Investigating the effects of using the Internet on the cultural attitude of the clergy of Qom

Dissertation for Master's Degree

Journalism, Social Communication Sciences

Abstract

The positive and open approach of the Qom seminary towards the acceptance of new communication technologies has made the interest to use the latest communication tools for the purpose of education, research, promotion and effective interaction with the political, social, cultural environment of the society and the world, among the clerics, and this has brought the students of religious studies to the public arena. the international community (in the face of diverse intellectual, ideological, cultural, value and behavioral views, attitudes and tastes).

In this research, relying on communication theories (media ecology theory, and a set of theories related to the approach of powerful media) as well as social psychological theories regarding the formation and change of attitudes, and in the form of an interdisciplinary research on the effects of the Internet media on cultural attitudes Clergy has been investigated. For this purpose, the survey method and the questionnaire technique were used to collect information from the statistical community of the research (the clergy of Qom city), and through two stages of sampling (cluster and accessible), first seminary schools and then research units (students of religious sciences) were identified to collect information.

The analysis of the collected information shows that there is a difference between the use of the Internet (in two dimensions, the amount of use and the type of content used) with cultural attitudes. There is a significant relationship between the clergy; In this way, the cultural attitude of clerics who use the Internet to a greater extent tends more towards modernization, and on the contrary, the lower the amount of Internet use, the more their cultural attitude tends towards traditionalism. Also, the more the clerics use the content that is within their moral, religious, legal or professional framework, the more traditional their attitude is, and the more content they use outside of this framework, the more modernist cultural attitude they will have.

Introduction

With the increasing development of information and communication technologies and the mediaization of various aspects of life, communication studies have been placed in the context of humanities and social sciences research; So that in recent decades, the experts in these fields have widely investigated, studied and analyzed the various cultural, political, social, economic, religious and ethical angles of the use of various means and institutions of mass communication throughout history, from the gazettes and small printing houses of the late 15th century to satellites and virtual networks and huge communication cartels today.

Development of mass communication networks at international levels. (Especially from the 20th century onwards) the theorists of this field have been led to more seriously address the category of what and how mass communication tools work, and it is in this passage that various hypotheses and communication theories regarding the formation of mass communication tools in two dimensions, form[1] and content[2] as well as their influence and influence on (and from) the audience have been proposed and have been expanded and more complete over time.

By entering the second half of this century, the importance of communication media belonging to the two "oral galaxies" [3] and "Gutenberg's galaxy" [4] mentioned by McLuhan was gradually reduced, and with the prominence of the role of electronic media, the importance of the Markian galaxy increased and a fundamental transformation was created in the level of human communication relations. This transformation in the last decades of the century, with the entry of computer networks into the communication system, practically marked the "Age of Communication" and the transformation of media from analog forms [5] to digital [6] and the evolution of communication levels from monologue communication [7] to dialogue [8] at the same level, made it possible to establish many interactions between the communicators of the new era. has been responsible for the interactions of communicators; With the introduction of this means of communication, the nature of communication has shifted from the controlled vertical communication of electronic media such as radio and television to the free horizontal communication between cyber actors. Although due to the mechanisms dependent on the power of the virtual space infrastructure, it is still not possible to completely consider this means of communication as a neutral and unbiased media, but nevertheless, at least on the surface, it has created a great transformation in diversifying and deepening the communication of its users.Although due to the mechanisms dependent on the power of the virtual space infrastructure, it is still not possible to completely consider this means of communication as a neutral and unbiased media, but nevertheless, at least on the surface, it has created a great transformation in diversifying and deepening the communication of its users, which no media has been able to create such an environment before. Potentially, the basis of each user's relationship with millions of users who are permanently present in this virtual environment, and this is also susceptible to the high influence and influence of the users of this emerging media, from the tastes, opinions, opinions and views of other users who are engaged in producing, reproducing, distributing and consuming the created contents in parallel with them in this space. It is not one size fits all, and each user of this unlimited space, according to cultural, social, individual conditions. They will have significant differences in this field, but still, we cannot ignore the effects of this very influential and attractive media on its users. The importance of this issue becomes more apparent when the discussion of the use of specific groups with specific and formed cultural identities comes up. Meanwhile, considering the positive approach and strong presence of the Shiite clergy as one of the oldest and most fundamental religious institutions, which is currently considered as the main guardian of religious affairs in the Iranian society, in the space of free interactions on the Internet, attention should be paid to it and monitoring the direction and direction of influence. And the effects that have occurred in the intellectual and attitudinal atmosphere of the clerical field become particularly important, which will enable the authorities to predict future developments in the religious field and, if necessary, show the appropriate response (strengthening or reforming) to these developments. becomes For this purpose, in this research, through a scientific survey of students of religious studies studying in seminary schools in Qom city and using a theoretical framework consisting of various communication theories regarding the form and process of influence of mass communication tools (in two dimensions, form and content) as well as scientific theories related to the field of social psychology related to the formation and change of attitudes in individuals, to explain and explain the extent of their use of this mass communication tool and influence or not The influence of the Internet on the cultural attitude of the clerics included in the statistical community of this research has been discussed.

21 statement of the problem

The role of religion in human life is so ancient, important and colorful that some believe that mankind has never lived without the presence of religion at any point in its history and "religion" (as a human being) is a continuous and connecting line of all historical periods of human life and various experiences. it is them (Dalmeyer, 1388: 7)

Accepting this premise and putting forward this new premise that no religion has succeeded in communicating, reproducing, multiplying and expanding its message without using effective methods of communication, we come to the conclusion that "religion" [9] and "communications" [10] are two institutions that have been in close interaction with each other since the distant past, which is linked to the first days of human history. have had But this interaction has not always been stable and uniform, and during this period of ups and downs cooperation, links, commonalities and sometimes deep conflicts have been created between these two institutions affecting the cultural and social life of people. "Giddens" [14] and "Thompson" [15] consider the historical evolution of societies as a function of the historical evolution of means of communication in them, and each of them has presented a classification in this regard. Although it is possible to rely on the theory of the transformation of means of communication, it is not possible to explain all the developments that have occurred throughout the history of societies, but at the same time, we cannot ignore the influential and irreplaceable role of media and means of communication in the transformation of societies.

Therefore, if we consider religions and religious institutions to be a part of societies along with other social, cultural, political, economic and other aspects throughout history.