PPIM UIN Jakarta: Young people are not religious, but conservative

Rectorate, UIN News Online – PPIM UIN Jakarta research found that the younger generation, Millennial Generation and Generation Z, have a higher conservative religious perspective  even though they are not religious enough and diligent in carrying out their religious rituals. On the other hand, media in various forms such as social media, television, radio, and podcasts have become main source of religious knowledge.

This is the outline of the research findings “Beragama Ala Anak Muda” conducted by PPIM UIN Jakarta during October-November 2021. The findings were conveyed by the research coordinator Iim Halimatussa'diyah on Wednesday (12/08/2021).

“The level of conservatism between generations is actually the same. But if you want to see a little difference, it turns out that the millennial generation is the most conservative generation despite being less-spiritualist,” she said.

This behaviour, she continued, did not show any difference in either the same generation living in the village or in the city. Both in urban and rural areas, this generation shows the same tendency, which is less religious but has a higher conservative behaviour.

In accessing religious knowledge, the survey shows that these two groups are the generation that uses the media the most as a source of religious knowledge. “This indicates that they are the main consumers of religious content in various types of media,” she explained.

After placing the media as a source of religious knowledge, the millennial generation is also noted to be the generation that interacts more often on social media. The forms of interaction include giving feedback (like/dislike), sharing information (share), giving comments (comment), and watching religious programs available on the platform itself.

Regarding what media is watched on social media by each generation, Millennials and Gen Z are the two generations who most often access moderate media, conservative media, and liberal media. Meanwhile, the two older generations, such as boomers and Gen X, are accessing religious channels on YouTube.

With a higher conservative behaviour, the younger generation's access to media is worth worrying about. “Social media actually acts as an echo-chamber to strengthen one's religious understanding,” lim added.

The research was conducted nationally by involving 1241 Muslim respondents aged 17 years and over in 34 provinces. In terms of gender, 49.57% of male respondents and 50.43% of female respondents. In terms of age, respondents in this study include the Silent/Boomer Generation aged (57-83 years in 2021) with a proportion of 14.02%, Gen X (ages 41-56 years) at 31.62%, Millennials (age 25-40 years). ) by 40.74% and Gen Z (aged 17-24 years) by 13.62%.

Then, in terms of education, the majority of respondents graduated from SMA/MA at 45.01%, followed by those with SD/MI education (22.94%), Diploma/S1/Master (16.74%) and SMP/MTS (15.32%). In terms of income, respondents with income of 2 million – less than 4 million reached 24.93%, and the lowest proportion was respondents with income of 4 million to more than 20 million by 10.87%.

Meanwhile, based on the findings, Iim and the research team recommend that the state and related civil society groups pay more attention to the media as a source of religious knowledge for the younger generation. More moderate mainstreaming of religious messages and content is needed.

Moderate groups are also expected to play a more active role in voicing moderate religious behaviour in the media. This is done to balance the conservative religious messages that dominate the media space.

The mainstreaming of religious moderation is also considered necessary to be carried out continuously by involving influencers so that it can be more accepted by the younger generation, especially Millennials and Generation Z.

“The Ministry of Religious Affairs Islamic community organizations also need to participate in popularizing the message of religious moderation,” she concluded. (zm/usa)