The Perception of Smartphones Among Catholic Faithful: A Study of Selected Parishes in Edo State, Nigeria

JIT 17:2, (2020) 257- 290
THE PERCEPTION OF SMARTPHONES AMONG

CATHOLIC FAITHFUL: A STUDY OF SELECTED
PARISHES IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA
Peter Eshioke Egielewa

Edo University Iyamho, Edo State, Nigeria
1. Introduction
T
he invention of smartphone is one of the most significant milestones
of human development in the 21st century. It has continued to
transform the world in the different aspects of human endeavours:
religion, work, education, politics and business. Indeed, the smartphone has
become so addictive that people hardly go out without them. Specifically,
smartphones have increasingly become a common feature in Catholic
parishes during Masses and other liturgical celebrations. This study
examines the perception of the Catholic faithful (priests and lay faithful) on
the role of the smartphone in liturgical celebrations and whether it is still a
tool of human development today. Using Descriptive Research design
research, the study uses a sample size of 350 lay faithful and 51 priests in
the Catholic Diocese of Auchi (present Edo North Senatorial District) in
Edo State, Nigeria. The study is based on the Grounded Theory Model of
Mobile Technology Addiction.
2. Theological Framework
Admittedly, scriptural resources provide a solid ground for a sound

theological framework. Thus, God communicated with and continues to
communicate Himself to humanity. He communicated with man/woman in
various ways that human being was accustomed to. God communicated
face to face with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:8)in the form of an angel to
Abraham (Gen 18:1-3) in dreams and visions to Joseph (Gen 37:5) through
a burning bush to Moses (Exod 3:1-9), through the sound of a voice and
258 Journal of Inculturation Theology 17:2, 2020
and through tongues of fire to the Apostles.1In such instances of

communication by God, he used different methods or media (burning bush,
dreams, visions, sound, voice, tongues of fire, etc.) that were appropriate at
the time and based on the needs of different hearers of the message. In
other words, God uses different “media" to communicate with mankind. 2
From its inception, the Christian religion has leveraged on the need to pass
across its message or communicate the good news to adherents, new
converts and others through means that are appropriate to the specific
audience. Christ moved about preaching by words of mouth and Peter the
apostle preached by word of mouth in several communities. 3 Jesus so
communicated his message that his listeners were amazed at his authority,
power and truthful insights.4 For author Varghese Jesus’ method of
communication is summed up thus: (1) Ability to listen to others (Jam
1:19); (2) Ability to think deeply before speaking (Eccl 5:2); (3) Ability to
exercise restraint in situations that provoke anger (Col 4:6). Jesus Christ
was an orator to be able to convert large crowds in his sermons but above
that, he was not used to long speeches or lengthy sermons. Jesus’ Sermon
on the Mount lasted no longer than seven minutes. 5
A further approach to Jesus’ method of communication was summed up in

his instruction to his disciples when he gave them the challenge to go out
and preach in Luke 10: 5-9: Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘peace to
this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will
rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same
house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves
to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a
1 Mike Mazzalongo, The use of media in ministry: Communicating the message.

https://bibletalk.tv/media-in-ministry (2020).
2 Mazzalongo, The use of media in ministry: Communicating the message.
3 Christian Bolu, The church in the contemporary world: Information and communication technology
in church communication for growth: A case study. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 4(4)
(2012) 80-94.
4 Ajay Varghese, Jesus’ methods of communication. Retrieved on 05 March 2020 from
Egielewa: The Perception of Smartphones Among 259
town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick
who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to
you.
Significantly, Jesus is the specific order of importance in his strategy of

communicating the Gospel message, which includes four steps:declare
peace, eat with people, pray for their healing and declare the kingdom. 6
The above steps showed that Jesus emphasized a communication strategy
to blend communication of the Gospel message through interpersonal
involvement, relationship building, and group ministry experiences. The
effectiveness of Jesus’ communication was in his ability to live among the
ordinary people, eat with them, be their friend, care about their problems
and ultimately be their saviour. Similarly, Apostle Paul’s preaching in
Greece had a significant impact on the culture of the people such that many
turned to him and accepted the content of his message. 7
Since the dawn of the 21st century, Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) has continued to engender rapid transformation in the
world including in religion.8 ICT does not refer to the computer alone as is
erroneously believed by some but refers to those channels through which
communication is made and information circulated. These include:
Computer ROMS, Television, Telephones, GSM Phones, Projectors,
Audio-Visual, Video Tapes, Video Machines, Recorder (Tape & Video),
Filmstrip, Cameras, etc.9
The Global System Mobile (GSM) Phone, as a product of innovation in the

21st century, has made communication easier in several ways. 10 Initially
meant for voice communication, the GSM phone has developed to the
smartphone, which is more interactive as long as Internet access is
6Alan Tippett, Missiology. Pasadena: William Carey Library (1987).

7Christian Bolu, The church in the contemporary world: Information and communication technology in
church communication for growth: A case study. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 4(4),
80-94. (2012).
8 LoenardIlechukwu& Rose Uchem, Application and Role of ICT in Religious Education. Research on
guaranteed. Smartphone affects Gospel communication as well.
After having established that American digital natives spend an average of

7 hours or more per day on their smartphones, with an average American
checking his or her phone two hundred times a day, or every five
minutes. 11 With 53 million smartphones in Nigeria as of 2018 and expected
to rise to 144 million in 2025,12 youths accounts for approximately 37% of
Nigeria’s population13 and therefore own a significant number of
smartphones in Nigeria. Similarly, youths in Nigeria particularly students
spend an average of 5 hours on their smartphone daily used mainly for
social networking activities (75%) rather than academic activities
(24%).14There have been researches to explore the use of this heavily used
digital device for religious activities. Due to the place of digital technology
in Christian worship, author Mitchell has concluded that “for good or ill,
digital media are increasingly integrated into the life of the churches and
their ministers.” Researches by some have shown that 60% of the pastoral
agents of the Aragon Catholic Church in Spain assert that Smartphones can
be used in several ways relating to their pastoral work in the Aragonese
Catholic Church.15
The smartphone is used in several ways. Howe has listed four thus: using a
bible app, taking notes, tweeting quotes and online or text giving. 16 There
are also divergent views about the place of the smartphone in religious
worships. While an AT&T survey found that 25% of those who attend
11 Ben Mitchell, Christians & digital media: Benefits and burdens.Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from
http://www.christoncampuscci.org/christians-and-digital-media-full-article/ (2018).
12 GSMA Intelligence, Spotlight on Nigeria Delivering a digital future.
https://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GSMA-Spotlight-on-Nigeria-
Report.pdf (2018).
13 Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, NBS, Demographic statistics bulletin.
https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/download/775 (2017).
14 Manuel Fandos-Igado, Feliciano-Francisco Ordóñez-Fernández& Ana Pérez-Escoda,
Efficiency in the use of the Smartphone and social networks of the agents of the Church of Aragon in
their pastoral action.Mediterranean Journal of Communication, 9(2), 217-227. (2018).
15 Ben Mitchell, Christians & digital media: Benefits and burdens, (2018).
church regularly have used a mobile device during worship services, a Pew
Research survey found out that 96% of American adults say they are not
comfortable with the use of cellphones at church or during worship
services.17 Kirkpatrick has therefore argued that smartphones in the church
have both its positive sides and negative sides and how they are deployed
determines if they become a distraction to worship or an opportunity to
worship better.18
In Nigeria, Okonoboh argues that smartphone is changing religious

worship in dramatic ways stating that while the smartphone was banned in
several churches initially with such inscriptions as "kindly switch off your
handset before entering church premises", today, amongst others,
smartphones are used to transact financial business right inside churches as
well as reading scriptural passages.19 Similarly, a News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) survey conducted on Christians of different denominations in
Lagos, Nigeria found out that the smartphone has effectively replaced the
use of bibles in churches 20 and has argued that for this reason the use of
smartphone in the church should not be banned.21
The above researches in Nigeria were not conducted in Edo State and the
populations were also not from Edo state which this present research
intends to achieve by interrogating how Catholics in the Catholic Diocese
of Auchi, Nigeria (Edo North Senatorial District of Edo State) perceive the
smartphones in the church and during liturgical celebrations.
17 Aaron Earls, Cellphones at church: Benefits and cautions. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from
https://factsandtrends.net/2016/04/27/cellphones-at-church-benefits-and-cautions/ (2016).
18 Rich Kirkpatrick, Smartphones in worship services: A distraction or opportunity? Retrieved on 07
March 2020 from https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2017/05/smartphones-in-worship-services/ (2020).

19 Rita Okonoboh, Digital Christianity! Smartphones, smart pews, the changing phase of worship. The
Nigerian Tribune (2017, October 22). Retrieved from https://tribuneonlineng.com/digital-christianity-

smart-phones-smart-pews-changing-phase-worship/ (2017).
20 News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Using Bible apps on phone during church worship: Some say it is
youth culture. The Vanguard. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/09/using-bible-apps-

on-phone-during-church-worship-some-say-its-youth-culture/ (2018).
3. Statement of the problem
Having examined the several researches above that are conducted at

examining the roles of the smartphone with many mirroring the positive
place of smartphone and others pointing out the dangers, a few researches
in Nigeria also follow a similar trend but no known research has
investigated the entire Christian population of Nigeria. There is also no
known research on smartphone use among Christians in Edo State, one of
the 36 states of Nigeria. There has neither been any related research in the
Edo North Senatorial District of the state nor the Catholic parishes of Edo
North Senatorial District which has the appellation “Catholic Diocese of
Auchi” which is a body of about 36 Catholic parishes administered by a
single bishop. This research investigates how a representative part of the
Catholic Diocese of Auchi perceives the smartphone in their church.
3.1 Research Objectives

This research has the following objectives:
1. To find out the intensity of smartphone use by Catholic lay faithful
and priests.
2. To find out the percentage of Catholic lay faithful and priests who
bring smartphones to church activities.
3. To find out whether Catholic lay faithful and priests see the
smartphone more from a positive or negative light during worship
or their Christian life.
4. To find out the pastoral life of Catholic lay faithful and priests that
the smartphone affects the most.
5. To find out the percentage of lay faithful and priests who have
regulations on smartphones in their parishes and percentage of
them who want regulations on smartphone use introduced in their
parishes and in the diocese.
3.2 Research Questions

This research addresses the following questions:
1. What is the intensity of smartphone’s use by Catholic lay faithful
2. What is the percentage of lay faithful and priests who bring

smartphones to church activities?
3. How do Catholics lay faithful and priests perceive smartphone
roles during worship and in their Christian life?
4. Which part of the pastoral life of Catholic lay faithful and priests is
most affected by the smartphone?
5. To what extent are there regulations on smartphone use in the
parishes?
3.3 Hypothesis
The hypothesis below will be tested in this research.
H0 (Null hypothesis): There is no significant relationship between the year
of birth of laypersons and the year of ordination of priests and their
perceptions of the usefulness of the smartphone in their Christian life.
4. Conceptual Clarification
Since words can possess varied meanings, some concepts which will be
used recurrently need to be delineated for clarity sake. And so, for a proper
understanding of the discussion trend in this paper, the under-listed
concepts are explained.
4.1 Smartphone
A smartphone is a computer-compliant device (phone) which enables the
users to carry out certain activities such as voice calls, Short Messaging
Service (SMS).22 It also enables one to carry out internet-enabled services
like browsing and social media networking amongst others. There are
several types of smartphones, which include Samsung, Apple, Huawei,
Nokia, Sony, HTC, Motorola, Lenovo amongst others.23A smartphone is
similar to a desktop or laptop computer in that it uses operating systems
such as iOS (created by Apple), Android (created
by Google), BlackBerry (created by Research in Motion), and Windows
22 Don Hill, Smartphones Explained. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from

Phone (created by Microsoft). Most smartphones use a touch screen to

allow users to interact using several applications (apps) that are either
largely for pleasure, business, social, religious or other functions.24
According to Computer Hope (2020), a smartphone can carry out the
following activities:
i. Make and receive phone calls
ii. Send text messages (SMS).
iii. Take, show, and store pictures and video.
iv. Browse the internet as well as send and receive e-mail.
v. GPS capability for location and navigation.
vi. Record and play audio and music.
vii. Display time and date and other functions such as alarm clock,
stopwatch, and timer.
viii. Display weather and temperature information.
ix. Voice dictation and take notes.
x. Virtual assistant using Siri, Google Assistant, or Cortana.
xi. Access utilities, such as a flashlight, e-book reader, and calculator.
4.2 Parish
A parish is "a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a
stable basis within a particular Church whose pastoral care is entrusted to a
pastor as its shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop." 25 In
other words, a parish is a group of Catholics who form one community
usually within a particular geographical location. It is the geographical
location of a parish that makes it imperative for a parish to have a building
where the community will gather to worship, celebrate the sacraments and
hear the Word of God." Such a building is called a church. Thus, a parish is
a community while the church is the building. Although a parish is led by a
pastor (parish priest), there may be several other priests working in the
parish. All parishes in a diocese are administered by the bishop of the
diocese and assisted by auxiliary bishops (if there are).26 Globally, there are
24 Computer Hope, Smartphone. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from

https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/smartphone.htm (2020).
223, 129 parishes with a resident priest and 47, 047 without resident
priests. There are, thus, 270, 176 parishes in the world. 27 There are 36
parishes in the Catholic Diocese of Auchi.
4.3 Catholic Faithful

A faithful is a person who has bound himself to a religious association,
whose doctrines he accepts, and into whose rites he has been initiated.28 A
Catholic faithful or Catholic faithful, according to the Catholic Code of
Canon Law (John Paul II, 1983, no 204) are:
Those who, since they have been incorporated in Christ through

Baptism, have been constituted as the people of God; for this
reason, since they have become sharers in Christ's priestly,
prophetic, and royal office in their manner, they are called to
exercise the mission which God has entrusted to the Church to
fulfil in the world, in accord with the condition proper to each one.
In other words, one becomes a faithful by receiving the sacrament of

baptism, which one can receive either as an infant or as an adult.
Catechumens, which refer to those preparing for baptism, are also members
of Christ’s faithful because of their special status of being catechumens
having taken the decision to be baptised (John Paul II, 1983, no.206).
There are two groups of Christ’s faithful in the Catholic Church, namely:
1. Clerics (clergy): These are those who have been ordained into the
sacred ministry in the church, namely: Deacons, Priests and
Bishops. These are those who lead Christ’ faithful in the Church in
administrative and pastoral capacities that is proper to one’s
particular state of ordination.
Using Chi-Square Statistic in Research. Retrieved on 16 March 2020 from

https://www.statisticssolutions.com/using-chi-square-statistic-in-research/ (2020)
27 Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, CARA, Frequently requested church statistics: World
data over time. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from http://cara.georgetown.edu/frequently-requested-

church-statistics/, (2017).
28 Benson Rajan, Smartphones in churches: An affective negotiation around digital disruption and
2. Lay Faithful: Any other member of the Catholic Church who is not
a cleric. A lay faithful, also referred to as "Laity", refers to those
who become incorporated into the Catholic Church through
Baptism. Such lay people share in the threefold office of all
Catholics, namely, priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ
and play their unique role in the mission of the whole Christian
people in the Church and the World. Since the laity are more in
number, they permeate the social, political, and economic aspects
of the world. Lay people belong to a community of Christ’s
people under the leadership of the Pope, the common Head, and
the bishops who are in communion with him. 29
4.4 Perception
Perception refers to the way sensory information is organized, interpreted,
and consciously experienced and how the interpreted information affect
how people interact with the world. The sensory information is information
that has been collected from the environment. The organisation of such
sensory information is based on available knowledge, experiences and
thoughts.30 In other words, Perception enables one not only to create an
experience of the world but also to act within our environment. 31
Perception includes both bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-up

processing deals with the fact that perceptions are derived from sensory
input, namely what one perceives with one’s physical senses. Top-down
processing, on the other hand, refers to the fact that perceived sensations
are acquired by available knowledge, experiences, and one’s thoughts.
While perceptions are derived from the fives sense of touch, sight, sound,
smell, and taste not all sensations result in perception. On entering a room
and not noticing the wall clock ticking is an example of how the auditory
sense processed the ticking but one may not perceive it because one has
29 Catholicculture.org, Catechism of the Catholic Church: The lay faithful.

https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/catechism/index.cfm?recnum=3082 (2020).
30 Lumen Learning, What is Perception? Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/msstate-waymaker-psychology/chapter/reading-what-is-perception/
gotten used to that ticking sound. Such a situation is referred to as sensory

adaptation.32
5. Review of Related Literature
5.1 Smartphone and Religion

There have been several researches that have examined the use of
smartphones in religious worship. Fandos-Igado, Ordóñez-Fernández and
Pérez-Escoda researched 202 pastoral agents in the Aragon Catholic
Church in Spain to determine how they use the smartphone in their
ministerial, catechetical or evangelizing activities. The pastoral agents
include diocesan and religious priests, seminarians and religious (male and
female) members of the Catholic Church. The Aragon region of Spain
claims 98.3% ownership of mobile phones and 70% membership of the
Catholic Church, which the authors established as justification for their
research. The authors concluded by asserting that 60% of the pastoral
agents of the Aragonese Catholic Church say that smartphones can be used
in several ways relating to pastoral work but its usefulness has not been
fully explored. 33
Similarly, Rajan carried out a qualitative research through an in-depth

interview on 70 adult members of Catholic and Protestant members of
Catholic and Protestant churches respectively in Delhi, India between 2017
and 2018 to determine what role the smartphone and social media play in
their religious lives. The set of interview that were conducted mainly on
young people between the ages of 20–29 years (59%) found out how
smartphone enables church-goers to use religious apps extensively and
through which they can immerse themselves in and read the sacred
scriptures (Bible).34
There was another study of 40 Muslim Nigerians on their use of the
32 Kendra Cherry, Perception and the Perceptual Process.

smartphone to mobilize fellow believers to maintain religious ties and

religious faith and how they cope with the challenges of using the device
between June and August 2009. The study found out that phones play an
important role in the spread of religion, the creation of new religious
communities, as well as the maintenance and strengthening of religious
bonds in terms of religious greetings sharing of religious songs, sermons,
preaching, and Qur’an verses, and in recruiting new converts.35 Kirkpatrick
argues that the smartphone has become both an aid and a distraction to
worship depending on how it is used. He posited that although the
smartphone has engineered a cultural change in society and plays a unique
role in information gathering and sharing information. Such sharing of
information includes sending text messages, emails, staying connected to
family and friends. But in the religious context, it requires some
monitoring.36
5.2 Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on a theory and a model, namely, Media
Dependence Theory and the Grounded Theory Model of Mobile
Technology Addiction. The Grounded Theory model of mobile technology
addiction is based on the Grounded Theory developed by Decision
Sciences Institute, Atlanta, Georgia founded in196937 to test its
applicability on mobile phones addiction. It is formulated on the
assumption that people are addicted to their mobile phones. The grounded
theory allows researchers to investigate social problems through proper
definitions of the problem, in-depth data collection to arrive at a deeper
understanding of the subject and phenomenon of interest.38The model used
289 masters degree students between the ages of 20 and 64 collected over
four years and revealed information that was used to establish the model.
The model reveals that certain factors affect whether an individual will be
addicted to one’s mobile phone or not. Such factors include personal
35 GadoAlzouma, The use of the mobile phone for religious mobilization in Niger republic. The
Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 83 (10) (2019) 1-19.
36 Rich Kirkpatrick, Smartphones in worship services: A distraction or opportunity? Retrieved on 07
March 2020 from https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2017/05/smartphones-in-worship-services/ (2020).

characteristics, task characteristics, habit, culture and outcomes.Several

propositions have been derived from the model. These include:
Proposition 1: That individuals' personal characteristics (age, gender, need

for connectedness,
extroversion, work ethic) influence whether one will be addicted to mobile
phones or not (whether one is young or old, male or female, etc).
Proposition 2: Perceived task characteristics (time-sensitivity) influence

whether individuals will be addicted to their mobile phones or not
(Whether they have office task to accomplish or not and whether the
deadline is involved).
Proposition 3: The type of use (impulsive/executive) influences the type

of outcomes individuals perceive they will get from such use (advantages).
Proposition 4: Habit influences whether individuals will be addicted to

their mobile phones or not (Whether they are wired to use their mobile
phones or not).
Proposition 5: Culture influences whether individuals will be addicted to

their mobile phones or not (what is trending in society such as cheap
phones, hi-tech phones).
The addiction model establishes that mobile phones can have positive or
negative outcomes. Positive outcomes would include more social
connection, higher productivity, healthier activities and increased self-
esteem. The negative outcome includes lack of concentration/focus, lack of
communication, stress, feelings of withdrawal and frustration.
6. Methodology
6.1 Research Design
This study adopts the Descriptive Research design, which Akhtar argues is
used “to identify and obtain information on characteristics of a particular
issue like community, group or people.”39Descriptive research which can

either be quantitative or qualitative involves collections of quantitative
information that can be tabulated along a continuum in numerical forms,
such as scores on a test or the number of times a person chooses to use a
certain feature of a multimedia programme, or it can describe categories of
information such as gender or patterns of interaction when using
technology in a group situation. Descriptive research also involves
gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts
and describes the data collected. 40 Descriptive research uses description as
a tool to organize data into patterns that emerge during analysis to explain
the qualitative study and its implications. 41Descriptive Research design is
used to principally investigate social events and situations to accurately
determine the characteristics of a particular group or situation, e.g. a
descriptive study of pastoral workers in the Aragon region of Spain such as
their age distribution, their gender, their educational level, etc. Descriptive
studies concern itself with the attitudes or opinions about a group of
persons concerning an event, a tool, a place, etc.42 This design is
appropriate for this current research because the study aims to investigate
the attitude of the Catholic faithful (priests and lay faithful) of the Catholic
Diocese of Auchi in Edo state, Nigeria about the role the smartphone plays
in their Christian life and ministry.
6.2 Method of Data Collection

For this study, the survey method was employed to gather data. Survey
method is principally employed in a descriptive design to gather
information or data from a specific population under investigation. Such
information is obtained from the designated population of interest because
they are not available from other sources without the risk of being
unbiased. Such data obtained are subjected to objective tools of
39 Inaam Akhtar, Research Design. Retrieved on 08 March 2020 from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308915548_Research_Design (2016).
40 Gene Glass & Kenneth Hopkins, Statistical Methods in Education and Psychology (2 nd Ed.).
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall (1984).

41 The Association for Educational Communications and Technology, AECT, What Is Descriptive
measurement for the purpose of standardization since the information is

collected objectively and analysed independently from the respondents.
6.3 Population of the Study
The research studied Catholic faithful (priests and lay faithful) of the
Catholic Diocese of Auchi, Nigeria. A diocese is an area in
the Roman Catholic Church that is under the control of a bishop. 43 The
Catholic Diocese of Auchi is one of the fifty-five (55) Dioceses in
Nigeria44 erected in 2003. It is situated in southern Nigeria and constitutes
north of Edo State of Nigeria. It covers the entire jurisdiction of Edo North
Senatorial District of the state comprising the six local government areas,
namely: Akoko Edo, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West, Owan East
and Owan West. According to the 2006 census, Edo state has a population
of 3, 233, 366 and in 2016 the population grew to 4, 235, 600. 45
The population of Edo North Senatorial District in 2006 and 2016 can be
summed thus:
S/no Local Government 2006 Census 2016 Figures

Area Figures (Projected)
Edo State 3, 233, 366 4, 235, 600
1. Akoko Edo 261, 567 342, 600
2. Etsako Central 94, 228 123, 400
3. Etsako East 147, 335 193, 000
4. Etsako West 198, 975 260, 700
5. Owan East 154, 630 202, 600
6. Owan West 99, 056 129, 800
Total of Local 958, 791 1, 252, 100
Government Areas
Table 1: Population of the six local Government areas making up Edo North
Senatorial District. Source: www.opendataforafrica.org, 2020 &
www.citypopulation.de, 2020
43 Dictionary.cambridge.org, Diocese. Retrieved on 09 March 2020 from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/diocese (2020).
44 GCatholic.org, Catholic Dioceses in the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Nigeria). Retrieved on 08
The target population in the Catholic Diocese of Auchi in Edo State (Edo
North Senatorial District) includes all Catholics in the 36 parishes of the
diocese as follows:
S/N Item in the Diocese of Auchi Population Format
1. Parishes 36
2. Priests 67
3. Lay Faithful 100, 233
Table 2: Population of Auchi diocese and its different subdivisions

Source: www.Catholicdioceseofauchi.org.
6.4 Sample Size and Technique

Sampling method in research explains the process of selecting samples
from a given population. It is a process that is used in statistical analysis in
such a way that a predetermined number of observations are drawn from a
larger population and used as a representative sample of a large
population.46 Two given distinct populations were used for this study: (1)
priests and (2) lay faithful. Both were obtained from the 36 parishes of the
Catholic Diocese of Auchi where the 67 priests live and work and where
the 100, 233 lay faithful worship. From the 36 parishes, the lead researcher
assisted by four research assistants visited 14 randomly selected parishes in
the Catholic Diocese of Auchi between 29th February and 1st March 2020
during which 370 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to lay people
out of which 350 copies were valid for analysis. 60 copies of the
questionnaire were also distributed to 60 priests present at a meeting of all
the priests of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi at Diocesan Chancery in
Auchi, Edo State on 26th February 2020 out of which 51 copies were
retrieved for analysis.
6.5 Data Presentation and Analysis

The data generated for this study are obtained using the Statistical Package
for the Social Sciences (SPSS) tools and are presented below.
Research Question One

What is the intensity of smartphone use by Catholic lay faithful and
priests?
Lay Faithful Priests
No of Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
Phones
1 199 56,9 24 47,1
2 89 25,4 25 49,0
3 11 3,1 1 2,0
4 2 0,6 0 0
5 0 0 1 2,0
Missing 49 14,0 0 0
Total 350 100,0 51 100,0
Table 3: Number of smartphones owned by lay faithful and priests of the Catholic
Diocese of Nigeria
Figure 5b: Amount of time spent daily on the smartphone by priests of the
Catholic Diocese of Auchi
Figure 6a: Amount of time spent daily on the smartphone by Lay faithful
of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi based on age
Figure 6b: Amount of time spent daily on the smart phone by priests of the
Catholic Diocese of Auchi based on year of ordination
Table 3 above shows clearly that while more lay faithful own just one
phone (57%), more priests own two phones on the average (49%).
Similarly, in Figure 5a 64% of lay faithful of the Catholic Diocese of
Auchi spend less than six hours on their smart phone compared to 32%
who spend more than seven hours on their smart phones daily. On the other
hand, Figure 5b shows that an overwhelming 80% of priests spend less
than six hours on their smart phone compared to 20% who spend more than
seven hours on their smart phones daily. The results imply that generally
more laypersons spend more time on their smart phones than priests.
Figure 6a and 6b indicate the age range of heavy users of smart phone both
as lay faithful and as priests of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi. While
Figure 6a shows that young lay faithful between the ages of 19 and 30 are
heavier users of the smart phone, the results in 6b show that younger
priests who are 18 years old or younger as priests are the heaviest users of
smartphones. The data implies that whether lay faithful or priests, younger
Catholics consume the services of smart phones more than the older ones.
Research Question Two

What is the percentage of Lay faithful and priests who bring smartphones
to church activities?
Figure 7a: Lay faithful who take their smartphones with them to liturgical
celebrations

Age/Year of Yes No Yes No
Ordination
18 & below 20 51 5 27
19-30 63 90 1 4
31-45 4 25 0 0
46 & above 6 8 0 0
Total 93 174 6 31
Percentage (%) 35 65 16 84
Table 4: Lay faithful and priests who have made or received phones calls
during liturgical celebrations

Age/Year of Yes % No % Yes % No %
ordination
I have seen a 199 59 140 41 42 88 6 12
parishioner
making phone
calls or chatting
or sending SMS
on their phones
during liturgical
celebrations?
I have seen a 20 6 321 94 1 2 42 98
priest making
phone calls or
chatting or
sending SMS on
their phones
Table 5: Lay faithful and priests who have seen other lay faithful and priests
making phone calls or chatting or sending SMS on their smart phones during
liturgical celebrations.
Both Figures 7a and 7b give the percentage of lay faithful and priests who
take their smart phones with them to liturgical celebrations. Data in Figure
7a shows that lay faithful of 30 years and below constitutes the largest
portion (62%) of Catholics who take their smart phones with them when
they attend liturgical celebrations compared to priests of 30 years and
younger (25%) who do same. Significant in the data is that in both cases
the youngest in both lay faithful and priests are most addicted to their
smartphones than the older ones. In fact, in the case of the priests, no single
case of a priest above the ordination age of 31 years was recorded to have
taken his smartphone with him to liturgical celebration. From those who
take their smartphones with them to liturgical celebrations, many have not
used their phones to receive to make calls (table 4), but a significant
percentage of lay faithful (35%) and priests (16%) have either made or
received phone calls during liturgical celebrations.
Similarly, table 5 shows the percentage of Catholics who have seen lay
faithful and priests making phones calls, chatting or sending SMS during
liturgical celebrations. While 59% of lay faithful said they have seen fellow
parishioners making phone calls or chatting or sending SMS on their smart
phones during liturgical celebrations, only 6% of them say they have seen
priests doing same. Meanwhile, an overwhelming 88% of priests say they
have seen lay faithful making phone calls or chatting or sending SMS on
their smart phones during liturgical celebrations, whereas only 2% of them
say they have seen fellow priests doing same. This data implies that a large
percentage of both lay faithful and priests confirm that lay faithful use their
smart phones often during liturgical celebrations for making phone calls,
chatting or sending SMS.
Research Question Three

How do Catholics lay faithful and priests perceive Smartphone roles during

Age/Year More More More helpful More Distractive
of helpful Distractive
Ordination
18 & below 4 85 31 8
19-30 6 118 4 1
31-45 1 24 5 1
46 & above 0 19 0 1
Total 11 246 40 11
Percentage 4 96 78 22
(%)
Table 6: How lay faithful and priests perceive the usefulness of the Smart
phone during worship
Figure 8a: How Lay faithful view the importance of smart phones in their
Figure 8b: How priests view the importance of smart phones in their
Christian life
Table 6 above present very opposing results between how lay faithful and
priests perceive the usefulness of the smart phones in liturgical worship.
While only 4% of all lay faithful see the smart phone as helpful during
worship, an overwhelming 78% of priests believe the smart phone is very
helpful during worship, indicating clearly that priests have a more positive
view of the smart phone for worship than lay faithful.
In Figure 7a, 55% of lay faithful say the smart phone has been useful in
their Christian life. This result negates the preceding findings in table 6
which showed that more laypeople found the smart phone not helpful
during worship an indication that the Smart phone may be useful in other
areas of their Christian life. For Priests, an overwhelming 98% assert that
the smart phone has been important in their Christian life, which confirms
preceding results that found the smart phone as very helpful during
worship (table 6).
Research Question Four

Responses
Number Percent
(Mass) 285 33.6%
(Morning/Eve 134 15.8%
nin Prayers)
Parts of
Pastoral (Benediction) 175 20.6%
Life
affected (Society 160 18.9%
most Meetings)
(Personal 94 11.1%
Conversations
)
Total 848 100%
Table 7a: Part of the pastoral life of Catholic lay faithful most affected
by smart phone
$Q16 Frequencies
R esp o n ses
N u m b er P ercen t
(M ass) 3 5 .1 %
(M o rn in g /E v e 3 5 .1 %
n in g P ray ers)
P art o f
(B en ed ictio n ) 8 1 3 .6 %
P asto ral L ife
affected m o st
(S o ciety 4 6 .8 %
M eetin g s)
(P erso n al 41 6 9 .5 %
C o n v ersatio n s)
To ta l 59 100%
Data from table 7a shows that most lay faithful believe the Mass is the
most affected by smart phone (34%) and personal conversation is the least
affected by smart phone (11,1%). Conversely, priests say that personal
conversations are the most affected by smart phones (70%) and Mass and
Morning/Evening prayers were the least affected by smart phones (5%).
The data implies how directly opposite Catholic faithful think about the
negative effect of the smart phone on the different pastoral activities of the
parish.
Research Question Five

To what extent are there regulations on smart phone use in the parishes?
Lay Faithful Priests Format

Age/Year of ordination Yes No Yes No
18 & below 85 28 30 7
19-30 143 21 4 0
31-45 32 5 6 0
46 & above 24 0 1 0
Total 284 54 41 7
Percentage (%) 84 16
85 15
Table 8: Lay faithful and priests who say they have regulations on the use
of smartphones in their parishes.
Table 9: Lay faithful who want regulations on the use of smart phones
introduced both at the parish and Diocesan levels
Table 10: Priests who want regulations on the use of smart phones
introduced both at the parish and diocesan levels
The data in table 8 indicate that both lay faithful (84%) and priests (85%)
of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi say they have some regulations on smart
phone use in their parishes. The data shows that many parishes in the
Diocese of Auchi have introduced certain restrictions on the use of smart
phone in their parishes. In Figure 9, many young parishioners, particularly
those within the age bracket of 19 to 30 (n=150 (49%)), want regulations
introduced on the use of smart phone both at the parish and Diocesan
levels. Older parishioners above 46 years of age (n=15 (5%) do not want
such regulations. Similarly, priests who are 18 years and younger since
ordination want the use of smart phone regulated both at the parish at the
diocesan levels (n=45 (73%)) while older priests who are 46 years and
above as priest do not want such regulations (n=1 (2%)). The tendency
from the data of both lay faithful and priests is that younger people, even
though they use the smart phone more in the church as table 4 shows,
express the highest need for smart phone regulations both at the parish and
at the diocesan levels.
Hypothesis Test
A hypothesis was formulated to be tested in the study. Chi-square test was
adopted for this study since chi-square statistics are commonly used for
testing relationships between categorical variables.
H0 (Null hypothesis): There is no significant relationship between the year

of birth of laypersons and the year of ordination of priests and their
perceptions of the usefulness of the smart phone in their Christian life.
Chi-Square Tests
L ay F aith f u l P r iests
Va lu Df A sy m p . Va lu e Df A sy m p . S ig .
e S ig . ( 2- ( 2 -sid ed )
sid ed )
a
P ear so 4 3 .4 4 12 .0 0 0 3 .6 6 2 6 .7 2 2
n C h i- 3a
S q u ar e
L ik eli 4 0 .5 0 12 .0 0 0 4 .2 1 9 6 .6 4 7
hood 8
R atio
L in ear 3 .5 2 6 1 .0 6 0 .0 0 0 1 .9 9 5
-b y -
L in ear
A sso ci
atio n
N of 340 51
Va lid
C ases
Table 9: Chi-square results for lay faithful and priests’ perception of the
usefulness of the smart phones in their Christian life based on their ages
and years of ordination respectively
Given a predetermined alpha level of significance at 0.5 and the degree of

freedom for lay faithful at 12 and that of priests at 6, the chi-square results
from the above table 9 gives the X 2 for lay faithful at 0. 000 and for priests
at 0.722. With a corresponding probability level of between 0.10 and 0.05,
the p-value is below 0.05 at 0.000 for lay faithful and above 0.5 at 0.722 is
for priests. Thus, with a p-value of 0.000 for lay faithful, which is less than
the conventionally accepted significance level of 0.05 (i.e. p ˂ 0.05) the
null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative hypothesis accepted. In other
words, there is a significant relationship between the year of birth and the
way lay faithful perceive the usefulness of the smart phone in their
Christian life. This means one is more likely to appreciate the smart phone
in one’s Christian life depending on one’s age. This confirms research
Similarly, because the p-level for priests is 0.722 and is more than the
conventionally accepted significance level of 0.05 (i.e. p ˂ 0.05) the null
hypothesis is confirmed and the alternative hypothesis is rejected. In other
words, there is no significant relationship between the year of ordination
and the way priests perceive the usefulness of the smart phone in their
Christian life. This means that the year of the ordination of a priest does
not matter in his perception of the value of the smartphone in his Christian
life. This again confirms research question three which shows that priests
have an overwhelmingly positive perception of the smart phone in their
Christian lives.
6.6 Discussion of Findings

The findings of the research show that most priests in the diocese of Auchi
own two smart phones (49%) while most members of the lay faithful own
only one Smart phone (57%). Also, on average, more priests spend less
than 6 hours on their smart phones. Only 20% of priests spend more than
six hours on their smart phone daily, while for lay faithful, it is 32% who
spend more than six hours on their smart phone daily. Findings from the
research show that both as priests (10 years as priests and below) and lay
faithful (19 to 30 years of age), younger people are the heaviest users of the
Smartphone.
Findings show that while a large percentage of lay faithful who are 30
years and below (62%) take their smart phones with them to liturgical
celebrations, only a quarter of priests in the ordination age bracket of 11 to
30 years (25%) take their smart phones with them to liturgical celebrations.
Significant is that younger Catholics and younger priests take their smart
phones with them to liturgical celebrations the most. These results agree
with research by Rajan47 which found out that Catholic and Protestant
Christians between the ages of 20–29 years (59%) in Delhi India say the
Smartphone plays important religious functions for them and that they are
therefore attached to their smart phones. Also, the fact that three out of
47 Benson Rajan, Smartphones in churches: An affective negotiation around digital disruption and
every five young lay people take their smart phones with them to liturgical
celebrations is an addiction, which is a justification of the Grounded
Theory Model of Mobile Technology Addiction used for this study.48 The
first proposition of the model states that age, amongst others, is a key
factor that determines whether people will be addicted to their smart
phones or not. This research which found out that more young people are
attached to their smart phones confirms the findings of this research.
Although not many Catholics claim to have made use of their smart phones
to make or receives calls, send SMS or chat during liturgical celebrations,
the data shows that more lay faithful (35%) have used their smart phones in
the church to make a call, SMS or chat during a liturgical celebration than
priests (16%) who do same. This confirms the research of AT&T,49 which
found out that 25% of Americans who attend church regularly have used a
mobile device during liturgical celebrations.
While the percentage of Catholics who claimed to have used the

smartphone during liturgical celebration is low, 88% of priests say they
have seen lay faithful using their smartphones during liturgical
celebrations. On the other hand, a similarly high percentage of lay faithful
have seen other lay faithful using the smartphones to make or receive calls,
SMS or chat during liturgical celebrations (60%) compared to only 2% of
priests who say they have seen fellow priests using smartphones during
liturgical celebrations. Although both data confirm that laypeople use
smartphones during liturgical celebrations frequently, it is significant that
both priests and laypersons have seen priests using the smartphone to call,
SMS and chat.
The research findings show that priests and lay faithful perceive the
usefulness of smartphones in liturgical worship differently. An
overwhelming 78% of priests believe that the smartphone is very helpful in
the church, while only 4% of all lay faithful see the smartphone as helpful
48 Decision Sciences Institute, A Grounded Theory Model of Mobile Technology Addiction (2017).
in the church. The results point to the fact that, generally, priests have a
more positive view of the smartphone in the church than lay faithful. This
is further confirmed in the findings which show that a similarly
overwhelming percentage of priests (98%) see the smartphone as useful in
their Christian life while only 55% of lay faithful say same. Both results
show an overwhelming acceptance of the smartphone as a positive tool in
Christianity and in their personal Christian life compared to the lay faithful
whose view of the smartphone is negatively tilted. These results confirm
the media dependence50which posits that people depend on their media for
the information they need. The negative perception of the smartphone by
lay people further confirms a Pew Research survey51 that found out that an
overwhelming 96% of American adults say they are not comfortable with
the use of cell phones at church or during liturgical worship. Also, the high
acceptance of the smartphone by priests confirms the research by Fandos-
Igado, Ordóñez-Fernández and Pérez-Escoda52 which found out that
pastoral agents of Aragon Catholic Church in Spain believe the smartphone
has many positive advantages, many of which have not yet been explored.
Data revealed the parts of the pastoral life of lay faithful and priests that
have been most affected by the use of smartphones. While most lay faithful
(34%) say the Mass is the most affected by smartphone, personal
conversation is the least affected (11%). Conversely, priests say that
personal conversations are the most affected by smartphones (70%) and
Mass and Morning/Evening prayers were the least affected by smartphones
(5%). Significant about the above data is that priests and lay faithful think
in directly opposite directions when it comes to their perceptions about the
negative effects of the smartphone on the different pastoral activities of the
parish.
50 Sandra Ball-Rokeach& Melvin DeFleur, A dependency model of mass media effects.

Communication Research, 3(1) (1976) 3-21.
51 Aaron Earls, Cellphones at church: Benefits and cautions. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from
https://factsandtrends.net/2016/04/27/cellphones-at-church-benefits-and-cautions/ (2016).
Efficiency in the use of the Smartphone and social networks of the agents of the Church of Aragon in
Research findings show that an overwhelming majority of lay faithful

(84%) and priests (85%) of the Catholic Diocese of Auchi say that they
have some regulation on the use of smartphones in their parishes and
younger lay faithful (n=150 (49%)), and priests (n=45 (73%)) want
regulations introduced on the use of smartphone both at the parish and
diocesan levels.
7. Recommendations
Based on the findings of the research, the following are recommended:

1. Lay faithful and priests should be educated to desist from using
their smartphones during liturgical ceremonies.
2. There should be seminars to educate lay faithful and priests about
the proper use of smartphones as Catholic Christians.
3. Lay faithful and priests should ensure some regulations on the
smartphones in their parishes to prevent the smartphones from
becoming a distraction to worship.
4. There should be further research to interrogate if these findings are
corroborated in other non-Catholic denominations or even amongst
Muslims.
5. Further research should be carried out to investigate in what
specific ways the smartphone is useful to priests since priests see
the smartphone more positively than lay faithful.
8. Conclusion
Based on the findings of this research, most priests in the diocese of Auchi
own two smartphones while most members of the lay faithful own only one
smartphone. Priests spend less time on their smartphones daily than the lay
faithful. Younger lay faithful and priests take their smartphones with them
to liturgical celebrations and more lay faithful than priests have used their
smartphones to make or receive a call, send an SMS or chat during
smartphones during liturgical celebrations than lay people who have seen
priests doing the same. Also, many lay faithful have seen fellow lay
faithful using their smartphones during liturgical celebrations while only an
insignificant number of priests have seen fellow priests doing the same.
In conclusion, most priests perceive the smartphone positively both in the

church and in their Christian lives while most lay faithful perceive the
smartphone negatively in both circumstances. Most priests say personal
conversation is the most important part of their Christian life than has been
affected the most by the smartphone. For the lay faithful it is the Mass that
is most affected. While priests say Mass and Morning/Evening prayers are
also the least affected, for the lay faithful personal conversation is the least
affected.

The Perception of Smartphones Among Catholic Faithful: A Study of Selected Parishes in Edo State, Nigeria

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The Perception of Smartphones Among Catholic Faithful: A Study of Selected Parishes in Edo State, Nigeria

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JIT 17:2, (2020) 257- 290

THE PERCEPTION OF SMARTPHONES AMONG

Peter Eshioke Egielewa

Admittedly, scriptural resources provide a solid ground for a sound

and through tongues of fire to the Apostles.1In such instances of

A further approach to Jesus’ method of communication was summed up in

1 Mike Mazzalongo, The use of media in ministry: Communicating the message.

Significantly, Jesus is the specific order of importance in his strategy of

Since the dawn of the 21st century, Information and Communication

The Global System Mobile (GSM) Phone, as a product of innovation in the

6Alan Tippett, Missiology. Pasadena: William Carey Library (1987).

guaranteed. Smartphone affects Gospel communication as well.

After having established that American digital natives spend an average of

In Nigeria, Okonoboh argues that smartphone is changing religious

March 2020 from https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2017/05/smartphones-in-worship-services/ (2020).

Nigerian Tribune (2017, October 22). Retrieved from https://tribuneonlineng.com/digital-christianity-

youth culture. The Vanguard. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/09/using-bible-apps-

3. Statement of the problem

Having examined the several researches above that are conducted at

3.1 Research Objectives

3.2 Research Questions

2. What is the percentage of lay faithful and priests who bring

22 Don Hill, Smartphones Explained. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from

Phone (created by Microsoft). Most smartphones use a touch screen to

24 Computer Hope, Smartphone. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from

4.3 Catholic Faithful

Those who, since they have been incorporated in Christ through

In other words, one becomes a faithful by receiving the sacrament of

Using Chi-Square Statistic in Research. Retrieved on 16 March 2020 from

data over time. Retrieved on 07 March 2020 from http://cara.georgetown.edu/frequently-requested-

Perception includes both bottom-up and top-down processing. Bottom-up

29 Catholicculture.org, Catechism of the Catholic Church: The lay faithful.

gotten used to that ticking sound. Such a situation is referred to as sensory

5. Review of Related Literature

5.1 Smartphone and Religion

Similarly, Rajan carried out a qualitative research through an in-depth

There was another study of 40 Muslim Nigerians on their use of the

32 Kendra Cherry, Perception and the Perceptual Process.

smartphone to mobilize fellow believers to maintain religious ties and

5.2 Theoretical Framework

March 2020 from https://www.sharefaith.com/blog/2017/05/smartphones-in-worship-services/ (2020).

characteristics, task characteristics, habit, culture and outcomes.Several

Proposition 1: That individuals' personal characteristics (age, gender, need

Proposition 2: Perceived task characteristics (time-sensitivity) influence

Proposition 3: The type of use (impulsive/executive) influences the type

Proposition 4: Habit influences whether individuals will be addicted to

Proposition 5: Culture influences whether individuals will be addicted to

issue like community, group or people.”39Descriptive research which can

6.2 Method of Data Collection

39 Inaam Akhtar, Research Design. Retrieved on 08 March 2020 from

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall (1984).

measurement for the purpose of standardization since the information is

S/no Local Government 2006 Census 2016 Figures

43 Dictionary.cambridge.org, Diocese. Retrieved on 09 March 2020 from

S/N Item in the Diocese of Auchi Population Format

3. Lay Faithful 100, 233

Table 2: Population of Auchi diocese and its different subdivisions

6.4 Sample Size and Technique

6.5 Data Presentation and Analysis

Research Question One

Research Question Two

Lay Faithful Priests

Lay Faithful Priests