It might surprise you to learn that social networking websites — which promote interaction among users, along with camaraderie, fun, and friendship — can enhance and even strengthen community experiences for the nearly two-thirds of Americans who use the Web for spiritual or religious purposes.
    According to Monis Rahman, CEO of Naseeb Networks, provider of the Muslim site Naseeb.com, the Web is an ideal forum for connecting faith-based groups because it provides a fantastic medium for geographically dispersed communities. Members of Naseeb.com (Arabic for “destiny”) and similar sites for other faiths (such as Xianz.com for Christians or Shmooze.com for Jewish users) now have an opportunity to make new friends, forge business networks, share music, and even find romance with others who share their faith. These sites can help users locate a place of worship, participate in prayer groups, and safely express their beliefs with like-minded individuals — and they also can provide a window to experience other faiths.
    Some websites cater to a specific niche. For example, the nearly three million members of CarePages.com use its services to bring spirituality into the healing process during illness or injury. In sharing health information, prayers, and even healing recipes, users receive support in the often overwhelming struggle to care for loved ones. As CarePages user JoDee Manning notes: “What helps me is at least to know that so many people out there send thoughts and prayers. It seems to give me hope and keep me going.”
    If you haven’t experienced faith-based social networking, try logging on to one of these popular sites — the results might surprise you:

http://youthroots.faithstreams.com — for youth group leaders and their students
http://spaces.muxlim.com — the “premier Muslim social networking portal”
naseeb.com — promotes friendship in a community of young, educated Muslims
xianz.com — for Christians; calls itself the “faith-based MySpace”
praize.com — for Christians; offers links to other sites, plus “My Praize”
Carepages.com — offers support to those who care for ill or injured loved ones
koolanoo.com — calls itself the “world’s first Jewish social network”
shmooze.com — Jewish social network for making friends and business connections, collaborating on projects, and more
dharmanet.org — resource for Buddhist study: learning about meditation, wisdom, and compassionate action

Allison Balas