Divine self and selves: Religious practices and orientations toward religion among adolescents in globalizing northern Thailand.

Abstract

Mounting evidence suggests that modern globalization is reshaping the lives of young people around the globe. Strikingly little is known, though, about how globalization affects young people's orientations toward religion. In the current study, 40 Thai adolescents-divided across variously globalized settings-took part in individual interviews and completed questionnaires on their religious practices. Mixed methods analyses indicate similarities and differences in framings of religious practices among adolescents residing in rural and urban communities. Rural adolescents reported engaging in a wide range of religious practices, including actions that support Buddhist monks, temples, family, and community, and illustrate adherence to Buddhist teachings. Urban adolescents discussed a restricted range of religious practices, focusing on one action that supports monks and actions that support the development of the self. Rural and urban adolescents alike spoke of social others when discussing their religious practices; framings, however, diverged across cultural lines. Rural adolescents framed religion as a relational experience that necessarily includes family members, friends, and teachers. Urban adolescents, meanwhile, often qualified their relational religious practices by emphasizing distinctions between their own and their parents' practices, and highlighting feelings of obligation that accompany practicing with family. Distinct framings of the divine self and selves across cultural lines suggest movement from an interdependent to a more independent orientation toward religion as communities become increasingly urbanized, high in technology, and shift toward a commerce-based economy.

Negotiating Local and Global Values in a Globalized World: The Envisioned Futures of Thai Adolescents

“…It has been suggested, however, that giving behavior is likely to transform as Thai families transform with the aforementioned demographic transition (Kanchanachitra, 2014). A recent study on youth orientations toward religion aligns with this proposal (McKenzie et al, 2019b). Although donation to Buddhist monks was a practice in which youth in less and more globalized regions of Thailand engaged, urban Thai youth perceived donating to monks as contributing to internal satisfaction and benefitting their own current life and future lives; rural Thai youth, meanwhile, perceived donating to monks as benefitting the community and their family's karma.…”

The Cultural Psychology of Religiosity, Spirituality, and Secularism in Adolescence

“…There’s nothing new—there are no updates in religion. Like a new iPad—iPad 2, iPad 3—there’s not Buddhism 1, Buddhism 2” (McKenzie et al 2019 , p. 81).…”

“…In many ways, adolescents and emerging adults are at the forefront of globalization with their openness to new ideas, consumption of global brands, facility with use of new global technologies, and migration from rural to urban areas in search of new work opportunities (Jensen and Arnett 2012 ). Interestingly, psychological research on young people’s orientation to religion in the context of globalization is scarce, although one recent study in Thailand found that urban adolescents with extensive exposure to globalization emphasized individualized views of religion whereas rural adolescents with minimal exposure to globalization regarded religion as a relational experience that includes friends, family members, and teachers (McKenzie et al 2019 ). Globalization calls for a cultural psychology perspective that helps us understand people from diverse cultures, including their religious, spiritual, and secular thoughts and behaviors.…”

Brokering Culture and Power in a Media-Driven World: Parents of Adolescents in Northern Thailand

“…There is also the customary Thai greeting, which dictates that youth wai (ไหว้ , bow with palms pressed together) when greeting elders to demonstrate deference. And yet, recent research points to increasing egalitarianism in social relationships in urban Gesellschaft-but not in rural Gemeinschaft-Thai settings (McKenzie, Tsutsui, & Prakash, 2018). Drawing from Mead's (1970) work, these shifting hierarchies may be meaningfully situated alongside dramatic technological shifts in Thailand over a very short period of time.…”