Use of social media for religious purposes among young adults in Turkey

As mentioned in the previous section, almost 90 percent of the Turkish respondents (n=347) reported using the Internet on a daily basis. Even though the YARG survey results reveal only low rates of Internet use for “religious or spiritual purposes and issues” among our Turkish respondents, the interviews that were conducted provide a great deal of further information about how they use the Internet and social media in ways that pertain to their personal religious lives. Our respondents highlight both expressive and collaborative uses of social media for religious purposes, and their accounts also illustrate how these two uses sometimes interlink. We will be presenting the two uses separately, but the interconnections between them are good to keep in mind. We begin by exploring some expressive uses of social media for religious purposes as reported by our respondents. We then turn to collaborative uses, focusing on volunteering and other forms of social activism that our respondents tie to their own personal religious lives.

Expressive use of social media: social media as an information source, site for learning, and safe space for religious expression

Using social media for expressive uses entails, among other things, presenting and reflecting on one’s ideas on social media and using social media to explore questions central to who one is (Kotler et al. 2010). Our respondents discuss several kinds of expressive uses of social media for religious purposes. Social media plays an important role as an information source and setting for religious exploration and learning. Content sharing sites, such as YouTube, were mentioned as one place where religious matters of interest were encountered:

Sometimes I research these religious matters. . . . For instance, there is this person called Cemalnur Sargut. Well, I listen to some of her conversations. ... I first watch her, well - her videos on YouTube, for instance. . . . What I call religious is about “love” or “morals” or so on. See, prayers, worshipping - I had listened to her more during the Ramadan actually. {LG}

(YTRHE127)

For this respondent, YouTube offers access to conversations that she can tie to her own religious life. Visiting and reading blogs and forums by admired religious leaders or authorities is another way of using social media for religious purposes and for religious learning mentioned by our respondents. Joining online forums or following people online give individuals access to information about religious leaders and their teachings.

There are certain things I like, certain people... . For instance, I always follow his page on the Internet. Ali, the sharia of Ali. . . . There are pages formed by his fans right now. They share his sayings and so on.

(YTRHE124)

Following blogs and forums by popular religious authorities also often gives respondents the opportunity to engage in religious reflection by reading other’s comments and by posting and discussing their own ideas about a certain topic:

When I read the comments, seriously, if I believe that the people who make the comments have an accumulation of knowledge, then, surely, I say the things in my opinion, too. ... I do it both to share my knowledge and to receive the things they know because there are millions of things I do not know.

(YTRHE124)

Internet forums and blogs focusing on religion are thus places where users can learn from one another and where respondents feel they can both receive and provide information. A respondent who reported reading blogs also talked about explicitly being interested in other people’s perspectives:

There are also the criticisms, I read the criticisms also, I read the comments to see what people think. I mean, because everyone thinks differently, I also think different. I mean, the comments usually are like that.

(YTRHE037)

Social media are thus not only used to confirm one’s own ideas, but for this respondent also for the purposes of encountering different views. The religious learning and reflection engaged in through social media and online sources further functions as a way of nourishing or strengthening already existing religious thoughts and values. One respondent talked about how social media and researching things online came to influence her views on how she dresses, something that is for her closely tied to her religious identity:

I was covered but not so much, um, - conservative, I started being more, well - For instance, I wear straight black. I did not wear so previously. I read some stuff. I already had it in my mind that this was something wrong. ... So, I started researching. I started reading stuff. That is how. I decided consequently.... I just used social media in order to put mvself in more, well - To put myself in line.

(YTRHE133)

Another respondent highlights how learning can take the form of a good religious deed taking place online:

This is how, if there is a subject that lingers in my mind, I research on a trustworthy website. Because, see, they say that to learn something about religion on certain special days is a greater good deed than to perform the namaz [the prayer rituals].... There are times when I research a religious subject there. I research things I am curious about. I learn stuff through the Internet.

(YTRHE135)

Online engagement in religious learning and reflection is often followed by “offline” discussions with family members and friends. As one respondent commented: “I mean, by following those pages - I also like; it is being shared, but it does not end with sharing. What I do with my grandma is being carried out, exchange of ideas” (YTRHE124). Many of our respondents’ religious engagements online were thus linked to their offline religious engagements, reflections, and expressions.

Social media and the Internet more broadly are also described as complementary sources that can provide inspiration for religious engagements, together with other sources such as religious texts, friends, and relatives. They are thus not seen as sources that necessarily differ that greatly from other sources, but rather as one among many sources one turns to:

I also read religious books in the library sometimes. Well, I research a lot on the Internet, too. I listen to videos on the Internet and so on. Otherwise, I cannot pinpoint one complete source.

(YTRHE101)

Still, the ways social media work of course also shapes the engagements and learning that take place in those contexts. Following a religious leader

Religion, social media, young adults in Turkey 109 online is not exactly the same as being an offline follower and different people find the features of social media useful in different ways. For some of our respondents, social media specifically provides a forum where they feel they can safely express and discuss their emotions, attitudes, and values relating to religion. One respondent pictured her closest surroundings as close-minded, with people having absolute views on things. Afraid of being condemned, she reported refraining from talking to other people about religion-related or value-laden topics. But the online chat forums that she regularly participates in provides her with an environment where she can talk about religion and express herself in ways that she feels are not possible with other friends and family:

In the general sense. I mean, certain, perhaps only in one place, I can feel very comfortable in the environment of friends. This, what I call as the environment of friends, is over the, well - see, they are not people I have met in person. These are people I meet, speak to and play games with over the Internet.

(YTRHE323)

For this person it is not a problem that she does not know exactly who she is communicating with; she still feels safe in this online setting and able to present her thoughts and expand on her thinking. This is in line with previous research that has highlighted the role the Internet and social media can play in religious reflection and identity negotiation by, among other things, creating safe spaces for such reflections (e.g. Leurs et al. 2012).

Though many were positive to researching religion online, to reported learning about religion via social media, and getting inspired to explore religious issues, there were also those who were skeptical to this form of religious engagement. One respondent explicitly expressed concern over how what she might find online could influence her faith:

You see, I am always afraid of this thing. You see, if I research and find something, I wonder, well, if I would contradict with myself. I mean, I guess I am afraid of - if I find something different than what they [religious leaders] say - If it proves that they are lying - I would stop believing them in my mind. ... I mean, honestly, I am afraid that my faith would be shaken.

(YTRHE143)

Still, many of our respondents found social media and the Internet to be useful tools that aided them in their religious learning and allowed them to express their beliefs and develop their thinking around religious topics. However, the words they use - such as following and commenting -also indicate how features of social media are tied into their engagement and forms of learning. Social media features, such as following, sharing,

commenting, and liking, build on general ways of interacting, but can also be argued to mold the way we interact (cf. van Dijck 2013a). This becomes even more clearly visible when we turn to what our respondents had to say about civic engagement and volunteering.