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Religious groups vie for Internet space in domain name grab

By Daniel Burke

The Christian Century
Thu, Jun. 21 2012 10:37 AM MST

For the first time in its history, the international nonprofit that
doles out generic Internet domain names such as “.com” and “.edu” will
allow more specific web address extensions like “.church.”

Hundreds
of companies, Internet entrepreneurs and cities submitted nearly 2,000
applications, seeking the right to own everything from .app to .zulu,
the Britain-based International Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers announced last Wednesday (June 14).

ICANN called the
expansion “a new era of online innovation” that will bring “new
businesses, new marketing tools, new jobs, and new ways to link
communities and share information.”

But corporations like Amazon
and Apple are not the only applicants for coveted online addresses.
Religious power players such as the Vatican, the Mormon Church and the
American Bible Society are in the mix as well.

At a time when
answers to life’s questions seem just a mouse click away, the online
land grab could become a lucrative investment for savvy spiritual
leaders, said Heidi Campbell, an associate professor at Texas A&M
University.

Nearly 8 in 10 religious Americans are active
Internet users, according to a 2011 study by the Pew Research Center’s
Internet and American Life Project. And 69 percent of the estimated
335,000 churches in the United States have a website, according to a
separate study conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religious
Research.

In other words, there are scores of spiritual seekers online and millions of websites competing for their attention.

“Religious
groups clearly see the importance and potential profitability—in
ideological or financial terms—to defining the Internet or web space
in this way,” said Campbell, an expert on how religious groups interact
online.

The applications don’t come cheap. ICANN charges an
$185,000 application fee and $25,000 yearly for the right to own and
operate the registry. The Vatican paid $740,000 to apply for .Catholic
in four languages. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bid
on .LDS and .Mormon.

Other religious domain names applied for
include: .Christmas, .Faith, .Islam, .Kosher, .Yoga, and .CBN, the
initials of Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.

With
more than 100 million “.coms” crowding the web, most Bible- related
addresses have been claimed, leaving little room for new websites to
spread the Word online, said American Bible Society spokesman Geoffrey
Morin.

The domain name .BIBLE would open vast tracts of Internet
real estate for churches and companies that want to associate
themselves with Scripture.

“Opening this realm gives us a new
digital mission territory to bring people the Bible,” Morin said. “It’s
where millions of people are looking for answers right now.”

Likewise,
Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for
Social Communications, has said .Catholic will help his church deliver
its message online.

But only entities, parishes and religious
orders formally recognized under canon law would be allowed to use
.Catholic, “so people online—Catholics and non-Catholics—will know
a site is authentically Catholic,” Tighe told Catholic News Service.

At
a time when the Vatican is battling liberal theologians and American
nuns over the definition of modern Catholicism, .Catholic would also
allow the church hierarchy to monitor and control its brand—just as
Apple is attempting to do with .Apple.

Latter-day Saint leaders
made a similar argument in their ICANN applications, saying .Mormon and
.LDS would be “highly restricted” to official church and
church-affiliated entities. Like the Vatican, Mormon leaders carefully
protect their public image and warily watch dissenters.

Mormons
rely on LDS leaders for “religious instruction, personal direction, and
administrative instructions,” according to the church’s application.
It’s essential that Mormons know that such information comes from a
“trusted online source,” the church said.

LifeChurch.tv, a
multisite megachurch and technocentric ministry headquartered in Edmond,
Okla., applied to create a more open-ended registry at .church.

As
with its popular Bible app and video sermon series, the tech savvy
church wants to put digital tools in the hands of congregations—
Christian or not—said Bobby Gruenewald, LifeChurch’s “innovation
leader.”

“We do lot of things and invest a lot of time and money
for the good of the global church,” Gruenewald said, adding that there
will be a minimal fee for .church users.

As long as a proposed
.church address is not vulgar, illegal or a trademarked name, LifeChurch
will likely allow it, he said. Their application broadly defines church
as any group that “shares similar religious beliefs.” Ministries and
companies such as pew makers will also be allowed, according to
Gruenewald.

Still, the megachurch’s application raises thorny
questions, said Scott Thumma, an expert on religion and the Internet at
the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

For example, how
will LifeChurch decide who gets in-demand names like
FirstBaptist.church? And what happens if conservative churches object to
sharing web space with FlyingSpaghettiMonster.church?

“With
something as divisive and diverse as what it means to be a church and a
religious community, to allow a successful evangelical congregation all
of that control seems to be inviting difficulties,” Thumma said.

LifeChurch
has secular competition as well. A for-profit company called Holly
Fields Inc. has also applied for .church. ICANN is soliciting public
comments and will roll out the new domain names in 2013. Under ICANN
rules, LifeChurch and Holly Fields may have to work out an agreement.

Gruenewald
said he is encouraged that many of the public comments thus far favor
LifeChurch, but there is still a lengthy process ahead.

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