Digital Bible Study March 2015 - FINAL_0

While the study provided valuable information on the percent of Americans who read the Bible and how they perceived the Bible, the study did not address the various mediums through which

Susan Ferebee, Ph.D (Kaplan University)

8135 N Central Ave #7, Phoenix, AZ 85020

ferebees@gmail.com Dr.Ferebee holds a Ph.D in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern and certification in Neuroscience Foundations from Harvard University She performs research in persuasive

technology, social media, the neuroscience of persuasion, and trust and persuasion in virtual communication, and publishes in each of these areas She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and serves as chair and committee member for dissertation students

James Davis, Ph.D (University of Phoenix)

8245 N Rancho Catalina Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85704

Jd789@comcast.net

Dr Davis is a Professor Emeritus from the Communications Department at the University of Arizona and currently teaches for the University of Phoenix Dr Davis has received a number of teaching and outstanding contributor awards, Dr Davis performs research related to virtual communication Currently, his research involves development of neural persuasion models Dr Davis received his Ph.D from the University of Washington in Communication and is certified

in Neuroscience Foundations from Harvard University

Martine Bates Sharp, Ph.D (University of Phoenix)

2218 Indian Hills Road, Hartselle, AL 35640

martinebates@gmail.com

Dr.Sharp has been a faculty member at the University of Phoenix since 2004, teaching doctoral classes in research and educational leadership, serving as chair and committee member for dissertation students, and teaching residencies She serves as peer coach for new dissertation mentors Dr Sharp formerly served in several K12 schools as a teacher, principal, and central office administrator, and served an on ground university as adjunct instructor and intern supervisor She has three books in print, has had over three hundred articles published, and currently holds the position of media reviewer for a statewide

denominational newspaper.

Stephen Beyer, Ph.D (Kaplan University)

1603 Mayflower, Richardson, TX 75081

sbeyer@kaplan.edu

Dr Beyer has worked in higher education for over twenty years His primary focus of study has been on the societal uses of computing along with teaching and administrative duties Dr Beyer has an undergraduate degree from the University of North Texas and graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Edinburg and the University of North Texas Dr Beyer also serves as an acolyte at his church.

In 2013, the Barna Group performed a study on the state of the Bible in 2013 While the study provided valuable information on the percent of Americans who read the Bible and how they perceived the Bible, the study did not address the various mediums through which the Bible is presented today (print, digital, video, and audio) Combining theoretical frameworks on medium, sacred objects, and

computer-mediated communication, this exploratory study examines how the use of different Bible mediums (print, digital, audio, video), varies by age, gender, and education and explores the relationship between the Bible medium and the perception of the Bible as a sacred object Results reveal whether different Bible mediums are used in different environments and for different purposes, and additionally suggest the participant’s overall perception of digital Bibles.

Keywords: digitization, digital Bible, Bible, medium, computer-mediated communication, sacred objects

The Relationship of Bible Medium to Bible Perception

Introduction

In 2013, the Barna Group performed research to determine the state of the Bible in 2013 They found that 88% of Americans own the Bible and desire to read it Sixty percent of those surveyed expressed a desire to read it more often, and 80% of participants said that they considered the Bible sacred According to this Barna Group research, younger adults seek guidance from the Bible on specific topics like parenting, illness, death, and relationships at a far higher percentage than the older generation, but this generation is also more likely to question the content of the Bible In this study, the results show that 21% of the American participants felt that the Bible was the Word of God with no exceptions, while 39% believed that the Bible represents either the Inspired Word of God or the actual Word of God without exception Twenty-three percent of the participants were neutral, feeling that the Bible could be the Inspired Word of God or the

interpretation of the writers’ understanding of God Seventeen percent felt that the Bible was just another book of stories and teachings written by men (Barna Group, 2013)

What is unclear in the Barna (2013) study is the Bible medium being referred to by survey respondents The Bible is available in print, in digital format on smartphones, tablets, computers, and audio book format As McLuhan and Fiore posited in 1967, communication channels differ with regard to the senses and thoughts that they stimulate, and each channel requires different cognitive processes They hold that the medium affects how the message is processed and

interpreted Each medium (e.g., a printed book, an audio book, or an e-book) offers a symbolic context that influences the message being communicated McLuhan and Fiore theorize that people adapt to their environment, and this adaptation might, therefore affect the perception of the message Without knowing which medium the survey participants were referring to in the Barna (2013) study, we remain with an incomplete understanding of biblical use in the modern world

Background and Theoretical Basis Transition from Oral to Writing to Print

Ong (2002) observes that the strength of oral communication compared to written and printed communication differs, and reports that in Clanchy’s (1979) studies, written documents did not immediately lead to trust Verbal witnesses could be asked to justify or defend what they stated, whereas documents could not be questioned in the same way Ong points to an important

element of the written Bible in that the stories represent written records derived from an oral-based tradition and sensibility What is meant by this is that the written record recreates events in time, based on orally communicated sequences Ong suggests that these events in time were never present visually, but only orally This supports the position of McLuhan and Fiore (1967) who state that the medium within which a message is delivered provides the symbolic context that envelops the communication Certain social contexts existed at the time of the oral

storytelling that may not exist at the time the stories are read in writing or print Hearing and reading are two different contexts, and expanding this logic further, reading hand-written text,

printed text, and digital text are all different contexts Ong characterizes what might be lost in the transition from oral to written scripture when he states, “In a text even the words that are there lack their full phonetic qualities In oral speech, a word must have one or another intonation or tone of voice—lively, excited, quiet, incensed, resigned, or whatever It is impossible to speak a word orally without any intonation In a text, punctuation can signal tone minimally: a question mark or a comma, for example, generally calls for the voice to be raised a bit” (p 99) Wolf (2015) suggests that the best historic moment to reflect our current transition to a digital culture

is in the Greek’s movement from an oral society to a literacy-based society She points to

Socrates’s belief that the endurance of the printed text could confuse youth into thinking that if it

is written, it is true, and that through reading, the core of knowledge was reached Probing for deeper meaning, as could occur in dialogue, might not occur during reading With regard to digitized text, it is difficult to say whether the ability to link to related relevant information leads

to the ability to probe or serves as a distraction

Computer-Mediated Communication

In 2015, a further level of distance and a new context emerges when the Word of God is

presented in digital format on our tablets, computers, and smartphones Computer-mediated communication (CMC) theory suggests what effect the digitization might have on the

interpretation and perception of the Bible According to Fulk & Collins-Jarvis, a computer-mediated communication is non-neutral and causes alterations in communication patterns and result in social effects (2001) Examining the influence of moving from oral communication of scripture and Bible related events to writing and print, and then additionally moving to

computer-mediated communication, it is clear that context is changing, and there may well be a loss in the sense of interpretation and implied meaning

Nass and Reeves (2003) determined that people respond to and treat technological devices as though they are human by being polite, responding differently to male and female digital voices, and by exchanging comments in a conversational way with a technology device This

personalization of technological devices adds to the complexity of human interaction with digital Bibles

Sacred Objects

A high percentage of Americans perceive the Bible as a sacred object (Barna Group, 2013), and the question arises as to whether this perception refers to both a digital Bible and printed Bible Can holding an IPad and reading the Bible on that IPad constitute holding a sacred object, and does the Word of God remain constant in interpretation and perception across different

mediums? Durkheim (1965) wrote that an object becomes sacred depending on whether people choose to consider the item’s utility, or whether they respond to other intrinsic characteristics that have little to do with the utility Society bestows meaning on objects Reading a Bible on an IPad, however, provides a complex scenario A printed Bible is an object in and of itself When the Bible takes on a digital format and becomes only one of many other objects stored on that digital device, the user’s direct connection with the Bible or Word of God is mediated Fulk & Collins-Jarvis (2001) suggest that computer-mediated-communication (CMC) effects changes in

how individuals communicate, and might alter communication, interpretation, and formation of social connections

Ferre (1991) suggests that in considering the effect of technology on religion, technology must

be defined as “all the ways in which intelligence implements practical purposes” (p 220) A horse-drawn carriage is a technology in its own time, and an African drum used to communicate

is a technology as much as radio or television However, Ferre does differentiate between what

he calls a “craft technology” and “high technologies” (p 220) How should one consider issues that arise when religion, the Word of God, sacred objects, and technologies combine? Ferre states that every technology represents a value and suggests that certain technologies can

embody Christian values, offering that it might then be acceptable to consider “Christian

technologies” (Mullins, 1990, p 222) Mullins suggests that electronic data presentation

restructures our cognitive processes related to texts because electronic text is purely visual, not tactile, and as McLuhan and Fiore (1967) also suggest, this different medium calls on different cognitive and sensory processes Additionally, Mullins points out that in an electronic document, the reader chooses his own path through the material, and this again may well influence the interpretation and perception of the content

Purpose of the Study

This quantitative exploratory study examines the use of different Bible mediums (print, digital, audio, and video), how this use varies in general and by gender, and explores the relationship between the Bible medium and the perception of the Bible The study results also reveal whether different Bible mediums are used in different environments and for different purposes, and finally the results suggest the participants’ overall perception of digital Bibles Finally, it

analyzes whether any significant differences exist between males and females in Bible usage and perception of digital Bibles

Methodology

This quantitative, exploratory research was conducted to determine Bible usage patterns that included the use of digital Bibles on electronic devices In Survey 1, information was gathered from a general population regarding use of both print and digital Bibles In Survey 2, information was gathered from only those who read and use digital Bibles to understand their perceptions of using the digital Bible

The first survey was given to a sample from the general population, recruited through social media sites and through email This survey gathered information regarding which type of Bible,

if any, the participants used, and their perception of digital Bibles compared to print Bibles Survey 1 used categorical variables The second survey was given to only participants who use a digital Bible, and the purpose was to determine their perceptions of that experience and how and where they use their digital Bible This survey was a five-question Likert scale with responses ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree The survey questions are represented in each

of the Table titles in the Results section The results reported here were used to guide a future qualitative study on perception of the digital Bible

Analysis of Survey 1 data was descriptive, looking at frequency, means, and standard deviations

of responses Analysis of Survey 2 included descriptive statistics as well as using a single factor Anova to determine if significant differences existed between male and female for any of the questions

Participants

Participants for Survey 1 consisted of 500 respondents recruited from social media sites and through email Participants were volunteers and represented a convenience sample Of the 500 responses received, 443 were complete and with no missing values Participants for Survey 2 consisted of 110 respondents, also recruited from social media sites and through email Of the

110 responses received, 70 were complete and with no missing values

Table 1 Participant Gender for Survey 1

Frequency Percentage

For Survey 1, 53% of respondents were male and 47% were female

Table 2 Participant Gender for Survey 2

Frequency Percentage

For Survey 2, 43% of respondents were male and 57% were female

Results Survey 1

The first two questions explored what Bible format was most used at home and at church

Table 3 The Bible that I use most often at home is

Frequency Percentage

Forty-nine percent of respondents in Survey 1 reported using the printed Bible most often at home, while 29% reported that they do not read the Bible Nineteen percent of respondents reported using a Bible app on a digital device at home Three percent use a Bible on a CD at home and less than 1% used an audiobook Bible at home

Table 4 The Bible that I use most often at church is

Frequency Percentage

The Bible provided at church 25 5%

I do not use a Bible at church 140 32%

With regard to the Bible used by Survey 1 respondents while at church, 50%

report using their own printed Bible and 32% report not using a Bible at church

Thirteen percent use a Bible app on a digital device while at church, and 5% use

the Bible provided by the church

Table 5 For me, personally, the experience of reading the Bible on a digital

device compared to reading the printed Bible

Frequency Percentage

is somewhat different but is a

provides less of a connection to God 39 7%

Provides a greater connection to God 14 2%

allows more opportunities to connect

is a negative experience 12 2%

I don’t know I have never read the

Bible on a digital device 146 33%

With regard to how respondents of Survey 1 feel about the experience of reading the

on a digital device, 22% felt that there was no difference between reading the printed Bible or the digital Bible Twenty-five percent felt that the experience was somewhat different, but positive Thirty-three percent of respondents had never read the Bible on a digital device Four percent reported reading the digital Bible as a negative experience

Table 6 Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God?

Frequency Percentage

Sixty-six percent of Survey 1 respondents believe that the Bible is the Word of God Thirty-four percent do not believe that the Bible is the Word of God

Table 7 Do you believe that the Bible is a sacred object?

Frequency Percentage

Sixty percent of Survey 1 respondents believe that the Bible is a sacred object, and 40% believe that it is not

Table 8 In your opinion, can holding a digital device with the Bible on it be considered

holding a sacred object.

Frequency Percentage

Twenty-four percent of Survey 1 respondents felt that holding a digital device with the Bible on

it could be considered holding a sacred object Seventy-six percent did not believe it could be considered a sacred object, or were unsure

Survey 2

The descriptive statistics for each question in the Likert scale survey is shown in Table 9 The response range for these questions was 1 – Strongly Agree, 2 – Agree, 3 – Not Sure, 4 –

Disagree, and 5 – Strongly Disagree

Table 9 Using a digital Bible encourages me to read and/or study the Bible more often

Encourage More

Standard Error 0.09614

Standard Deviation 0.804362

Sample Variance 0.646998

Confidence Level(95.0%)0.191793

The mean response for whether the digital Bible encouraged respondents to read and/or study the Bible more often was 2 – Agree, with the range of responses being between 1 and 4 with a standard deviation of 804

Table 10 I use a virtual Bible in different contexts and/or different places than I use my printed Bible

Context

Standard Error 0.078811041

Standard Deviation 0.659380473

Sample Variance 0.434782609

Confidence Level(95.0%)0.157223724

The mean response for whether the virtual Bible was used in different contexts and different places than the printed Bible was 2 – Agree, with the range of responses being between 1 and 4 with a standard deviation of 659

Table 11 I consider my digital Bible to be as authentic as my printed Bible

Authentic

Standard Error 0.101744616

Standard Deviation 0.851256531

Sample Variance 0.724637681

Confidence Level(95.0%) 0.202974955

The mean response for whether the virtual Bible was perceived to be as authentic as the printed Bible was 2 – Agree, with the range of responses being between 1 and 4 with a standard

deviation of 851

Table 12 I like to receive daily Bible scripture or devotional messages by text or email