Moment of madness: Fingerprinting churchgoers

Although followers of different faiths disagree about much, there is - surely - one point on which they coincide: that children find religious services boring. This is not necessarily a reflection on the services, but on children, who have not developed the attention spans or sense of mortality necessary to sit still through lengthy communion with the Almighty, and are therefore generally reluctant to attend.

Father Grzegorz Sowa, who ministers to the small Polish town of Gryfow Slaski, believes he has found a means of ensuring that these straying lambs show up. Inspired, perhaps, by a somewhat zealous reading of Hebrews 10:25, he has installed in his church an electronic fingerprint reader. Children who lay their hands verifiably upon it 200 times over a three-year period will be spared the necessity of passing an exam prior to their confirmation.

Innovative thinking, certainly, but Father Sowa may have outclevered himself. Kids may not be up to much on the eternal mysteries, but they know technology. So it will be no miracle if an empty church appears on his spreadsheet as a packed congregation.

© The Financial Times Limited 2010. All rights reserved.
FT and Financial Times are trademarks of the Financial Times Ltd.
Not to be redistributed, copied or modified in any way.
Euro2day.gr is solely responsible for providing this translation and the Financial Times Limited does not accept any liability for the accuracy or quality of the translation