Internet and Youth Religiosity (Case: 19-30-Year-Old Girls and Boys in Isfahan)

The internet is one of the basic principles of modern societies which has affected different parts of society. Little research has been conducted on the impact of the internet on religiosity. Youth is an important part of the social structure of Iran، so the study examined and explained the impact of the Internet on youth religiosity. The research method was correlation and data collection instrument was a questionnaire. The data were collected by using sampling among the city''s youth (n = 384). Reliabilities of religiosity and Internet questionnaire were 0. 93 and 0. 78، respectively. Descriptive results indicated that the youth''s use of the Internet was below the average and their religiosity was above the average. Correlation analysis showed a very weak negative relationship between the internet and religiosity. Regression analysis indicated that among the eight types of internet use، only three types of chatting، work and education، and games and entertainment had the most influence on religiosity. The results of path analysis showed that the three variables of socio-economic status (- 0. 27)، internet usage (- 0. 16)، and urban social area (- 0. 13) had the highest negative impact on religiosity. Through use of Internet، social class variable had an indirect influence on the youth religiosity.