The Perception of Christian Voters in Changamwe on the Involvement of Their Clergy in Political Communication: A Study on Source Credibility
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Date
2018-05
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
School of Communication, Daystar University
Abstract
This study sought to determine the perception of Changamwe Christian voters on the involvement of their clergy in political communication. The objectives of the study were to establish the extent to which Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency perceived their clergy to be credible sources in the communication of spiritual messages; to establish the extent to which the same voters perceived their clergy to be credible sources in the communication of political messages; and to establish the extent to which the voters perceived the source credibility of their clergy in the communication of political messages to have contributed to the defeat of the “NO” vote in the August 2010 constitutional referendum. The study used descriptive research design and had a sample of 372 comprising respondents from one out of the five Wards in Changamwe Constituency. Multistage sampling was applied in the selection of the Ward of study and consequently the respondents. Questionnaire was the research instrument of this study. For data analysis, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20 was used. Some of the study findings were that the Christian voters perceived their clergy to be credible sources of spiritual messages; that Christian voters did not consider their clergy to be credible sources in delivering political messages; and that lack of source credibility in political communication on the part of the clergy contributed to the defeat of the “NO” vote in the 2010 constitutional referendum. Some of the study’s recommendations regarding the Christian clergy were that the clergy can work towards developing their source credibility in constructs of expertise and trustworthiness in regard to political communication, and that since the respondents rated the Christian clergy highly on the construct of goodwill, the clergy may capitalize on this construct to increase their credibility as sources of political messages.
Description
Thesis
Keywords
Perception, Christian Voters, Changamwe, Clergy, Political Communication, Source Credibility
Citation
Muthusi, Timothy Mwongela (2018). The Perception of Christian Voters in Changamwe on the Involvement of Their Clergy in Political Communication: A Study on Source Credibility. School of Communication, Daystar University: Thesis