ABSTRACT

It has become increasingly clear that an adequate understanding of the contemporary processes of social, cultural, and religious change is contingent on an appreciation of the growing impact of social media. Utilising results of an unprecedented global study, this volume explores the ways in which young adults in seven different countries engage with digital and social media in religiously significant ways.

Presenting and analysing the findings of the global research project Young Adults and Religion in a Global Perspective (YARG), an international panel of contributors shed new light on the impact of social media and its associated technologies on young people’s religiosities, worldviews, and values. Case studies from China, Finland, Ghana, Israel, Peru, Poland, and Turkey are used to demonstrate how these developments are progressing, not just in the West, but across the world.

This book is unique in that it presents a truly macroscopic perspective on trends in religion amongst young adults. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars working in religious studies, digital media, communication studies, sociology, cultural studies, theology and youth studies.

part I|40 pages

Theoretical and methodological perspectives

chapter 1|9 pages

Introduction

Young adults, religion, and digital media in international perspective

chapter 2|15 pages

Digital media and religion in an international context

Perspectives on identity, connection, and authority

part II|101 pages

Applications and cases

chapter 6|15 pages

A view on religious socialization in contemporary China

The role of new media, literature, education, and participation

chapter 7|18 pages

Internet and social media use and religion among minority groups in Israel

A case study of Muslim and Druze young adults

chapter 8|13 pages

Religion, social media, and young adults in Turkey

A case study of religious engagement and volunteering

chapter 9|13 pages

Between tradition and innovation

Social media in the religious lives of young adults in Poland