WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- God trumps money online, a study released Sunday found, as more adult Americans use the Internet for religious purposes than for gambling, banking or trading stocks.
One out of four adult American Internet users, roughly 28 million, have sought out religious or spiritual information online, according to a study released Sunday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Each day, more than 3 million U.S. adults find religious information online, up from 2 million last year.
But U.S. churches and synagogues are unlikely to empty out any time soon, said report author Elena Larsen, as Web surfers tend to use the Internet for solitary activities like research rather than joining chat rooms or other communal activities.
"Almost all of them already belong to some sort of congregation," Larsen said. "They're not replacing things people do in groups."
Those engaged in religious activities online are more likely to search for educational or reference material (69 percent) or research other faiths (50 percent) than offer spiritual advice through e-mail (35 percent) or seek it out (21 percent), the study found.
Those most active online are also most active offline in their congregations, Larsen said.
Internet religion seekers are more likely to belong to an organization like a church or synagogue and attend services weekly than the population as a whole, and are more likely to describe their religious faith as "very strong," the report said. Eighty-six percent said they prayed or meditated every day.
The Internet is not likely to change the views of the 14 percent of U.S. population with no religious affiliation, Larsen said.
"It's supplementing, it's augmenting" users' religious lives, she said.
Many turned to Net after September 11
While Americans flocked to churches and synagogues after the September 11 attacks, many also turned to their computers.
One out of four U.S. Internet users sought out information on Islam online after the attacks, the report said, and 41 percent said they sent or received e-mail prayer requests. Seven percent contributed to charities online.
Members of less popular faiths said the Internet allows them to stay in touch with others who share their beliefs.
While 62 percent said they believed the availability of religious information online encourages tolerance, 53 percent said they thought it made it easier for fringe groups to hurt people.
The two views do not contradict each other, Larsen said.
"People are saying there's good information there that can promote tolerance, but on the other hand there's bad information to gain control over people," she said. "What they have is a belief that content can change people."
Religion trumps sex too?
Religious studies are more popular than other online activities such as banking, gambling and stock trading among U.S. adult Internet users, the report said.
While direct comparisons were impossible because they were the subject of different surveys, Larsen said all three financial activities have been tried by under 20 percent of the population, while 25 percent said they had used the Internet for religious purposes.
And sex? According to an earlier Pew study, only 14 percent said they visited "adult" Web sites, but Larsen said she didn't put much stock in that answer.
"We've got what we call a severe social desirability effect there," she said. "It's hard to get people to admit on the phone, and possibly to a woman interviewer that they go to an adult site."
The study was based on a survey of 500 Internet users who said they get religious information online during July and August, combined with other telephone surveys taken before and after. It has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.