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Role of Information and Communication Technologies in Promotion of Religious 283
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In 2014 International Telecommunication Union

(ITU) released the latest rankings of the IDI, with
Denmark attaining the top spot, followed by South

Korea. The top 40 countries in the rankings include
most high-income countries where quality of life is
higher than average, which includes countries from
Europe and other regions such as “Australia, Bahrain,
Canada, Japan, Macao (China), New Zealand,
Singapore and the United States; almost all countries
surveyed improved their IDI ranking this year. (ITU)”
In modern society ICT is ever-present, with over
three billion people having access to the Internet
(ITU). With approximately 8 out of 10 Internet users
owning a smartphone, information and data are
increasing by leaps and bounds (Survey, 2015).
This rapid growth, especially in developing countries,
has led ICT to become a keystone of everyday life, in
which life without some facet of technology renders
most of clerical, work and routine tasks dysfunctional.
The most recent authoritative data, released in 2014,
shows “that Internet use continues to grow steadily, at
6.6% globally in 2014 (3.3% in developed countries,
8.7% in the developing world); the number of Internet
users in developing countries has doubled in five years
(2009-2014), with two thirds of all people online now

living in the developing world (ITU)”.

Concept of Religious Education (RE)
Religious education (RE) is the academic field of
multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs,
behaviours and institutions.