How evangelicals are using digital surveillance to target the unconverted
The hot new thing in proselytizing is an app that allows Christian conservatives to collect data on whole neighborhoods of potential converts.
The New Republic
The future of proselytizing – and surveillance – has arrived. An app called Bless Every Home, which has been backed by some of the biggest names in evangelical circles, is mapping the personal information of immigrants and non-Christians in a bid to conduct door-to-door religious conversions and “prayer walking” rituals through their neighborhoods.
The app boasts influential supporters, including the former leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, Jim Henry, and controversial Christian data-harvesting firm Gloo. It puts a lot of features at the fingertips of the faithful, including the ability to filter whole neighborhoods by religion, ethnicity, “Hispanic country of origin,” “assimilation,” and whether children are living in the household.