Predicting the Clash of Civilizations: The Use and Impact of Religious Media in Kuwait

Abstract

This study employs the uses and gratifications perspective to examine whether the way that individuals use the media, and the length of time for which they access specific religious media content (e.g., radio, newspapers, magazines, CDs, Internet, TV), correlates with their endorsement of Samuel Huntington's theory of a “Clash of Civilizations.” Huntington's thesis is that the future relationship between the West and Muslims will necessarily be one of conflict. The responses of 328 university students to a questionnaire revealed that 55% of respondents endorsed the notion of a “Clash.” The use of religious content for social religious gratification positively predicted acceptance of the notion, while the use of the media for individual religious gratification negatively predicted it. The study discusses whether classifying religious media gratification into social and individual varieties might be productive in predicting macro level social and political attitudes, at least among Muslims.