Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Internet Dating: A Tool To Build Up the Church?


In 2001 the online dating entrepreneur eHarmony.com boosted of having successful relationships leading to 10,000 marriages in a single year. Online dating was the fad of 2001, eight years later the meager 3% of Americans who searched for a relationship has grown to over 30%. Worldwide the online dating trend has been catching on; people are not looking to the bars night clubs to hook up; they are making honest profile to form real relationships. China has seen the largest growth of 60% annually; with a net worth of over $81 million dollars in 2008. In the US the reports of profits for online dating in 2007 were nearly $900 million dollars. The US has experienced a growth of 16% annually revealing that 90 million people are seeking their relationships online. CNN news calls online dating a sign of the times; claiming people want less first dates and want to have a wider range of people who share similarities, not wasting money on those not worth-while. An interesting trend that has arisen from this dating phenomenon is a return of the idea of match maker with values cultural background and religion leading the list of qualities for a relationship. JDate (for Jewish Singles), Christian Mingle, and Christian Match are the top three most popular website for 2009 dating. The Catholic Church has always encouraged the faithful to date within their religion. During the twentieth century these views were revoked by most as archaic and out dated. Love at first site became the most popular trend, which spiraled into the U.S. statistics that 50% of marriages end in divorce and 97% will be unhappy. Ignoring values, faith, and addictions Americans fell prey to infatuation, 2009 is revealing that people are returning to love. Couples are learning about one another and taking time to make sure that at the base level they share the same core values. Catholic dating website have exploded over the past eight years; Anthony Buono the president of Ave Maria Singles promises “Hope” with the mission of his site “offer a service solely dedicated to helping faithful, practicing Catholics find their future spouse and help them become a better follower of Christ.” Fr. Benedict Groschel has commended Buono in his work and has endorsed the AMS website as great medium for Catholics to build up the Church through solid marriages. I firmly believe that this return to principles prior to relationships is going to help the Church, and save the family. Marriage is built on the graces of God, and the vow of two people from this love abounds. I know that sometimes every relationship goes through a rough spot, but with God and share principles we can build up the Church and have happier families tomorrow.
Ave Maria Singles

3 comments:

  1. Dear CF,

    It would be very kind if you would link to/blogroll/follow our blog:

    www.catholicheritage.blogspot.com

    God bless you!

    St. Conleth's Catholic Heritage Association (Ireland)

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  2. great tips on chrisitan dating thanks!

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  3. I likey. It is very true, in my case. I am actually on okcupid and ChristianSingles.com. I have to admit, not many young people are on ChristianSingles but okcupid is pretty awesome because there are people my age and I can filter by religion. It makes my life easier because I won't risk compromising my values for a non-Christian I'm attracted to. It gets rid of a lot of disappointment. I, of course, look in "real life" too. Not everything great is online, ha.

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