, a group of evangelical Protestant churches in Germany announced its plan to provide free and unlimited Wi-Fi to churchgoers. Dubbed as "GodSpot", the service is ecumenical by design and placed in areas where there is a large population of atheists and agnostics.
The Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Oberlausitz (EKBO) from East Germany is set to provide free internet service to more than 3,000 churches and religious buildings across the region.
For those who worry about their online security, EKBO assures that Godspot is secure, and it will not collect any information from users. It can also be used by worshippers inside the buildings as well as people who are passing by. Users don't have to register for anything to use the service, as per a report from Quartz.
After connecting to Godspot, users are redirected to a landing page that shows information about the church and its history. Also, the service's home page contains topics about "faith and life." Developers say the service will not bombard users with advertising or any unnecessary information.
As of now, Godspot is available in more than 220 churches in Berlin and Brandenberg, such as the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Charlottenburg and the French Friedrichstadt Church in Gendarmenmarkt.
Testing one of the first #godspot today :D pic.twitter.com/2hRfEolUbN
— Sarah (@sarsommer) June 21, 2016
Interestingly, Pope Francis described the Internet as "a gift from God." He said that during his World Communications Day message in 2014.
"The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity," the pontiff said in celebration of 48th World Communications Day
According to Global Christian Center, there's a growing number of Americans who use the Internet. In addition, research shows millions are using the digital space to get in touch with God and strike up relationships with fellow Christians.
A study from Pew Internet and American Life Project revealed 27% of Internet users have gotten religious or spiritual information online at one point or another. The same study also showed that more people have received religious or spiritual information online compare to users who have gambled online, used Internet-based dating sites or traded stocks online.
Additionally, 27% percent of Religious Internet users said connecting to cyberspace helped them in their faith, only 2% said the Internet is a major part of their practice of faith.
