Religious Preaching on Social Media; Perception of University Students in Lahore

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the impact of religious narratives presented by Islamic scholars belonging to different sects on social media platforms. A large number of youngsters using social media platforms follow their favorite Islamic scholars on social media. Youth’s dependency for seeking religious knowledge through social media platforms has transformed from traditional religious learning to digital learning of religious knowledge. Different Islamic scholars' opinions on religious orders are being debated on social media, making it difficult for young people to decide which scholars to trust. Survey of 100 students, ages 18 to 30, from 6 leading universities will be given questionnaire. This study will incorporate cultivation theory to study respondents’ interpretation of religious messages by scholars using social media platforms. Participants were questioned about their knowledge of Islam, the impact of following an Islamic preacher had on their lives, their experience and perception about the digital preaching phenomenon, and whether or not those scholars helped them learn more about their respective religions believes and ideologies.