Researching Religion, Digital Media, and Young Adults in International Perspective

This chapter provides an overview of the state of the art of international research on the relationship between digital media, young adults, and religion. It provides a critical discussion of previous main areas of focus in the field. These include: (1) the increasing intersection of the online and the offline; (2) the role that digital media plays in processes of religious socialization; (3) how digital media provides a rich source of information on religion and thereby actualizes a range of issues related to religious literacy; (4) how digital media challenges conventional understandings of religious community; (5) the challenges that digital media pose for the maintenance of traditional religious authority and hierarchy structures; and (6) the increasing prevalence of nonreligious and atheist content online. The chapter closes with some suggestions for avenues for further research.