Internet Exposure and Religious Openness in the Arab Region

Abstract

This paper examines the religious implications of Internet exposure in the Arab region, which is deemed a world's hub for both religious devotion and hostility. Utilizing the mediatization of religion theory, this work argues that frequent exposure to the Internet enhances religious openness in the region, attitudinally as well as behaviorally. To empirically investigate this assumption, the study utilizes a unique cross-national survey interviewing more than 25,000 participants from 12 Arab countries, during 2018 and 2019. Findings show that the rise and spread of the Internet cultivates religious openness among Arabs. Specifically, Internet use is positively associated with increasing acceptance of the religious other and with growing support for gender equality. In addition, Internet users are more likely to perceive religion as a private rather than public matter, and more willing to support the separation between religion and politics. Arguably, the results conclude that the growth of online communication in the region helps "democratize" the Arab religious sphere, giving way to new religious agents, beliefs, and practices to flourish. The implications of digital media use for conventional religious authority and secularization processes in the Arab region are further discussed.