U.S. - A study performed by the Pew Research Center found that a typical Facebook debate involving both Christians and non-believers will result in at least 12 conversions to Christ, the published report indicated Tuesday.

Researchers observed thousands of raging Facebook debates throughout the study, totaled the professions of faith of the atheists, agnostics, and members of other religions, and averaged out the results, confirming that engaging in heated arguments with others on the social network may be one of the most effective means of gaining converts from other belief systems.

"We found that winning a Facebook argument often resulted in conversions - not only of the person being buried under your superior intellect, but also of those simply scrolling through their newsfeeds and observing the argument in passing," head researcher Kyle Dearden told reporters. "When outsiders see how right you are, they inevitably want to meet Jesus."

"People come to repentance through His kindness, as displayed in your witty, condescending barbs on the social network," he added.

According to researchers, arguments about politics and other hot-button issues in the comments section of news stories yielded the most converts, while blasting another person's beliefs with a passive-aggressive status update was similarly effective.