The Catholic Church in Nigeria and Social Media-Use: A Critical Juxtaposition

Abstract

There is a perception that the Church is circumspect about the use of new technology. Perhaps this view stems from the understanding that the Church is traditional in nature in terms of accepting change or changing. The situation is even more interesting when it comes to embracing the world of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) with particular reference to the use of social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. With this background in mind, the researchers embarked on a qualitative survey “The Catholic Church in Nigeria and Social Media-Use: A Critical Juxtaposition” to assess how the Church views social media in the country. Through the narrative approach, it discovered that the culture of secrecy, conservatism and fear are responsible for lack of taking advantage of social media platforms for evangelisation purposes. The study recommended openness to media protocol, debuting social media ethical codes and setting up a social media commission as positive ways through which the Church can engage social media meaningfully. It concluded that since social media has come to stay, the Catholic Church in Nigeria must set its own benchmark for engaging with the new technology while fulfilling its divine mission on earth.