This study summarizes dissertation research conducted at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville of people who visit Christian Web sites.  The survey collected data from 912 respondents over a four-week period (June 14, 1998- July 18, 1998).  This study employed standardized uses and gratifications measures, the measurement issues raised in this study point toward different gratifications associated with Web use, even for the religious television viewer.  This study found that respondents rank "Religious Web Use" as the most important reason to go online.  While some entertainment and information elements are embedded in their online experience, religious overtones permeate the Christian Web users' encounters.  For this audience possible motivations for religious Web usage may be found in visiting Web sites as a reaction to religious television, to reinforce faith, and as a possible alternative to traditional religious services for some. The gratifications the audience may be seeking are best understood in terms of two or three major motivations, such as faith, community, and religious belief, which drive their selection of media content.  This research was funded by a grant from the Appalachian College Association Mellon Fellowship Foundation.

Americans today are faced with unprecedented amounts of information being delivered by mass media.  Television, newspapers, radio, movies, books, and the Internet are delivering information faster and in greater volume than ever before.  But despite this increase in information, we still know too little about how the World Wide Web affects the way we view our world, particularly our religious worlds.  However, a growing need exists to explore the intersection of media and religion, particularly where it converges on the Internet.

To date, researchers have only cursorily studied media and religion within the paradigms of either cultural theory or uses and gratifications, but the body of knowledge is slowly growing (Buddenbaum, 1981; Abelman & Neundorf, 1985; Christians, 1985; Abelman, 1987; Hoover, 1988; Wuthnow, 1994; Hoover & Venturelli, 1996; O'Leary, 1996; Stout & Buddenbaum, 1996; Hoover & Lundby, 1997; and Warren, 1997).  Due to its infancy, the Internet is beginning to draw the attention of researchers as a medium with rich potential as a research subject.  Religious Web sites in general offer a wealth of topics for exploration from religious radio and television sites on the Web, to denominational headquarters for churches and ministry organizations, to personal home pages (Goshen, 19998).  While there were over 4,000 Christian church Web sites as of June 1998, scant research exists on the Christian audience's usage of the World Wide Web (Goshen, 1998).  Insufficient knowledge also exists about this segment of the population's reasons for using this form of mediated religious communication.  Motivations and gratifications for use of religious Web sites by this audience may be unique.  Religious radio stations have almost quadrupled over the past 25 years, and the number of religious TV shows increased fourfold in just one decade—the 1980s alone" (Ferguson & Lee, 1997, p. 71).

The purpose of this study is twofold:

1)To add to the available knowledge on media uses and gratifications; and

2)To understand what the audience for religious broadcasting, specifically Christian Web site users are looking for and to argue for a religious extension of the uses and gratifications paradigm.

While literature about religious television and radio broadcasting is fairly well documented, religious usage of Web sites to date has received less examination by social science research. The present study provides an exploratory analysis of the motivations for Christian Web site usage upon which future studies on motivations for religious Web site usage gratifications may be based.

Background

While extensive research on mass media audiences dates back to the Payne Fund Studies in the 1920's, published scholarly research on audiences of religious broadcasting is limited (Rogers, 1994, pp. 190-192).  The literature reveals that some of the earliest research concerning religious broadcasting began between 1950 and 1960 (Bennett et. al., 1954; Boyd, 1957; Weber, 1958; Lenski, 1961; Samuelson, 1964; and Smith, 1969).   These studies were comprised mainly of histories of religion and economics, as well as biographies of religious media personalities.  Televangelism, riding on the backs of religious movements, persuasion theory, and critical theory, caught the attention of the national media, and social science once again turned its attention to the role of religion in the media. For the purposes of this study, televangelism is defined as "the exclusive use of television or cable television for the transmission of the gospel by a television evangelist" (Schmidt and Kess, 1986, p. 5).  Religion has been a part of the American broadcasting mosaic of radio and, later, television for decades.  Despite this, intensive study of the phenomenon by communication researchers continues to be relegated to token efforts at best.

Religious programming has been part of the American landscape since the first religious service was transmitted over radio KDKA from Pittsburgh's Calvary Episcopal Church on January 2, 1921 (Ward, 1994, p. 208).  Religious broadcasting has been in existence for more than 75 years; however, its potential as a true growth industry evolved with the advent of commercial television in 1948 (Boyd, 1957).

The main theoretical or methodological perspective used as the basis for this project was uses and gratifications.   While other approaches, such as cultural/critical, were considered for this topic, uses and gratifications is appropriate because, at its most basic level, religion is itself a system of uses and gratifications.  In its simplest form, the uses and gratifications model posits that audience members have certain needs or drives that are satisfied by using both non-media and media sources. Uses and gratifications perspectives are borrowed from the areas of sociology and psychology.  Sociology provided the tenets of functionalism and structuralism.  Psychology provided explanations for behavior, motivation, and needs.  This resulted in a large body of literature about this mass media theoretical perspective.  This discussion will be more concerned with the religious application of media-related sources of satisfaction. The actual needs satisfied by the media are called media gratifications. Our knowledge of these uses and gratifications typically comes from surveys that have asked people a large number of questions about how they use the media.  According to Dominick (1996), several researchers have classified the various uses and gratifications into a fourfold category system: "cognition, diversion, social utility, and withdrawal" (p. 47).

 Cognition is the act of coming to know something.  When a person uses a mass medium to obtain information about something then he or she is using the medium in a cognitive way.  Dominick (1996, p. 48) noted that:

At the individual level, researchers have noted that there are two different types of cognitive functions that are performed.  One has to do with using the media to keep up with information on current events, while the other has to do with using the media to learn about things in general or things that relate to a person's general curiosity. 

To illustrate, the Abelman (1988) surveys had found that many people give the following reasons for using television: " (a) I want to understand what is going on in the world, (b) I want to know what religious leaders are doing and, (c) I want to know what political leaders are doing" (Abelman, 1988, p. 116).

These reasons constitute the current-events type of cognitive gratifications.  At the same time, many people, according to the Hamilton and Rubin's (1992, p. 674) surveys also report the following reasons for using television: "So I can learn how to do thing things I haven't done before. Because it helps me learn things about myself and others. So I can learn about what could happen to me."

These statements illustrate the second type of cognition: using the media to satisfy a desire for general knowledge. 

Another basic need for human beings is diversion, which   can take many forms.  Some of these forms identified by researchers include: "(1) simulation, or seeking relief from boredom or the routine activities of everyday life; (2) relaxation, or escape from the pressures and problems of day-to-day existence; and (3) emotional release of pent-up emotions and energy" (Dominick, 1996, pp. 48-49). 

Psychologists have also identified a set of social integrative needs, including our need to strengthen our contact with family, friends, and others in our society, which the Internet may augment (Dominick, 1996, p. 51).  The media function that addresses this need is called social utility, and this usage may take several forms.  The media provide a common ground for social conversations, and many people use things that they have read, seen, or heard as topics for discussion when talking with others.  This term is known as conversational currency (Dominick, 1996, p. 51).  Other people report that they use the media, particularly TV and radio, but also the Internet, as a means to overcome loneliness (Murphy, 1998).  As communication researcher Reginald Murphy (1998a) noted, radio keeps people company in their cars.  People who might otherwise be deprived of social relationships find companionship in media content and media personalities.  In fact, some viewers might go so far as to develop feelings of kinship and friendship with mediated religious figures.  Users of religious media might react to televangelists, for example, as if they were actual friends.  This phenomenon is called a parasocial relationship, and there is some evidence that it actually does occur (Dominick, 1996, p. 52).

As stated above, humans occasionally need to escape from certain activities and for this reason use media such as the Internet not only for relaxation but also for purposes best described as withdrawal uses.  At times, people use the mass media to create a barrier between themselves and other people or other activities. Hamilton and Rubin (1992), in their study of users of religious television, categorized this factor as avoidance: "I watch religious programming to avoid programs that are heavy in violence.  I watch religious programming to avoid shows with lots of sex" (Hamilton & Rubin, 1992, p. 674).

In examining this phenomenon, it is important to recognize that it is not only media content that determines audience usage, but also the social context within which the media exposure occurs.  For example religious programming such as cartoons, situation comedies, and musicals all contain material that the user can utilize for escape purposes.  People going to a church, temple, synagogue, or mosque, however, might value the opportunity to socialize more than they value any aspect of the worship service itself.  Here the social context is the deciding factor (Dominick, 1996, p. 52).

It is also important to note that the functional approach makes several assumptions, according to Dominick (1996):

1.Audiences take an active role in the interaction with various media.  That is, the needs of each individual provide motivation that channels that individual's media use.

2.The mass media compete with other sources of satisfaction.  Relaxation, for example, can also be achieved by taking a nap.  Joining religious clubs or playing basketball satisfies some media users' social utility needs.

3.The uses and gratifications approach assumes that people are aware of their own needs and are able to verbalize them.  This approach relies heavily on surveys based on the actual responses of audience members.  Thus the research technique assumes that people's responses are valid indicators of their motives.

4.A great deal of additional research needs to be done in connection with the uses and gratifications approach.  In particular, more work is needed in defining and catergorizing media-related needs or drives and in relating these needs to media usage.  Nonetheless, the current approach provides a valuable way to examine the complex interaction between the various media and their audiences (p.53).

This four-fold category system overlays the map of mediated religion fairly well, making the uses and gratifications perspective perhaps the most appropriate perspective for this type of study and for answering the type of questions this research poses.

Blumler (1979) found uses and gratification researchers shared an elementary set of concepts.  The most noted of these was that of an active audience who seeks out media for their purposes (pp. 11-12).  Blumler argued that in the uses and gratifications paradigm the audience did not just passively consume the mediated images being broadcasted into free space.  Uses and gratifications formulation suggests that audiences tend to use those media that serve a purpose in their lives. (For example, logging onto the Internet to track Academy Award winners serves the purpose of providing information and entertainment for the media consumer.)  Another example might include reading a direct mail voter's guide about a candidate's voting record published by a conservative or liberal political coalition to obtain information about a candidate's position on various topics in preparation for an upcoming election.  Granted, not all uses of media are quite this specific.   However, the uses and gratification theory recognizes that the user is actively using media to fulfill some need, whatever it may be.  

The World Wide Web (WWW) is the fastest and perhaps the most important element of the Internet. The uniqueness of the Web is that the browser, not the programmer, or the editor, chooses which screen to view and which one to pass by, and in what order.  Users do not need to proceed in a linear fashion from page one to page two.  By employing various types of on-screen indexing and cross-referencing, the user can switch instantly to what interests them.  This degree of flexibility provides for an almost seamless migration through a greeting by Pope John Paul II to the Articles of Vatican II for example.

Vivian (p. 227, 1999) asserts that  "every major mass media company has put products on the Web."  Not surprisingly religious organizations of various sizes and description have also established a presence on the Web.  Thousands of local churches as evidence by a local search of Christian Web sites are establishing themselves.  Additionally, the technology is becoming less complicated and the cost of access so inexpensive that thousands of the religious faithful have set up Web sites of their own (Laney, 1997a).

It was not until 1995 that Nielsen Media Research conducted an exhaustive study to determine just how many people were using the Web.  The Nielsen study found that "17.6 million people over the age of 16 in the United States and Canada were using the World Wide Web" (Vivian, p. 236, 1999). 

Religious organizations have taken notice as well and have recognized the cultural importance of the Web. Pope John Paul II  (1990, p. 5) in an address titled "The Church Must Learn to Cope with Computer Culture, " the pontiff noted that:  "With the advent of computer telecommunications and what are known as computer participation systems, the Church is offered further means for fulfilling her mission."  Evangelicals with their lengthy history of media technology appropriation as described in this study have also seized upon this latest technology to help them fulfil their mission. According to the Billy Graham Center Institute for Evangelism the church must seize use of the Internet and the Web for evangelism.  Billy Graham has always sought to effectively use radio, television and film and because the Web opens dramatic new doors for the spread of the Gospel, he has challenged Christian leaders to explore both philosophical and practical issues regarding the use of this new medium.  Dr. Graham specifically seeks to utilize the Web to "explore the unique culture, opportunities and challenges of the Web; review cases studies showing how the Web is already being used for evangelism; and host discussions with various religious leaders on possible ways of working together to most effectively use this new medium"  (Graham, p. 1, 1997).

As background for this exploratory study a non-random sample of 200 Christian Web sites was conducted on May 26-29, 1998.  The Web sites observed in this sample fell roughly into three categories, television and radio ministry, churches, and ministry organizations.

The television and radio ministry sites were sophisticated and tended to mimic their television programs by providing audio and video clips of religious programs as well as the sale of religious products. These sites were multi-paged and offered numerous links to their organization as well as evangelistic overtones such as "How to get to Heaven," "Keys to Salvation," etc. However, the television ministries in this sample did not provide chatrooms.  While some of these television ministries did provide an email address, generally a form was provided for you to post a message to the webmaster. How often these posted messages are answered was not the focus of this study, but some anecdotal evidence based on open-ended responses suggests that some ministries are not responding to their mail. The 65 television ministry sites observed in this sample always provided a picture of the televangelist.  Pictures of the pastor or rector were seldom observed with the local church Web sites. Examples of television and radio ministries sampled include: CBN:The Christian Broadcasting Network and The 700 Club; Christian Financial Concepts; Chuck Colson-Breakpoint; Kenneth Copeland-Believer's Voice of Victory; Creflo Dollar –World Changers Ministries; Jesse Duplantis, Pastor Jack Hayford-Living Way; Marilyn Hickey; Bishop T.D. Jakes-The Potter's House; Hal Lindsey-International Intelligence Briefing; Joyce Meyers-Life in the Word; Dr. Frederick KC Price- Ever Increasing Faith; and Robert Schuller-Hour of Power; and Charles Stanley-In Touch.

The 65 church Web sites observed in this sample tended toward a single page, and rarely more than two pages, with static content.  These Web sites were representative of the sites that eventually participated in the Christian Web study. Directions to the church and service times were most readily observed, in some cases, church announcements were also posted.  While a picture of the minister was observed in a few cases, the overwhelming majority did not have a picture of the pastor.  If a picture was observed, it was frequently a picture of a building, usually graphics were observed.  Only in a few instances were religious conversion appeals observed in the church Web sites.  Chatroom, audio clips, video clips, and other interactive features were rarely found on these Web sites.

The remaining 70 sites identified as ministries tended to be eclectic in content and layout. Ministry Web sites ranged from Christian magazine publications, and recording artists, to Christian body builders.  The ministry Web sites usually provided photographs and varying degrees of interactivity.  Many of these ministry Web sites were interactive, featuring Chatrooms, hypertext (method of interrelating messages so users control their sequence), hypermedia ( hypertext with sound, image and movie links), as well as products material for sale.  Strong religious conversion appeals were frequently observed, as well as monetary appeals in a few cases. The sites ran the gamut of sophistication, but tended toward more sophistication than the church Web sites, and in some cases more visually appealing than the television/radio ministry Web sights.  These sites were more visually appealing than the church Web sites because many of them employed sound effects, vibrant colors, and animation.  The ministry sites frequently offered an email address as well.  Examples of ministry Web sites include: Campus Crusade for Christ International; Christian Connections; Christian Pirate Radio; Concerned Women for America; Charisma Magazine, Reginald B. Cherry Ministries; Eastman Curtis Online, Family Research Council; Jeffery C. Fenholt; Hip-Hop Zone; Jerusalem Mosaic; G-Rock; Mac Hammond Ministries; John Hagee Ministries; Nancy Harmon World Evangelism; John Jacobs and The Power Team; Bob Larson Ministries; Life Outreach International; Promisekeepers; ReaperNet; Alvin Slaughter Concert Ministries; and What Would Jesus Do?

Many of the Web sites in this non-random sample employed counters to measure the number of visits to the site as a way of gauging evangelistic outreach.  Laney (p. 18, 1997a) in a study on Internet use and evangelism, observed that some Christian webmasters "employed the counter to illustrate the number of visitors, thus demonstrating the evangelistic outreach capability of the Web site." But visits to sites and claims of evangelizing based on a counter are misleading. For example, one television ministry Web site says,  "We would like to thank the 155,023 people who have visited our site!" At Joyce Meyer Ministries-Life in the Word Web site, 155,023 visits were scored on May 29, 1998, but that doesn't mean that Joyce Meyer Minstries cyber-appeals received exposure to 155,023 different people.  According to Vivian (1999, p. 237) "many of the same people visit again and again on any given day."

While this was a non-random sample it proved to be fairly representative of the actual types of sites that eventually participated in the Christian Web study.  The participating Web sites in the study had many of the same features and content observed in this sample and also fell roughly into similar categories of, television and radio ministry, churches, and ministry organizations.

Method

As an exploratory study, this survey will attempt to develop a baseline for additional research and greater understanding of religious Web site uses and gratifications and the development of future testable hypotheses.  While uses and gratifications perspectives inform this research study, the Web is new and the systematic examination of religious Web site usage has not been conducted in much detail.  Conceptually it is challenging to make predictions regarding the application of uses and gratifications to religious Web site usage.  In this type of exploratory venture, research questions are most appropriate.  Therefore, the overarching descriptive research question is "What motivates users to visit religious Web sites, particularly Christian Web sites?"  This question guides the development of the following subordinate research questions. Each research question is listed below with an explanation of the type of information that will help to answer the research questions posed.

Research Question 1.  The Christian Web User

Who is visiting Christian Web sites on the Internet?  This question seeks to systematically determine who is attracted to Christian Web sites.   Where possible, the demographics of these Christian Web users are compared to other surveys of Web use to determine how representative the sample is of the general Web population.

 Research Question 2.  Religious Web Uses and Gratifications

Why do the respondents visit Christian Web sites on the Internet? It is important to understand the motivations of Christian Web sites users in order to understand the uses and gratifications sought through Christian Web site usage.

Research Question 3.  Reinforcement of Beliefs

Is there a relationship between seeking reinforcement for personal motives and Christian Web site usage? Katz, Blumler, and Gurevitch (1974) noted that people use media to "…satisfy their needs and to achieve their goals."  Cultural/critical theorists Williams (1975), Buddenbaum  (1981) and Hoover and Venturelli (1996), to cite only a portion of the literature, suggest that religious media use serves the personal motives of the religious users.  This question seeks to determine if the same patterns hold for users of Christian Web sites as it does for religious television and radio.

 Research Question 4.  The Faith Factor

Is there a relationship between Christian Web site usage and religious conversion?  Faith as a conceptual dimension has been used in previous religious radio and television uses and gratifications studies (France, 1955;  Johnstone, 1972;  Buddenbaum, 1981;  Rubin, 1984;  Abelman, 1987;  Fore, 1987;  Frankl,  1987;  Abelman, 1988; Hamilton and Rubin, 1992; Hoover and Venturelli, 1996;  Stout and Buddenbaum, 1996; and Warren, 1997).  This question addresses the "faith factor" or the relationship between the user's personal, spiritual, or religious conversion experience and the usage of Christian Web sites.   The role of the Web in conversion has not been extensively documented to date.  The present study seeks to build a baseline for this strand of research as it relates to the religious Web gratifications being sought by some of the browsers of these sites.

Research Question 5.  Seeking Companionship 

Is there a relationship between Christian Web site usage and seeking companionship with others who are spiritually-minded? This research question addresses the concept of social utility, which has been previously discussed in regards to social integrative needs that humans possess.  Christian Web use may provide space or a community for conversation about things that people have read, seen, or heard as topics for discussion when talking with others (Dominick, 1996, p. 51).

Research Question 6.  User Media Intentions 

What is the relationship between Christian Web site usage and continued usage of religious media? This question seeks to address future religious media usage.  Religious programming has typically "called for action" on the part of the user of mediated religion.  Respondents in this study were asked about their intentions and behavior regarding religious media usage within the next 12 months after visiting religious Web sites. 

Analytical Concepts

While research in the area of Web uses and gratifications continues to evolve, informed by the studies of Murphy (1998c) and King (1998), conceptualizations which embrace religious Web use based on extending the uses and gratification paradigm is explored in this study.  Conceptually this study parallels the existing uses and gratifications studies that examined religious radio and television users.   While Christian Web sites are distinct from religious radio and television in many ways, Christian Web sites are similar in the variety of content available to the user.  As such, the uses and gratifications studies of religious radio and television methodologically and conceptually provide an appropriate framework for measuring the motivations of Christian Web users.

  The support for instrument use in this exploratory study was guided by Abelman's  (1987) matrix of six factors that he developed to determine religious television viewing motives (Abelman, 1987, pp. 298-299).  Abelman's (1987) examination of religious television usage found viewers who used religious television as a source of information, and those who watched television as a source of entertainment or out of habit.  Abelman (1987, 1988) observed that the entertainment-motivated user was more concerned with the medium than the program content.  However, for users who were motivated by information, the content was important and satisfied user religious needs. Abelman (1988) noted that information type gratifications are more closely associated with certain religious programs and the result is an increase in overall viewing of these religious programs by information seekers.  For this research, the items which measured uses such as (reaction, information, entertainment, faith, habit, and escape) were modified utilizing the King (1998) and Murphy (1998) studies to reflect Web usage as opposed to television use.

An issue for online studies is the difficulty of generalizing the results to the population.  Where survey research is seeking to target online niche users, such as Christian Web site users, online studies directed toward small, unique users provide researchers with valuable data.   Since a list of Christian Web users is not available to survey, a very large sample would be required in order to gather sufficient responses to conduct analysis, such a sample would be extremely costly.  Online research allows the researcher to gather a sample of the target population for a fraction of the cost associated with standard sampling techniques, such as telephone or mail surveys. 

Since online studies by their very design operate in a dynamic environment of self-selection on the part of the respondent, the survey researcher seeks to make the sample as representative as possible.  Based upon research traditions employing  exploratory studies (Kaye, 1996; King, 1998; McMillan & Downes, 1998; McMillian, 1998; Murphy, 1998c; and Sheehan & Hoy, 1998), a minimum target of 450 completed surveys was deemed necessary for purposes of analysis and further study of this topic.   

The targeted user of this study is the visitor to the Christian church or ministry Web site.  In an effort to reach this niche target audience, it was decided to solicit participation in the survey through Church Web sites. While this definition may initially appear at first glance to eliminate many categories, such was not the case.  An issue with such self-reporting is the inability for the researcher to determine if the site is a bonafide church or ministry.  For example, many Christian television and radio stations identify themselves as either a ministry, a church or both.  Additionally, some large churches also own and operate media ministries as extensions of their ministries.  For purposes of this study, targeted sites that were listed in online directories, such as GOSHEN Net (Global Online Service Helping Evangelize the Nations) or media publications, as Christian church or ministries were utilized.  In an effort to make the sample as representative as possible, as many Christian denominations as possible were selected.

The 40 Christian Web sites that finally participated in the study represent 27 states within the United States, with one in Canada, and one Canadian-based ministry located in Auckland, New Zealand also participating in the survey.  The participating Web sites compare favorably with the target Christian Web users in size, ethnicity, economics, and religious practices.

With the target population consisting of users of religious Web sites, a survey posted on religious Web sites represented an appropriate delivery system.

For the purposes of this study, generalizability to the population was not the objective, the whole purpose of this survey is to collect data specifically on Christian Web site users and have confidence that the results are representative of the targeted population (Stemple & Westley, 1989).

While the other search engines offered lists of religious sites, Goshen Net offered the largest Christian Web database directory.  The Goshen Net describes itself as " a comprehensive Christian Denominational Directory" (Goshen, 1998). 

According to the June 10, 1998 online Goshen Denominational Directory, there are 4,032 international church Web sites listed in their directory, representing 45 various denominations.  It should be noted that neither a truly comprehensive religious directory, nor Christian online directory exists.  For example, GOSHEN fails to list in their self-proclaimed "comprehensive" Christian directory, the Church of the Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), or the Jehovah's Witnesses, denominations that identify themselves as Christian.

This research project consisted of three components: a focus group, a pretest, and the online survey.  Finally, an online self-administered questionnaire linked to participating church Web sites in the United States, and Canada was placed online. 

Results

Religious Web Uses and Gratifications--Why do the respondents visit Christian Web sites on the Internet?  The 27 items used in the survey were modifications from those used in the Abelman (1987, 1988) and Hamilton and Rubin (1992) studies of religious television.  The items pertaining to Web use resemble those used by King (1998) and Murphy (1998c), and were varied slightly to embrace religious applications on the Web.   An exploratory factor analysis was utilized to reduce these items into more basic measurable units of gratification.  The assumption in this study was that while this research was examining religious Web usage, some items may be similar to religious television use, while some items may be completely unique to Christian Web use.  The employment of exploratory factor analysis is useful in gleaning these types of underlying patterns and are useful in developing future research questions and hypotheses for testing, as well as improving and developing new uses and gratification items.

Some of the items contain missing values, which may be indicative of the sensitive nature of some of the questions, since the survey addresses issues of religion and faith. The total number of missing cases on any single item ranged from 2 to 317.  As such, pairwise deletion of cases was employed in the factor analysis, allowing for the maximum amount of variance on any single variable.  Valid N's are reported in the tables to depict the missing values. In Table 1, univariate statistical analysis of the 27 uses and gratification items, ranked by means and depicting standard deviation, illustrated item agreement for religious uses and gratification among users of religious Web sites.   Based on these data, respondents were generally not interested in purchasing resource materials, nor were they interested in making any financial contributions.  However, when asked, a follow-up question "Should ministries be allowed to sell products/resource materials?" almost 80% of the respondents indicated agreement.  Items associated with searching for an alternative to traditional religious services or personal spiritual or religious conversion are the next highest-ranked reasons, while items related to the Web's interactive capabilities ranked next. The principal factor method was used to extract the factors, and this was followed by a varimax rotation to differentiate underlying factors.  A varimax rotation, which is the common procedure utilized in uses and gratification literature to aid in identifying commonality in factors, was employed.  Based upon the literature, the most common criteria suggest that factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 be retained.  However, caution is advised to ensure that the "factors that are retained are of practical value" (B. Bates, personal communication, July 22, 1998).   The scree test results suggested four meaningful factors, so only these factors were initially retained for rotation. 

The four extracted factors possessed eigenvalues of at least 1.0, accounting for 35% of the total variance (Table 2).

Note: Response means are for agreement with statements "I am motivated to visit a religious Web site because.."
1-strongly agree   2- agree  3-somewhat agree  4-disagree  5- strongly disagree

These parameters were also employed by Kaye (1996) in her study of Web uses and gratifications.  In light of these considerations, assignment of factors was based on two major criteria: (1) Primary and secondary loadings above .45, and (2) Conceptual matching predicated upon the literature, context of the question and personal judgement.  This action reduced the total number of religious uses and gratification items utilized for the factor analysis to 23.

Table 2

 Four Factor Extraction for Uses and Gratifications of Religious Web Site Users

Table 3

Reliability Analysis for Scales of Uses and Gratifications
Among Religious Web Site Users

Factor One-- "Religious Web Uses/Entertainment /Information".  The assigned item factor loadings employed in this study are roughly consistent with Abelman's (1988) study of religious television viewer motivations for viewing the 700 Club, Evangelist Pat Robertson's Christian program. Roughly consistent loading implies that the four entertainment items utilized from the Abelman study also loaded on Abelman's factor one as well.  However, these findings are very different from Hamilton and Rubin's (1992) study on the influence of religiosity on television viewing. While both Abelman (1988) and

Hamilton & Rubin (1992) identified these items as entertainment related, they did not detect any underlying religious usage factor, as described in the religious Web study.  Conversely, Abelman (1988) and Hamilton & Rubin (1992) conflict with one another, but some of this is due to employment of different scale names and targeting slightly different user gratifications.  While Abelman and Hamilton & Rubin also utilized rotated factors; for  retention, their factors required a minimum eigenvalue of 1.0 with "at least three loadings of .40 or greater" (Abelman, 1988, p.116).  Hamilton and Rubin  (1992) accepted "at least two loading of .50 or greater beyond any secondary loadings above .30" (pp. 674-675). The religious Web study criteria were based on retaining eigenvalues of 1.0 with at least three loadings of .45 or greater on all factors.

Abelman (1988) identified factors labeled "Escape," and "Habit" that were two factors eliminated in the Christian Web site study with the refinement and adoption of a four-factor solution.  However, Abelman (1988) did not identify a specific "Religious Entertainment/Information" factor.  This factor appears somewhat consistent with traditional "Information-Learning," factors, and was found in the Christian Web survey and may be unique to Christian Web use.  Hamilton and Rubin (1992) identified a factor labeled "Voyeurism," which was not found.  "Voyeurism" items pertained to sexual content in programming and due to survey length considerations and topic selection, these items were not considered germane for inclusion in this study.  "Religious Web Use/Entertainment/Information" motivations received some of the highest levels of agreement with regard to possible motives for Christian Web site use (Table 4).  It is clearly reported by these users as a major gratification that shapes and articulates their online experience.  In this regard media-system dependency theory as postulated by Ball-Rokeach (1985) and Ball-Rokeach and DeFleur (1976), may provide some possible insights concerning what behaviors are being observed.  The purpose of an exploratory factor analysis is to discover what is bubbling up from beneath the surface.  Therefore we must look at what the items are measuring in regards to Christian Web use in this category of Entertainment Information," or what appears to be loading as a new category, "Religious Web Use/ Entertainment/ Information," or simply "Religious Web Use."  Perhaps from the perspective of the Christian Web site user, visiting these sites to learn, pray, and be entertained are all integrative behavior, a part of their worldview. However, this observation is only speculative at this point.  Since religious television is a medium dominated by religious entertainment, the expectation would be that "Entertainment" use by Christian Web users might encompass a rather complex dimension.  It appears that additional refinement and an expansion of items to specifically determine what this "Religious Web Use" is may be suggested by this research.  It appears that these "Religious Web Use" gratification items are measuring shared aspects of entertainment, spirituality, and information.  The development of an instrument targeting these particular areas should result in improved scores and greater clarity regarding the underlying factors involved.   The discrepancies latent in the items and factor reported between the religious Web survey and those studies mentioned in Table 5 suggest that Christian Web uses  and gratifications may actually be entirely different from religious television uses and gratifications and that these gratifications are evolving into a distinct identity. Thoughts on this possibility will be addressed throughout this discussion. 

Factor Two--"Reaction."  "Reaction" motivations had the highest factor loadings (Table 4), the majority of the respondents are against "making a monetary contribution to this Web site's ministry." With 79% of the respondents indicating disagreement with making a contribution, the mean for this response was 4.8 with a standard deviation of .941.  Concerning the "purchase of religious resources or materials from this Web site's ministry," the most frequently occurring response was 4.4 with a standard deviation of 1.220, with responses from 80% of the respondents.  This finding is not completely unexpected, based upon religious literature describing financial contributions by those who attend religious services.

Factor Three—"Faith"- a basic consideration in research question three is part of the general motivation for religious Web use. 

Factor Four—"Alternative."  Among the 440 Christian Web respondents, 49% agreed that a motive for their religious Web use was "searching for an alternative to traditional religious services," with a mean response of 4.2 and a standard deviation of 1.36.  However, when responding to the items, " I am searching this Web site for a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque to affiliate with," 11% indicated agreement but over 89% disagreed, resulting in a  4.2  mean response and a standard deviation of .863.

Further, when asked their intentions within the next 12 months, whether they planned to "visit a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque, now that I have visited their religious Web site," 86% replied, "No." 

Table 5

Comparison of Religious TV Uses and Gratifications Items
Between Religious Web Survey

Hamilton & Rubin. (1992) .  The influence of religiosity on television viewing, Journalism Quarterly, 69, 667-78.

Once again, any statements made regarding factors with an eigenvalue of 1.35, combined with low factor loadings, and seven items loading must be qualified (Table 4).  However, based upon item responses, what respondents appeared to be saying is that while roughly half of them may be "searching for an alternative," they either have not found what they are looking for or the gratification being sought is being met through the use of the religious Web site.

The uses and gratification items employed in this study measured some underlying factors throughout the analysis.  The loading of these items into a four-factor solution accounted for 35% of the total variance, as depicted previously in Table 4; however, the threshold level loading and modest eigenvalues may have rendered these factors as perhaps marginally acceptable in a major confirmatory study.  However, as an exploratory study, these loadings indicate underlying factors are present and as such are acceptable as an exploratory study.  Abelman (1988) and Rubin (1981) both employed three item scales in their studies of religious media uses and gratifications, so a case can be made for its usage here.  Consideration was given to conceptualizing the formulation of summated scales in accordance with uses and gratification literature.  The literature suggests that a greater understanding of gratification and interaction will be provided when summed scales are employed.  Ideally, the gratification factors from the religious Web survey would be summated into a scale matrix.

However, as an exploratory study, such precise interpretive language is not necessary at this point in the study.  To interpret further, without a confirmatory study would be premature and unwise.  In this exploratory factor analysis it appears that Christian Web gratifications are not well defined by the users of this new medium at this point.  These data seem to indicate that the majority of Christian Web gratifications as yet may not be crystallized in the mind of the Christian Web site user.  This may be the result of a lack of familiarity with the medium, since over 50% of the respondents indicated that they had only visited religious Web sites for six months.

Discussion

Based upon these findings, in summary, the Christian Web user is predominately a Southern, white, middle class, college educated, married, evangelical or fundamentalist, between the ages of 33 and 50 who has experienced religious conversion.  While the Christian Web site user is more likely to be male, female Christian Web users are quickly closing the gap.

The Christian Web site user, while concerned about information and entertainment, appears to be using religious Web sites for a combined purpose that loaded on the factor, "Religious Web Use."  This indices comprise elements of "Information and Entertainment" with spiritual and religious overtones.  While religious use is clear, some users may turn to religious Web sites as a "Reaction" to religious television and its strong monetary appeals.  While respondents do not object to ministries making financial appeals or the sale of products or resource materials, few users are interested in availing themselves of these services.  While respondents are saying that they are using Christian Web sites to satisfy their "Faith," the range of these uses appears to be in the early stages of development.  Some Christian Web users, like their religious television counterparts, appear to be using religious Web sites as an "Alternative" to traditional religious services.  Additionally, an overwhelming number of Christian Web users, 85%, appear to be saying by their "Media Intentions" that within the next 12 months they have no intention of reducing their religious media usage.  The respondents indicate that they plan to increase their use of religious Web sites over the next year, with religious radio and television use remaining at current levels.

The patterns that appear to be emerging from this data are currently of a fairly mainstream "Christian user," who uses the Christian Web sites as an adjunct to their religious experience, and religious media to satisfy religious gratifications.