Faith-based restrictions on the internet and media are common in majority Muslim countries. In the United States we highly value our lack of restrictions however should we be more restrictive? In today’s internet children can be exposed to many explicit and dark things at the click of a button. Being exposed to explicit content at a young age can cause developmental issues. Having a way to restrict this content by allowing religion to decide what is “virtuous” content is beneficial in the sense that it can remove a lot of harmful content.
Furthermore the argument can be made that the internet can be very harmful to society and religion. More and more people are facing questions about religion with access to the internet and thus a large network of opinions. Restricting religious expression on the internet allows people in the same area, rather than in the same globe, to continue to share a strong faith and strengthen society.
However there are also benefits to religious expression on the internet. The internet can be used to find like-minded people and religious resources to strengthen one’s faith. Furthermore, if someone was drifting away from their faith and they found a strong faith-based spokesperson on social media it may bring them back to the faith.
There is no ideal amount of regulation of freedom of religious expression because every religion is different. Some branches of religions have very strict interpretations of their faith and do not want their followers seeking out new interpretations and ideas. Whereas other religions see it as a tool for their followers to strengthen their faith. Personally I believe there should be no restrictions on freedom of religious expression so that everyone has access to the same information, not that strangers on the internet are spouting out perfect information. However, everyone should have the right to browse the religious content they need and have the autonomy to make decisions regarding their faith with that information.
