(RNS) – No small number of millennials were first introduced to personal technology, tending to their tamagochis during leisure. Only later did the dot-com revolution, smartphones and social media invade every part of his life, from relationships to health to music – and trust. Today, meditation podcasts, TikTok sermons and livestreams of Friday (Juma) prayers are at everyone’s fingertips.
A Canadian study shows that this last generation to experience a smartphone-free childhood still has a foot firmly in the real world – at least when it comes to religion.
The study, led by University of Waterloo sociologist Sarah Wilkins-LaFlame, found that a large minority of millennials in the United States and Canada (32%) turn to digital religious or spiritual activities on at least a monthly basis. But only 5% said they do so once a month or more without engaging in personal forms of religion or spirituality.
“For the most part, people are both personally involved and complemented through digital religion,” Wilkins-Laflame explained.
Pauline Cheong, a professor at Arizona State University, said the findings will give comfort to faith leaders who worry that the technology will displace religious leaders, who research religion and communication technologies, but was not involved in the Canadian study. “There is no disruption or big tear in the (digital religion) social fabric,” Cheong said. “There are a lot of knowledgeable religious users using it to complement existing relationships (to religion).”
Sarah Wilkins-Laflame. credit photo
A millennial herself, Wilkins-LaFlame set out to infer that her generation, who are less likely than previous generations to participate in organized religion, engage with religion online. It surveyed 2,514 respondents in March 2019. (Therefore, this study does not account for how the pandemic has changed the digital habits of millennials at a time when many houses of worship went online.)
“To me overall it was that digital religion is definitely a thing, but it’s something that only a fraction of the (millennial) population does,” Wilkins-Laflame said.
Millennials also participate in digital religion to varying degrees. Wilkins-Laflamme left the definition of digital religion largely up to the respondents; This can include anything from using the Bible app to watching a spirituality-themed Instagram reel. 41 percent of US respondents reported passively consuming any form of religious or spiritual digital content at least once a month, compared to only 32% of US respondents who posted about religion or spirituality on social media monthly. Took time to post.
Millennials in Canada, where the population is less religious, were active at lower rates, with 29% taking in digital religious content and 17% posting it.
related: Houses of worship grapple with the future of their online services
It is not yet clear whether Gen Z, who are more digitally natives than millennials, will engage in real-world religion as much as their elders. Paul McClure, a sociologist who studied religion and technology at Lynchburg University, applauded Wilkins-LaFlame’s study, but noted that his own research suggests that greater Internet use is associated with lower levels of religiosity.
Photo by Nathan Mullet/Unsplash/Creative Commons
Their latest study, published in June, found that among American youth aged 13 to 19, increased screen time is negatively associated with religious commitment, even if their parents are highly religious. “We can’t say with certainty that screen-based media is actively making adolescents less religious,” McClure’s study said, “but it is clear that screen time is either among adolescents from religious families or displaces or replaces religious belief, identity and behaviour.”
Cheong agrees that while millennials are taking advantage of new virtual resources, digital advancements will not be enough to attract the younger generation. “Going forward, religious organizations and leaders need to do whatever they can to build and maintain faith, develop healthy relationships,” she said.
This could mean trying to bypass your smartphone and engage youth face-to-face. But the Wilkins-LaFlame study shows that any religious leader interested in engaging with both Gen Xers or Millennials needs to take digital religion seriously. “Religious groups that don’t have an online presence will really struggle with those two generations,” she said.
Ahead of the Trend is a collaborative effort between Dharma News Service and the Association of Religion Data Archives, through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. Check out Trend’s other articles here.
related: How America’s youth lost their religion in the 1990s
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