New media as tools for evangelization: Towards developing effective communication strategy in the Catholic Church

This study suggests the audience that needs to be reached in the Catholic Church and that audience’s characteristic behavior towards using the tools of the new media in relation to their attendance in and commitment to church activities. Three hundred and two young Catholics ages 12 to 24 residing at the St. Cloud diocese, Minnesota, U.S.A. responded to the survey. An electronic non-random survey was carried out. The study asked what tools of the new media the Catholic youths use the most and how they use them. The results revealed a strong involvement by the Catholic youths in the use of the Internet. Eighty-three percent of Catholic youths are likely to use the Internet on a daily basis. The results show that Catholic youths are more likely to be familiar with social network sites than with weblogs, and are likely to be found more on social network sites such as Facebook and YouTube. The most likely activity carried out by this group online is watching video webcast or clips. The results suggest loss of interest on religious issues by Catholic youths. The findings show that more Catholic youths are undecided if they will participate in activities organized online by the church. This study concluded that although the results do not point to enthusiastic Catholic youths who are ready to participate in all kinds of activities organized by the church online, the findings of this study show that the church has ample opportunities to utilize this new means of social communications to appeal to its younger audience. Of particular interest will be the use of social network sites, especially those that provide visuals and motion. Future studies may focus on the Church in developing countries to determine how the young are doing in their use of the Internet in an environment of slower technological advancement