Religious Apps, interactive websites and non-metropolitan youth in Catalonia
ARWIJOC project (Religious Apps, interactive websites and non-metropolitan youth in Catalonia), developed by the Blanquerna Observatory of Communication, Religion and Culture, has traveled the country with the aim of finding out whether young Catalans aged between 12 and 18 use digital religion and which is their main purpose.
The study, which has interviewed nearly 2,000 young people, has placed the territory in the center and, for this reason, the city of Barcelona has not been taken into account. Likewise, it has been particularly interested in young people from religious minorities. Furthermore, ARWIJOC has also allowed to discover aspects such as interest or apathy for religion, the creation of online and offline communities around faith, to what extent religion influences creation in socialization and in the creation of the identity of young people, the role played by parents and institutes, and even if digital tools are a way to establish bridges and dialogue to improve coexistence among the 13 different religions in the country.
Significant data is released as 65% of survey respondents are believers. 24.2% of these use digital religion, that is, websites, apps, games, social networks and even participation forums. In many cases, they do so to communicate with each other or summon events, but they also use it to pray. In spite of the Catholic majority, the digital religion is widespread among young people of religions such as Islam, Judaism, Sikhs, Mormons or the Jehovah’s Witnesses. The main language used in the digital communities of believers in Catalonia is Catalan.
It is the first research of these characteristics, that is carried out in Catalonia and draws a map not only of the situation of religion among the younger generations, it also shows a sample of the society that comes. The project has been supported by the General Directory of Religious Affairs and AGAUR.
Results
