Digital Religion among U.S. and Canadian Millennial Adults

Abstract

With the arrival of communication technologies such as radio, television, and more recently the internet and social media, scholars of religion as well as religious leaders have debated the place of these technologies in the religious and spiritual lives of individuals. To what extent do the religious and spiritual uses of these technologies play a complementary role only to in-person activities and community for those who are already actively religious? Or do these technologies also play an alternative role in terms of religion and spirituality for some, reaching new audiences that in-person activities cannot?These questions can more recently be raised for the role of digital religion in the lives of Americans and Canadians, and are especially important for young adult Millennials. There is no widespread agreement on exactly which birth years comprise the Millennial generation. Some will use Howe's and Strauss' seminal cut-off dates of those born between 1982 and 2004 to group together Millennials (Howe and Strauss 2000;Strauss and Howe 1991). The Pew Research Center (2019) and Twenge (2017) use instead slightly earlier birth periods of 1981-1996 and 1980-1994 respectively. Others still prefer a more even distribution of generations across 20-year periods (see for example Bibby, Thiessen and Bailey 2019), and so will break down the current living generations in the following manner: born between 1906-1925 is the Greatest Generation;

A Spiritual Self-Care Mobile App (Skylight) for Mental Health, Sleep, and Spiritual Well-Being Among Generation Z and Young Millennials: Cross-Sectional Survey

“…Millennials are as likely as older generations to engage in spiritual practices, such as thinking about the meaning or purpose in life (55%), feeling or practicing weekly gratitude (76%), or feeling a deep sense of spiritual peace or well-being (51%) [ 11 ]. GenZennials may desire strategies to practice spiritual well-being that are not related to a specific religious practice, as Gen Z report resonating with parts and pieces of various spiritual traditions that conform to their values and needs [ 11 - 13 ]. It is important to note that Skylight is a spiritual self-care app that provides spiritual practices across faith traditions such as music, yoga, prayer, mindful movement, intention setting, and meditation.…”

“…Gen Z and millennials identify as spiritual and engage in spiritual practices: 77% of Gen Z consider themselves spiritual, and 51% of millennials report feeling a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being at least once per week [ 11 , 12 ]. Additionally, more than two-thirds (64%) of adult GenZennials (ie, ages 18-35 years) in the US report consuming web-based content related to religious or spiritual beliefs, values, ideas, or practices [ 13 ]. Spirituality has been linked to positive mental health outcomes and improved sleep across adult or older adult populations [ 14 , 15 ].…”