St. Benedict's guidelines for practicing humility take the concept to particularly humbling levels. One suggests "that a monk be contented with all lowliness or extremity, and consider himself . . . as a poor and unworthy workman." Taken literally, St. Benedict's early Christian church teachings might not resonate today with a general audience. As he prepared a local Sunday school lesson about "the rule of St. Benedict," Chesterfield County resident John Vance wondered how he'd clarify the issue. "They went into extreme humility, almost degrading yourself," Vance said of the teachings. "I thought, how does this rule apply?" Like 28 million other Americans, Vance turned to the Internet for answers. New research released yesterday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that one in four Americans goes online to get religious information.

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