Politics, religion, and the Internet: A survey of attitudes and aspirations of the Indonesian youth bulge

While a number of studies have examined the demographic processes behind Indonesia’s youth bulge, or have noted the potential consequences at a macro level, there have been no large scale studies of the political and religious views and attitudes of Indonesia’s youth bulge. In this paper we aim to shed some light on this issue using data from a recent survey of 3,006 Indonesian young adults aged 20-34 living in Greater Jakarta. The data collected a wide range of information on the religious and political views, and digital connectedness of young adults, as well as their life time aspirations and satisfaction with various aspects of their current lives. Such study is timely given the current political situation in Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. About twelve years following the onset of the Reform in 1998, forces of democracy continue to compete with a plethora of conservative movements promoting traditional customary laws and religious sentiments, including at one extreme, a call for an Islamic state.