Survey: Christian Media Occupies Small Segment Of Media Usage

Written by LifeWay News Service

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PHOENIX, Ariz., 6/27/06 -- Research results being released for the first time in the July/August edition of Facts & Trends magazine show most people who attend a Protestant church are using Christian media - magazines, Web sites, television, radio, movies, and music - but Christian media is only a fraction of the media churchgoers use. Protestant clergy, on the other hand, are much heavier users of Christian media than are the people in their churches.

Facts & Trends is published bimonthly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Two studies were conducted for Facts & Trends by Ellison Research (Phoenix, Ariz.). One is a representative sample of 791 Protestant church ministers nationwide and the other is a companion survey of 1,184 people who attend Protestant churches at least once a month. Respondents were asked about their media use, including use of "specifically Christian" media (not just media with good values or an "inspirational" message).

The study showed Christian media is commonly used by Protestant laity:

-- 78 percent listen to Christian music
-- 64 percent watch Christian television
-- 64 percent visit Christian Web sites
-- 64 percent listen to Christian radio
-- 60 percent read Christian non-fiction books
-- 55 percent watch Christian movies
-- 47 percent read Christian fiction books
-- 44 percent read Christian magazines

Yet for each type of media, the average proportion dedicated to Christian options is less than half - usually much less than half. The proportion of media use that is specifically Christian ranged from a high of 42 percent for music (meaning on average, 42 percent of all music Protestant churchgoers listen to is Christian) to a low of 17 percent for movies.

And it is very rare for people to rely solely on Christian media; the high was 7 percent who listen only to Christian music.

Lay leaders within churches tend to use Christian media much more than do non-leaders. For example, 58 percent of all lay leaders read Christian magazines, compared to 39 percent among those who are not in a leadership position. Christian magazines account for an average of 28 percent of the magazine reading lay leaders do, versus 17 percent among non-leaders.

Media habits among clergy

Clergy use Christian media even more than lay leaders. Among Protestant clergy:

-- 94 percent listen to Christian music
-- 92 percent read Christian non-fiction books
-- 87 percent read Christian magazines
-- 84 percent listen to Christian radio
-- 83 percent visit Christian Web sites
-- 77 percent watch Christian television
-- 76 percent watch Christian movies
-- 53 percent read Christian fiction books

Plus, among clergy, Christian media tends to represent a higher proportion of media usage than it does among laity. On average, 45 percent of the fiction books read by clergy are Christian fiction (28 percent among laity), 66 percent of the music clergy listen to is Christian (42 percent among laity) and 51 percent of the Web sites ministers visit are Christian (20 percent among clergy). Only Christian television showed no difference in use between pastors and laity.

According to Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, what these numbers really demonstrate is something the business community has known for some time - Christian media is growing ever more popular. Major secular investors are buying Christian publishing and music companies. Christian books and albums are hitting best-seller lists. Christian-themed films such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Prince of Egypt and The Passion of the Christ have done huge box-office business.

"Secular corporations have been backing movies with strong religious themes, buying Christian publishing companies, and releasing albums from Christian artists," Sellers noted, "and these figures really show why. Christian media, although often still lacking the financial resources of the secular media, is reaching tens of millions of Protestant churchgoers and clergy on a regular basis - to say nothing of its reach among people who don’t attend Protestant churches."

Sellers noted that there is still tremendous room for growth. "Although Christian media of some type reaches the vast majority of Protestants, for the average person it still represents a fraction of the media they consume. From a pure business standpoint, in most categories there is probably greater growth potential in getting current Christian media consumers to consume more of it than to try to convert nonusers to users."

Pastors’ greater use of Christian media should give them a greater familiarity with it, Sellers added, leading to the ability to promote or recommend solid Christian Web sites, books, entertainment and other options that can help their congregations grow spiritually.

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Micah Carter – (615) 251.2307 or
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