I recently heard about an IBM beta project called “Many Eyes”. This site allows users to upload data and analyze it through several different visual formats. As someone said to me, make sure and leave plenty of time free before visiting the site - you will be fascinated by all the information.
While all the data there is fantastic, two particular sets were most intriguing to me: The Words in 2nd Timothy and Christian Church Membership by Denomination. Both of these data sets can be found in the search results located at http://services.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/browse/data?q=Christianity.
Words in 2nd Timothy
In particular, the Words in 2nd Timothy, viewed through a Tag Cloud were really interesting. Through the use of a Tag Cloud, different words that reoccur throughout a text are emphasized according to the count of references. For example, because Christ, God, Jesus and Lord appear 13 to 17 times, they are, by far, the most prominent. But how some other words referenced in comparison with others, such as message (5 times), faith (8 occurrences), truth (6) and ashamed (4) can also be rather insightful.
Church Membership Denominations
Check out the Church Membership by Denominations as a bubble chart. Everybody knows the Roman Catholic Church is massive (though admittedly, visualizing membership in this manner is still clarifying just how large the population is), but there are a number of smaller denominations that I had never even heard of represented as well. Some of these lesser-known denominations still have millions of members.
After looking at this information and comparing the data through several different visualizations, it was clear to me that information technology can also be used to analyze the data of Christianity. Undoubtedly, there are scholars and theologians doing far more impressive work with technology in this area, but the fact that the internet continues to extend resources such as this to profoundly simplify data analysis can have far-reaching impact. I have no doubt my Bible study group will be impressed when I bring the Tag Cloud of our next reading with me to share!
Peace,
- IT Servant