1st Edition

Digital Media, Young Adults and Religion An International Perspective

Edited By Marcus Moberg, Sofia Sjö Copyright 2020
    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    Acknowledgements

    Notes on contributors

    PART I: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives

    1 Introduction: Young Adults, Religion, and Digital Media in International Perspective

    Marcus Moberg and Sofia Sjö, with Mia Lövheim

    2 Digital Media and Religion in a Global Context: Perspectives on Identity, Connection and Authority

    Marcus Moberg, Sofia Sjö, and Mia Lövheim

    3 A Mixed-Method Approach to Youth and Digital Religion

    Sofia Sjö, Marcus Moberg, and Mia Lövheim

    PART II: Applications and Cases

    4 The Contents and Discontents of Internet and Social Media Use in the Religious Lives of Ghanaian Young Adults

     Ben-Willie Kwaku Golo, Sofia Sjö, and Francis Benyah

    5 The Internet, Social Media, and the Critical Interrogation of Traditional Religion among Young Adults in Peru

    Rafael Fernández, Sidney Castillo Carnedas, and Marcus Moberg

    6 A View on Religious Socialization in Contemporary China: The Role of New Media, Literature, Education, and Participation

    Sofia Sjö, Marcus Moberg, Peter Nynäs, and Junchao Tang

    7 Internet and Social Media Use and Religion among Minority Groups in Israel: A Case Study of Muslim and Druze Young Adults

    Sawsan Kheir and Marcus Moberg

    8 Religion, Social Media, and Young Adults in Turkey: A Case Study of Religious Engagement and Volunteering

    Habibe Erdis Gökçe and Sofia Sjö

    9 Between Tradition and Innovation: Social Media in the Religious Lives of Young Adults in Poland

    Slawomir Sztajer and Sofia Sjö

    10 Finnish University Students’ Social Media Use in the Light of the Faith-Q-Sort Prototypes

    Karoliina Dahl, Sofia Sjö, and Marcus Moberg

    Bibliogrpahy

    Biography

    Mia Lövheim is a Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Uppsala University, Sweden.

    Marcus Moberg is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Comparative Religion at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

    Sofia Sjö is a Senior Researcher in the Department of Comparative Religion at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

    Zhejun Yu is a Professor in the School of Philosophy at Fudan University, China.