The Use of Internet Communication by Catholic Congregations: A Quantitative Study

@article{citeulike:3388554, abstract = {This article presents a first attempt to measure the use of the internet by all 5,812 Catholic religious congregations and autonomous institutes worldwide (with 858,988 members). The research was conducted through a questionnaire sent by e-mail, hence first selecting those institutions which at least have an access to internet communication through an e-mail account (2,285: 39.3\% of the total), receiving 437 responses (19.1\% of the e-mail owners). The study shows great differences between centralized institutes and autonomous ones: the former ones make a higher use of the Internet than the latter ones; moreover, differences are also found among centralized institutes, namely between male and female ones. Two explanatory elements have been found, both depending on the own mission (<i>charisma</i>) of institutes: (1) first, the different approach to the external world: the institutes more devoted to contemplation and less active in the outside world make limited and basic use of the Internet, if any; (2) second, institutes whose aim is to assist poor and sick persons tend to use the internet less than the others, due to their different prioritization of resources.}, author = {Cantoni, Lorenzo and Zyga, Slawomir}, citeulike-article-id = {3388554}, doi = {10.1080/15348420701626797}, journal = {Journal of Media and Religion}, keywords = {church, religion, technology}, number = {4}, pages = {291--309}, posted-at = {2008-10-09 00:41:20}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Routledge}, title = {The Use of Internet Communication by Catholic Congregations: A Quantitative Study}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348420701626797}, volume = {6}, year = {2007} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3388554 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3388554 N2 - This article presents a first attempt to measure the use of the internet by all 5,812 Catholic religious congregations and autonomous institutes worldwide (with 858,988 members). The research was conducted through a questionnaire sent by e-mail, hence first selecting those institutions which at least have an access to internet communication through an e-mail account (2,285: 39.3% of the total), receiving 437 responses (19.1% of the e-mail owners). The study shows great differences between centralized institutes and autonomous ones: the former ones make a higher use of the Internet than the latter ones; moreover, differences are also found among centralized institutes, namely between male and female ones. Two explanatory elements have been found, both depending on the own mission (<i>charisma</i>) of institutes: (1) first, the different approach to the external world: the institutes more devoted to contemplation and less active in the outside world make limited and basic use of the Internet, if any; (2) second, institutes whose aim is to assist poor and sick persons tend to use the internet less than the others, due to their different prioritization of resources. IS - 4 JF - Journal of Media and Religion EP - 309 TI - The Use of Internet Communication by Catholic Congregations: A Quantitative Study PB - Routledge VL - 6 SP - 291 KW - church KW - religion KW - technology AU - Cantoni, Lorenzo AU - Zyga, Slawomir PY - 2007/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348420701626797 ER -