The Perception Of Christian Voters In Changamwe On The ...

The Perception Of Christian Voters In Changamwe On The

Involvement Of Their Clergy In Political Communication: A Study On

Source Credibility

by

Timothy Mwongela Muthusi

11-1679

A thesis presented to the School of Communication, Language and

Performing Arts

Of

Daystar University

Nairobi, Kenya

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

in Communication

May 2018

Daystar University Repository

Library Archives Copy

ii

APPROVAL

THE PERCEPTION OF CHRISTIAN VOTERS IN CHANGAMWE ON

THE INVOLVEMENT OF THEIR CLERGY IN POLITICAL COMMUNICATION:

A STUDY ON SOURCE CREDIBILITY

by


11-1679

In accordance with the Daystar University policies, this thesis is submitted in

partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree.

Date:

Mjomba, Majalia, PhD,

1st

Supervisor

Rose Mwangi, MA,

2nd

Supervisor

Kinyia Mwithia, PhD,

HOD, Strategic & Organizational Communication

Levi Obonyo, PhD,

Dean, School of Communication



iii

Copyright © 2018 Timothy Mwongela Muthusi



iv

DECLARATION

THE PERCEPTION OF CHRISTIAN VOTERS IN CHANGAMWE ON

THE INVOLVEMENT OF THEIR CLERGY IN POLITICAL COMMUNICATION:

A STUDY ON SOURCE CREDIBILITY

I declare that this thesis is my original work and has not been submitted to any

other college or university for academic credit.

Signed: ____________________ Date: ________________________


11-1679



v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Great is the faithfulness of the Lord God my father. This work is substantially

a product of the unreserved commitment of my lecturers and supervisors. I am

grateful for the indelible input of my supervisors Dr. Mjomba Majalia, in whose class

I began to conceptualize this study, and Ms. Rose Mwangi, whose encouragement not

only during the writing of this thesis but throughout my time at Daystar University

was outstanding. With a lot of patience and generosity of ideas and time, my

supervisors helped me through from a forest of ideas to a specific concept of study.

Significant appreciation goes to Rev. Dr. Joseph Kim, Rev. Dr. Park and the

entire First Presbyterian Church in South Korea for their enormous financial support

through this program. I thank the leadership and members of AIC Chaani, Mombasa

for their financial input, patience and understanding when I took some time off church

duties to complete this work.

I am gratefully indebted to my parents Enoch Muthusi and Annah Kavindye

for all the sacrifices they made in my formative years of life to ensure that I was well

introduced to academic life. With meager resources and in the midst of notable

discouragements, they never gave up on me, and did all they could to lay the

academic foundation on which this work is built. My thankful heart as well reaches

out to all my lifetime teachers who believed in my academic ability and committed

themselves to nurturing it towards this achievement.

Much thanks to my wife Peninah Mueni for the moral and spiritual support

she provided to me during my time in Daystar University as I attended lectures and

during the research, compiling and writing of this work. I appreciate every prayer and

the constant encouragement to complete this document even when I felt overwhelmed



vi

by duties and demands around me. I also appreciate our children, Victor and

Annabelle, for they never complained when I told them I had some homework to do.

I acknowledge the input of my research assistants for the noble work of

distributing and collecting the administered questionnaires. I thank all respondents

who accepted to provide data that was used to answer the research questions for this

study. I also thank the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation

for the authorization to conduct this research. I appreciate the Daystar University

library staff for the facilitation of access to research material, especially the online

material while I was far from Nairobi and Athi River campuses.

I acknowledge the prayer, support, and understanding of all my colleague

pastors in AIC Mombasa West DCC: Daniel Kasiwa, Jackson Kaloki, Abednego

Satana, Patrick Mbithi, Peninah Mwongela, Faith Charo, Josephine Musau, and Ruth

Jackson. This also extends to colleagues in the AIC Pwani South Regional Church

Council and the Pwani International Christian College.

I also appreciate Jane Wambua-Yobera for her critical role in the editing of this

document. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the inspiration of Rev. Prof. Paul Mumo,

Dr. James W. Gustafson and his wife Eleanor, Rev. Dr. Vundi Nason, and Mrs.

Josephine Kang'eti. Their interest in my work coupled with a genuine desire for my

general progress kept me motivated towards completing this task. Thank you all very

much!



vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROVAL ................................................................................................................... ii

DECLARATION........................................................................................................... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................. vii

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ ix

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ....................................................... xi

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. xii

DEDICATION ........................................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................ 1

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND to the study ............................................... 1

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1

Background to the Study ........................................................................................... 2

Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................ 10

Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................ 11

Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................... 11

Research Questions ................................................................................................. 12

Significance of the Study ........................................................................................ 12

Justification of the Study ......................................................................................... 13

Limitations and Delimitations ................................................................................. 13

Assumptions of the Study ........................................................................................ 15

Scope of the Study ................................................................................................... 16

Definition of Terms ................................................................................................. 16

Summary ................................................................................................................. 17

CHAPTER TWO ......................................................................................................... 18

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 18

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 18

Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 18

General Literature Review ...................................................................................... 21

Empirical Literature Review ................................................................................... 26

Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................... 35

Discussion ............................................................................................................... 36

Summary ................................................................................................................. 37

CHAPTER THREE ..................................................................................................... 38

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................. 38

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 38

Research Design ...................................................................................................... 38

Population ................................................................................................................ 39

Target Population ..................................................................................................... 39

Sample Size ............................................................................................................. 40

Sampling Technique ................................................................................................ 41

Data Collection Instruments .................................................................................... 43

Data Collection Procedures ..................................................................................... 44

Pretesting ................................................................................................................. 45

Data Analysis Plan ................................................................................................... 46



viii

Ethical Considerations ............................................................................................. 46

Summary ................................................................................................................. 47

CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................ 49

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION............................ 49

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 49

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation ................................................................ 49

Summary of Key Findings ...................................................................................... 76

Summary ................................................................................................................. 78

CHAPTER FIVE ......................................................................................................... 79

DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................... 79

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 79

Discussion of Key Findings .................................................................................... 79

Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 83

Recommendations ................................................................................................... 90

Areas for Further Research ...................................................................................... 92

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 93

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................. 98

Appendix A: Self-Administered Questionnaire ...................................................... 98

Appendix B: Daystar University Letter of Introduction ....................................... 102

Appendix C: Research Permit ............................................................................... 103

Appendix D: Letter of Authorization .................................................................... 105

Appendix E: Anti-Plagiarism Report ................................................................... 106



ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Age of Respondents ..................................................................................... 50

Table 4.2: Gender of Respondents ............................................................................... 50

Table 4.3: Marital Status of Respondents .................................................................... 51

Table 4.4: Education Background of the Respondents ................................................ 52

Table 4.5: Occupation of the Respondents ................................................................... 53

Table 4.6: Respondents who were Registered Voters ................................................... 53

Table 4.7: Religion of the Respondents ........................................................................ 54

Table 4.8: Number of Times the Respondents Attended Church Worship Services ..... 54

Table 4.9: Number of Respondents who Voted During the August 2010 Referendum . 55

Table 4.10: How Respondents Voted During the August 2010 Constitutional

Referendum ................................................................................................ 56

Table 4.11: The Construct of Expertise in Political communication ........................... 57

Table 4.12: The Construct of Trustworthiness in Political communication ................ 58

Table 4.13: The Construct of Goodwill in Political communication ........................... 60

Table 4.14: The General Perception of Respondents on the Source Credibility of

Pastors as Communicators of Political Messages. .................................... 62

Table 4.15: The Construct of Expertise in Communicating Spiritual Messages ......... 63

Table 4.16: The Construct of Trustworthiness in Communicating Spiritual Messages

.................................................................................................................... 64

Table 4.17: The Construct of Goodwill in Communicating Spiritual Messages ......... 66

Table 4.18: General Perception on Pastors’ Communication of Spiritual Messages .. 67

Table 4.19: The Construct of Expertise in the Christian Clergy During the

Referendum ................................................................................................ 68

Table 4.20: The Construct of Trustworthiness in the Christian Clergy During the

Referendum ................................................................................................ 70

Table 4.21: The Construct of Goodwill in the Christian Clergy During the Referendum

.................................................................................................................... 71

Table 4.22: General Perception of Respondents on the Source Credibility of Pastors

as they Participated in the August 2010 Constitutional Referendum ........ 72

Table 4.23: General Overview of the Respondents' Approval of the Source Credibility

of Pastors ................................................................................................... 74

Table 4.24: Why Voters Were not Persuaded to Vote 'NO' During the 2010 Referendum

.................................................................................................................... 75



x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: The Factor Model of Source Credibility Theory ....................................... 21

Figure 2.2: Conceptual Framework ............................................................................ 36



xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ACK: Anglican Church of Kenya

AIC: Africa Inland Church

CIA: Central Intelligence Agency

IDS: Institute for Development Studies

IEBC: Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission

KCLF: Kenya Christian Leaders Forum

KLCF: Kenya Leaders Constitutional Forum

KeNADA: Kenya National Data Archives

KNBS: Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

KNDR: Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation

NCCK: National Council of Churches of Kenya

USA: United States of America



xii

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



xiii

credibility as sources of political messages.

DEDICATION

In fatherly love I dedicate this work to our son, Victor Muuo, and to our

daughters, Annabelle Mutanu and Laina Maria. My prayer for you is that you may

grow to be credible sources of the holistic gospel message.



1

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Introduction

Kenyans participated in a constitutional referendum in August, 2010. This

exercise brought the Kenyan Christian clergy into the political limelight as never

before. The referendum exercise required a ‘Yes’ vote for those who were in support

of the new constitution and a ‘No’ vote for those opposing it. In this historical

exercise, the ’Yes’ vote won with a landslide. The ’No’ vote was popularly

championed for by leading Christian clergy. With the 2010 constitutional referendum

as a reference point, and source credibility as the guiding view, this study interrogated

the perception of Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency of Mombasa County

on the involvement of their clergy in political communication.

This study sought to find out why, with 83% of the Kenyan population being

Christian (Central Intelligence Agency [CIA], 2015; Kenya National Bureau of

Statistics [KNBS], 2010), the “YES” vote won quite decisively yet the Christian

clergy championed for the “NO” vote. Could it be that the Christian population does

not have faith in their clergy when it comes to political communication or that the

Christian clergy lack persuasion over their congregation? Could it be that the clergy

lack source credibility among the Christian community in Kenya? Aristotle pointed

source credibility as a crucial element in persuasion, Political communication

involves all kinds of communication carried out by political actors to accomplish

particular electoral processes (Prete, 2007). The aspect of source credibility in respect

to the dimensions of competence, trustworthiness and goodwill as far as the Christian



2

clergy is concerned formed the core of this study.

The items discussed in this chapter include the study’s background, problem

statement, purpose, objectives, research questions, and significance. The chapter also

covers the study’s limitations and delimitations, assumptions, scope, as well as the

definition of terms,

Background to the Study

Political communication is a very central process in the determination of how

citizens are governed since it enables them to individually and collectively articulate

their interests, mediate their differences and exercise their rights and obligations

(Omosa, Njeru, Ontita, & Nyarwath, 2006). In the world over, the success or failure in

the political communication process will largely depend on the opinion leaders

involved. Whether an opinion leader has source credibility or not is a key determinant

of either success or failure in all forms of communication. The question of source

credibility has been a major concern for communication researchers and scholars

since the last half of the 20th century. Research on the concept of source credibility

began during the World War II when the United States government thought to use

propaganda and mind management to influence public opinions in support of war

efforts (Umeogu, 2012).

Over 2300 years ago, Aristotle laid the groundwork for successful

communication. Scholars credit him with the development of the concept of source

credibility in the rhetoric where he divided the means of persuasion to three categories

namely ethos, logos and pathos (Thompson, 2005). The goal of any persuasive

communication is to take the audience from point A, which is the starting point and

move them along to point B which is the objective. This shifting of attitude is called



3

persuasion and is highly determined by the level of credibility in the source (Borg,

2004; Prete, 2007).

Recently, the concept of source credibility has become an area of interest for

research and has acquired other names and descriptions such as ethos, prestige,

charisma, and image. Through decades of study since the proposition of the source

credibility theory, several studies (Hilligoss & Rieh, 2008; Pornpitakpan, 2004;

Teven, 2008) have come up with the same constructs of credibility as Aristotle did

several centuries ago. Aristotle taught of good sense which is competence and good

character, and is perceived as trustworthiness, and goodwill - which is a

demonstration of a caring attitude or benevolence on the part of the speaker. All these

narrow down to the fact that for a message to be believable there has to be source

credibility.

Credibility is considered to be the judgments made by a message recipient

concerning the believability of a communicator (Callison, 2001). A favorable

speaker's ethos equals credibility and believability (Umeogu, 2012). Without source

credibility, persuasion can hardly occur. The ability to persuade and convince

effectively is directly proportional to how credible followers perceive the speaker to

be (Chong & Rogers, 2005). There is obvious uniformity in communication theories

that message receivers relate source credibility to the communicator's favorable

character or ethos that emits knowledge, moral standards, and goodwill towards the

message receivers (Hilligoss & Rieh, 2008).

Source credibility is something that exists in the listeners' minds, relates to the

person and refers to the sincerity that exudes from the individual (Borg, 2004). This

means that the sincerity of the speaker either gives or denies him the public speaking



4

ethos (source credibility). Prete (2007) argued that a credible person is supposed to

have profound knowledge of a specific theme (expertise), to be reliable

(trustworthiness) and to lead to a process of identification with the audience

(goodwill). All the qualities that a communicator possesses, including his or her

personality, social group, knowledge, goodwill, and trustworthiness, shape the

message (Smith, 1992).

For political communication to achieve its principal objective of informing,

persuading, and acting, it needs to have a high degree of credibility (Prete, 2007).

When Christian clergy are involved in political communication, source credibility

becomes a subject of occasional debate for contemporary scholars and the general

public. According to Djupe and Gilbert (2003), early research on the involvement of

Christian clergy in political communication was concerned with what the clergy

thought and did politically. Djupe and Gilbert further stated that this research was

conducted with the assumption that communication by the clergy always affects the

people on the pews. Political communication by Christian clergy is fundamental to

our understanding of the relationships between religion and politics with the political

speech of the clergy being often identified as a key mechanism underlying

associations between religious variables, and public opinion and political participation

(Cavendish, 2001; Mulligan, 2006).

As asserted by Djupe and Calfano (2013), effective clergy communication will

overcome or avoid congregant defenses against dissonant political information. The

clergy are generally considered to be professional arbiters of values and absolute

truths. Their pronouncements therefore carry a lot of weight particularly among the

faithful, who believe that God, the ultimate source of credibility, speaks through



5

religious leaders (Olson, 2009). The clergy may shape members' politics through the

priming of religious values, which may often occur during sermons or elite-led

presentations (Chong & Druckman, 2008; Sniderman & Theriault, 2004). According

to Sniderman and Theriault (2004), it is however important to note that the credibility

of political messages by the clergy is affected by a number of cue attributes which

include the strength of the message and whether the message is pitted against

competing arguments. Some clergy are often reported taking stands on political issues

such as urging congregants to vote, publicly discussing candidates, as well as

addressing a range of sociopolitical concerns such as scandals in government and

capital punishment (Woolfalk, 2012).

Occasionally, the clergy tend to have coherent worldviews making them

effective opinion leaders who can frame grievances in ways that express their

relevance to parishioners (Crawford & Olson, 2001; Wald & Calhoun-Brown, 2014).

Martin Luther King Junior, a Baptist preacher, is a classic example of a Christian

clergy who was involved in successful political communication (Gathogo, 2007).

Nevertheless, the credibility of Christian clergy as a source of political messages can

be a question of debate, attracting critical views. For instance, Reverend Billy

Graham, one of the most celebrated Christian clergy in the world, and whose voice in

American politics was heard for decades did not lack critics in reference to credibility

(Miller, 2011). His relationship with President Nixon drew considerable controversy

though he constantly urged God-fearing Americans to express their values through

political involvement (Miller, 2011).

Ward (2012) stated that during the 2012 American presidential campaigns, the

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association launched a major advertisement campaign



6

urging Americans to vote for Biblical values. Although there was no name for a

particular candidate in the advertisement which appeared in the USA Today, in the

Wall Street Journal, and in other newspapers in the States, it was widely perceived

that the advertisements were in support of Mitt Romney who was opposed to same

sex marriage. The incumbent, President Obama supported same sex marriages. This

move elicited mixed reactions with some feeling that it was not Billy Graham’s

initiative but a strategy by his son Franklin who was seen to be more outspoken on

political matters than his father (Ward, 2012).

As pointed out by Carrigan (2014), some Christian clergy also at times raised

concerns in regard to Billy Graham's positions on political matters. For instance,

while commenting on the life and times of Billy Graham, Reverend Jesse Jackson

once expressed that Graham would have been more powerful (credible) had he used

his evangelistic rallies to support the struggle towards racial equality (Aikman, 2010).

Making reference to the years of President Reagan and into the administration of

George W. Bush, Miller (2011) observed that Billy Graham's tone differed so notably

from the headline pronouncements of Jerry Falwell, who ran a Christian political

lobby, and Pat Robertson, who at some point ran for president. Miller postulated that

few observers stayed attuned to Graham’s continued intimacy with the world of

politics. In regard to credibility, Miller further argued that though Graham has been

voted in as a favorite of many and is revered by many as a great evangelist and an

advisor to many American presidents, it is only when he became politically neutral

that he grew in this aspect of credibility. This would serve to confirm the assumption

that a notable paradox surrounds the involvement of Christian clergy in political

communication hence raising the question of source credibility in a louder and



7

tougher tone.

In Kenya, involvement of Christian clergy in political communication has

similarly elicited mixed reactions from those who profess to be Christians as well

from others of different faiths. In Kenya's post independent history, a number of

prominent Christian clergy have been involved in political communication. They

include the late Bishop David Gitari, the third Primate and archbishop of the Anglican

Church of Kenya from 1997 to 2002; the late Reverend John Henry Okullu, Bishop of

Anglican Church of Kenya Maseno South diocese from 1971 to 1994); Zablon

Nthamburi, presiding bishop of the of the Methodist Church of Kenya from 1993 to

2002; Reverend Timothy Njoya, a retired minister of Presbyterian Church of East

Africa and a former chairman of Center for Democracy and Governance - Kenya; the

late Bishop Alexander Kipsang Muge, the first Bishop of the Anglican Church of

Kenya - diocese of Eldoret; and Cardinal John Njue, the incumbent archbishop the

Roman Catholic church in Kenya (Gathogo, 2007). These Christian clergy are

influential figures who appear to have had source credibility; they against many odds,

succeeded in dismantling Kenya's one party and autocratic regime (Parsitau, 2012).

Oluoch (2006) quoted Reverend Okullu as having said that politics and

religion are the same thing for clergymen and that according to him (Okullu),

clergymen are concerned with the entire development of human beings, hence there is

no way politicians can keep them out of politics. Bishop Gitari spoke his political

mind through expository sermons which faithfully interpreted Biblical texts and

through this he came out as politically credible (Gathogo, 2007). Bishop Muge is

recorded in Kenyan history as one Kenyan Christian clergy who expressed the

goodwill construct of source credibility. He devoted his life entirely to advocacy and



8

proclamation of social truth and believed in the power of the pulpit to transform and

reform the society (Parsitau, 2012), demonstrating to a great degree the construct of

trustworthiness and goodwill in source credibility.

The political debates in which the Kenyan Christian clergy discussed above

were involved in served to instruct a review of the constitutional framework of Kenya.

The exercise of writing a new constitution lasted almost two decades. A draft

constitution was subjected to a referendum in 2005 and again in 2010. these two

referendums were conducted with the aim of either adopting or rejecting the draft

constitution. The aim was for Kenya to have a new and better constitution. During

the 2010 referendum, the Kenyan Christian clergy took a leading role in opposing the

draft constitution. After the draft constitution was published and passed by parliament,

Canon Peter Karanja, the Secretary General of the National Council of Churches of

Kenya (NCCK), together with Cardinal John Njue, the head of the Roman Catholic

Church in Kenya, emerged as fierce critics of the proposed constitution (Mutua,

2010).

It is important to note here that the most of the earlier discussed fierce

Christian clergy were not key players in the 2010 constitution referendum process, for

by then some were either late, retired, or even defrocked. The key leaders were

Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, the then head of the Anglican

Church in Kenya; Bishop Mark Kariuki, the presiding Bishop of Deliverance

Churches worldwide; and Canon Peter Karanja; among others. Bishop David Gitari

and Reverend Njoya did however speak in favor of the draft constitution.

A coalition of Christian clergy from different denominations formed the

Kenyan Leaders Constitutional Forum (KLCF) to oppose the draft constitution right



9

from its publication to the national referendum of August 2010 (Mutua, 2010). KLCF

mounted tremendous opposition to the draft, opposing the clauses on abortion,

homosexuality, and Kadhi's courts. Although these three contentious issues enshrined

in the draft constitution were not purely political, KLCF’s opposition of the draft

constitution set the agenda for a political contest. This was because the draft

constitution was being subjected to a referendum which was in essence a political

exercise. As such, any communication, either for or against the draft constitution

based on whichever item, would therefore, until the referendum exercise was over be

rightly defined as political communication.

The Kenyan Leaders Constitutional Forum organized nationwide public rallies

which were popularly referred to “Mega prayer rallies” (Parsitau, 2012). In these

events, KLCF used enormous resources and made use of mass media communication

technologies such as newspaper advertisements, radio and television announcements,

press releases, posters, and many others. The main aim of using this plethora of

channels and methods was to warn the Christians against voting for the draft

constitution which they described as poisonous and detrimental to the health of the

nation.

According to Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR, 2010), on

the referendum day there was a commendable and historical voter turnout of 72% and

the constitution received an overwhelming popular endorsement of 67% against a

disapproval rate of 31%. A Majority of the voters, whose greater fraction is made up

of Christians (considering the significantly large population of Christians in Kenya)

cast their votes in favor of the draft constitution. The political decision of a majority

of the Christian voters who formed the larger fraction of the voters was evidently a



10

deviation from the instruction and expectation of their clergy. The referendum results

practically showed that the Christian clergy failed to convince the Christian voters to

take a common political direction; opposing the draft constitution. There was a big

discrepancy in the message sent through all accessible communication machinery by

the Christian clergy and the decision made at the ballot box by a majority of Christian

voters.

The outcome of the referendum, an historic defeat of the “NO” vote, became a

point of reference for raising questions about the credibility of the Christian leaders in

as far as their moral leadership in matters political was concerned (Parsitau, 2012).

This further put into question the clergy’s source credibility in political

communication. After the release of the results of the referendum, there were mixed

reactions from Christians in regard to the loss by the “NO” vote whose campaign was

mainly led by the Christian clergy.

This study sought to establish why the Christian voters were not persuaded to

follow the direction of their clergy. The study’s concentrated on determining if a gap

of source credibility could have existed as far as the Christian clergy and their

delivery of political messages was concerned. The study used descriptive research

design in which source credibility, with reference to the Christian clergy, was the

operational concept of study.

Statement of the Problem

Based on figures from CIA (2015) and KNBS (2010), an approximate of 83%

of Kenyans profess the Christian faith. The Christian clergy in Kenya are the leaders

of this large number of citizens and hence it is to be assumed that they have powerful

influence. During the 2010 constitution referendum, the said clergy came together and



11

put up a very spirited campaign against the draft constitution yet despite all these the

“YES” vote carried the day with a significant majority of 67% (KNDR, 2010).

Despite the large number of following and prominent social standing, the

Christian clergy did not influence Christian voters enough to secure a win. Had the

Christian clergy received support from their followers, the ideal situation would have

been a win for the “NO” vote. The reality, as it appears was that although Christian

voters cast their votes, the direction of their voting was not hugely in favor of the

proposal given by their clergy. Ideally, if any speaker has source credibility, they will

persuade almost 100% and there shall be maximum effects. Considering that this was

not the case with the Kenyan Christian clergy in regard to the August 2010

referendum in Kenya, this study sought to find out why the Christian voters were not

persuaded to vote “NO” as urged by their clergy. Could it have been that the Christian

clergy lacked source credibility in political communication.

Purpose of the Study

This study sought to determine whether the Christian clergy in Kenya had

source credibility in terms of political communication.

Objectives of the Study

The following objectives guided the study:

1. To establish the extent to which Christian voters in Changamwe

Constituency perceived their clergy to be credible sources in the

communication of spiritual messages.


Constituency perceived their clergy to be credible sources in the



12

communication of political messages.


Constituency 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.

Research Questions

The study sought to answer the following questions:

1. To what the extent did Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency

perceive their clergy to be credible sources in the communication of

spiritual messages?

2. To what extent did Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency

perceive their clergy to be credible sources in the communication of

political messages?

3. To what extent did Christian voters in Changamwe constituency

perceive 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.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study revealed the dimensions of source credibility in which

the Christian clergy should develop. The knowledge developed was considered useful

in helping the Christian clergy build their source credibility for greater usefulness in

communication beyond the pulpit. The Christian clergy are involved in holistic

ministry, which political communication is part of. It is hoped that this study’s



13

findings would:

1. Help a great deal in neutralizing the natural dichotomy that has been

created between political communication and the communication of

spiritual messages by the Christian clergy, as perceived by the

Christian community.

2. Be instructive to both the Christian voters and their clergy. With the

gained knowledge, the Christian clergy would be helpful in the future

formulation, packaging, and delivery of political messages.

3. Inform policy makers and developers about the Christian voter

constituency’s understanding of political communication. This would

be quite informative on their choice of the sources to carry messages

that have political elements to Christian voters.

4. In the academic circles, add to as well as confirm existing facts

pertaining to source credibility.

Justification of the Study

This was a perception study focusing on the concept of source credibility

which is at the heart of any successful communication enterprise. The study

established that a source could be credible in one area but not in another. The urgency

and value of the study was considered real based on that since the August, 2010

constitutional referendum, much of what had been written were reports on how the

Christian clergy failed and how the “NO” vote lost. This study aimed at going deeper

into unearthing the underlying reasons that interfered with the call to reject the draft

constitution. Towards this, the study sought to find out if source credibility could have

been a key factor leading to the poor reception of the political message from the



14

Christian clergy by the Christian voters.

Limitations and Delimitations

As a Christian faith ordained minister in Kenya, the researcher was part of the

Christian clergy in Changamwe Constituency, the location that was the study’s focus.

This was a factor which could have led to bias in the collection of data. This

limitation was mitigated by the use of research assistants who were not part of the

clergy and who had no personal interests in the entire process of the research. On

mitigating the same limitation, Chaani ward, where the researcher served, was

excluded during the sampling of the wards to be studied.

This was an academic exercise with political implications and it was

undertaken at a time when Kenya was preparing for a general election. There was an

experience of respondents' apathy resulting from the fear that the information being

collected may not have been genuinely meant for academic use but possibly for

negative political purposes. The research assistants were advised to provide a verbal

explanation to the respondents that the information that would be collected from them

was purely meant for academic purposes. On the self-administered questionnaire

which was used for the data collection, it was clarified that the information collected

was to be used purely for academic purposes.

The target population of the study was Christian voters yet not all of them

went to church regularly. While those who regularly attended church worship services

had an established relational contact with the Christian clergy, those without the habit

of regular church attendance lacked such contact. Based on this, some discrepancies

in the responses were expected. Since all these categories of Christians were involved

in the voting exercise, the self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all



15

Christian voters whether they went to church regularly or not. All the registered voters

who had participated in voting during the August 2010 constitutional referendum and

who identified Christianity as the religious faith were engaged as respondents. The

researcher ensured that the information sought through the questionnaire allowed

room for examining the possible differences between the information provided by

those who attended church regularly and those who did not. Respondents were asked

to indicate how regularly they attended church worship services.

The research instruments used English language and technical terms which

were a challenge to some respondents. As a way of mitigation, the research assistants

were trained on how to, as need arose, provide ready explanations using the language

that the respondents could understand.

Assumptions of the Study

This study made some assumptions which included the following:

1. That the 2010 constitutional referendum was objective and that it was

conducted according to the laws and procedures governing electoral processes

in Kenya.

2. That the Christian clergy had an elaborate campaign strategy during the 2010

referendum.

3. That enough and willing Christian voters would be found to give answers to

the questions raised and that they would do it objectively.

4. That all respondents had access to the media and thus, they followed the

prominent Christian clergy and politicians who were regularly involved in

political communication and that they could remember the events before and

after the August 2010 referendum.



16

5. That according to the Christian voters' understanding, there did exist a natural

separation between spiritual and political messages

Scope of the Study

This study revolved around source credibility in relation to the involvement of

the Christian clergy in political communication. Its core aim was to find out if the

Christian clergy had source credibility in political communication. The study’s

concern was the extent to which the Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency

perceived their clergy to be credible sources of political messages. The August 2010

constitutional referendum in Kenya was intentionally identified as a major exercise of

reference for the involvement of the Christian clergy in political communication.

Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency in Mombasa County were engaged as

respondents. The study focused on the respondents’ view of their clergy’s relay of

spiritual messages on the one hand and of the same clergy’s relay of political

messages on the other hand. The major dimensions for determining source credibility,

which were identified as expertise or competence, trustworthiness, and goodwill were

the main areas of interrogation in the study.

Definition of Terms

Christian voters: Douglas, Tenney, and Silva (2011) provided the Biblical

meaning of a Christian as one who is an adherent of Christ. In this study, Christian

voter is used to refer to any registered voter in Kenya who identifies with the

Christian faith, either by word or practice, or both.

Christian clergy: Anyone who is ordained to perform pastoral or sacerdotal

functions in the Christian church (Christian, n.d.). In this study, the term Christian



17

Clergy, refers to any trained and appointed overseer of a Christian congregation or

congregations. In the questionnaire the title “Pastor” is used to refer to the Christian

clergy.

Source credibility: O’Keefe (1990) defined source credibility as the judgment

by a listener concerning the believability of a communicator. For the purpose of this

study, source credibility refers to the degree to which one can believe in, and act

according to what a speaker proposes.

Political communication: This is a process by which a nation’s leadership,

media, and citizenry exchange and confer meaning upon messages that relate to the

conduct of the public policy (Perloff, 1997). This study uses Perloff’s definition.

Political messages: Any purposeful communication about political matters

ranging from governance to electoral processes (McNair, 2011). In this study, the term

refers to any communicative behavior that focuses on influencing the electorate to

make political decisions.

Spiritual messages: In this study, the term ‘spiritual messages’ is used to refer

to the communication that the clergy make within the confines of Biblical content and

the admonition of humanity in regard to their walk with God, irrespective of their

training or careers, with the central focus being the spiritual life of the individual.

Summary

This chapter has provided the introduction and background to the study, the

statement of the problem, as well as the study’s purpose. Discussed also in the chapter

are the study’s: research objectives, research questions, justification, significance,

scope, assumptions, and limitations and delimitations. In the next chapter, the

theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the study, as well as literature review on the



18

subject of source credibility, the clergy, and political communication are provided.



19

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

In this chapter, the theoretical framework within which this research was

conducted is provided. General and empirical literature review on perception, the

Christian clergy, political communication, and source credibility are also articulated in

this chapter. The chapter also presents the study’s conceptual framework. At the end is

a discussion and summary of the entire chapter.

Theoretical Framework

A theory is a set of inter-related propositions that suggest and seek to explain

why events occur in the manner that they do. It is a way of framing an experience or

event (Hoover, 1984; K. A. Foss, Foss, & Griffin, 1999). Theories in communication

help in the effort made to understand and account for something and the way it

functions in the world. They simplify the complex nature of communication as a daily

occurrence as well as an academic discipline making it quite understandable. As

opined by Infante, Rancer, and Womack (2003), communication theories help us

organize and understand our communication experiences. Further, Infante et al. stated

that we use theories to organize a broad range of experiences into smaller categories

by paying attention to the common features of communication situations that we find

ourselves in and that such theories guide how we actually communicate, helping us

choose what communicative behaviors to study.

Source Credibility Theory

This study interrogated the perception of the audience, where in this case the



20

audience is the Christian voters in Changamwe, on the source, where the source

herein is the Christian clergy. The source credibility theory states that people or

receivers are more likely to be persuaded when the source presents itself as credible.

Scholars have attributed the value of focus and straight forwardness to this theory. For

instance, Hilligoss and Rieh (2008) described the theory as an established one that

explains how communication persuasiveness is affected by the perceived credibility

of the source of that communication. This theory propounded by Hovland, Janis, and

Kelly in 1953 has a rich history in persuasion research (Tormala, Brinol, & Petty,

2005). A study by the proponents of this theory, in which they compared credible and

non-credible sources using the same persuasive message confirmed the assumption

that credible sources tend to create the desired impact on the audience (Pornpitakpan,

2004).

Communicators with high credibility in the eyes of message receivers tend to

have respect and their words are accepted more readily (Umeogu, 2012). Basically,

people are likely to be persuaded if the person doing the persuading is seen as being

credible, expert, and trustworthy. Source credibility affects the perceived validity of

information in a message (Fragale & Heath, 2004). In his philosophical analysis of the

source credibility theory, Umeogu (2012) identified three models attributed to the

theory. These models help to narrow the wide scope of the theory while making it

even a much more focused strategy to use when studying communication. The factor

model, which uses a covering laws approach, helps in determining to which extent the

receiver judges the source as credible. The functional model, which just like the factor

model uses a covering laws approach, views credibility as the degree to which a

source satisfies the individual needs. The constructivist model, uses a human action



21

approach, and analyzes what the receiver does with the sources' proposal. This study

chose to use the factor model. To determine the extent to which the Christian voters

perceive their clergy as credible sources in political communication, the dimensions

of expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill were identified as the key factors foe

interrogation.

This study also looked at two other theories. The theory of reasoned action

proposed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen in 1980 as an improvement of the

information integration theory proposed by the same people in 1975 (Theory, n.d.).

The theory predicts that behavioral intent is created or caused by our attitudes and our

subjective norms. The second theory was the elaboration likelihood model of

persuasion developed by Richard Petty and John Caccioppo in 1980 (Kruglanski &

Van Lange, 2012). It is a dual process theory that describes the change of attitudes.

Source credibility theory was chosen to provide the framework for this study because

it provides a balanced focus on both the source and the audience, unlike the other two

theories which appeared to pay more attention to the audience.

After review and evaluation of literature on source credibility theory, A

summary based on the constructs that guided was prepared and is presented

diagrammatically in Figure 2.1.



22

Figure 2.1: The Factor Model of Source Credibility Theory

Source: Author (2018)

General Literature Review

Perception and Source Credibility

Communication can only be said to have occurred when one mind has

influenced another so that the other mind understands what was in the first mind

(Lundstrom, 1990). This influence is about affecting the perception of the listener.

Severin and Tankard (2008) submitted that perception is the process by which we

interpret sensory data. It is about how individuals understand the information they

receive or register using their eyes, nose, fingertips or any other sensory organ.

Perception is thus a cognitive process that enables us to interpret or understand our

environment. It involves the way we view the world around us and adds meaning to

the information gathered via the sensory organs.

Since the days of Aristotle to most recently, scholars on credibility have

highlighted several dimensions of source credibility but the three classic ones adopted



23

for use in this study are competence or expertise, trustworthiness or character, and

goodwill. These dimensions are not empirical realities but perceptual sources of

influence on the receiver which can be cultivated, managed or created (Cornan, Hess,

& Justus, 2006; Thweat & McCroskey, 1996). Credibility therefore is directly related

to perception where the receiver decides whether to believe or disregard a speaker

with regard to the three dimensions proposed by scholars. Selective perception which

is the tendency for people’s perception to be influenced by wants, needs, attitudes, and

other psychological factors plays a very important role in any sort of communication

(Severin & Tankard, 2008).

Individuals tend to expose themselves to those communications that are in

agreement with their existing attitudes and to avoid those that are not in agreement.

Individuals also tend to pay attention to those parts of a message that are consonant

with strongly held attitudes and behaviors. An attitude is an individual's predisposition

to behave in a particular way in response to given stimuli within his world (Thweat &

McCroskey, 1996). The focus may be a person, group, policy or product among

others. According to Severin and Tankard (2008), individuals also recall information

to be influenced by wants, needs, attitudes, and other psychological factors, It all boils

back to perception. Perception acts into two stages namely, the structural which is the

physical reception of signals by the sense organs; and the functional which is the

mental interpretation of those signals. Functional perception is usually the critical

element in achieving effective communication because it selects signals for conscious

recognition and discards others (Smith, 1992).

Perception is influenced and affected by several factors, the most significant

being our social orientation. It is a common experience that, seemingly private



24

opinions and attitudes are maintained by an individual in conjunction with small

numbers of others with whom he is motivated to interact. Gustafson (1984) reckoned

that the characteristics of persons and communities are shaped and nourished by

symbols, myths, rites, and stories that they share and by the education they receive.

The way an individual speaker is perceived by the audience affects his or her

credibility. If an audience perceives a communicator as credible, they will be

influenced by him but if they do not perceive him as credible, then he shall have

minimal impact on their attitudes (McCroskey & Teven, 1999). Aristotle further stated

that source credibility is merely a subset of a much larger construct of a person's

perception. Source credibility is highly affected by attitude, where we tend to perceive

what we want to perceive, and what we want to perceive is something that agrees with

our mental constructs (Aristotle, trans. 2010)

Aristotle also argued that persuasion is accomplished by character whenever

the speech is held in such a way as to render the speaker worthy of credence

(Thompson, 2005). That is, if the speaker appears to be credible, the audience will

form the second order judgment that the propositions he puts forward are true and

credible. Aristotle further advised that the speaker must display practical intelligence,

a virtuous character, and goodwill. If the speaker displayed none of these, the

audience would doubt that he is able to give good advice at all. If he displays practical

intelligence without a virtuous character and goodwill, the audience would doubt if

his intentions and aims are good. If he displays practical intelligence and a virtuous

character without goodwill, the audience will still doubt whether the speaker gives the

best suggestion though he knows what it is. According to Knight (2007), Aristotle

concluded that if a speaker displays practical intelligence, a virtuous character, and



25

goodwill, it cannot be rationally doubted that his or her suggestions are credible. The

speaker must accomplish the three constructs of expertise, trustworthiness, and

goodwill by what he says.

In his Rhetoric, Aristotle identified five main matters on which all men

deliberate and on which political speakers make speeches. These include ways and

means, war and peace, national defense, imports and exports, and legislation

(Aristotle, trans. 2010). In addition, Aristotle observed that in political speaking, the

orator urges the audience to do or not to do something. This boils back to the creation

of a perception. Knight (2007) observed that political speaking is concerned with the

future, that it is about things to be done after the speaker advises for or against. The

political orator aims at establishing either the expediency or harmfulness of a

proposed action. If he urges acceptance, he does so on grounds that the proposed

action will do good; if he urges rejection, it is on grounds that the action will do harm.

The orator brings every other point he or she makes, such as; whether the proposal is

just or unjust, honorable or dishonorable as subsidiary and relative to this main

consideration (Knight, 2007). In political communication, a decision is expected to be

made after the speech. It is therefore imperative that a political speech be persuasive.

The use of a persuasive speech is the art that leads to decisions that are in agreement

with the speaker's proposition.

Source Credibility and the Christian Clergy in Political

Communication in Kenya

According to Muhingi, Agonga, Mainye, Mong’are, & Maranga (2015), the

IDS report of June 2005 strongly asserted that development involves not just the

expansion of resources, skills and power in any given state, but also the political



26

processes of the state or society bargaining over their distribution that occurs within it.

Perloff (1997) looked at political communication as a process by which a nation’s

leadership, media, and citizenry exchange and confer meaning upon messages that

relate to the conduct of the public policy. This process involves the exchange and

interpretation of messages. The World Bank annual report of 2006 indicated that the

impact of communication and information processes on societies of every kind was

going to increase rapidly in the coming decades and this included political

communication from all quarters.

Since the colonial days, the church in Kenya led by its clergy has been

involved in political communication. The mainline churches have had a long-standing

and chequered history of pushing for democratic and constitutional reforms,

especially during the 1980s and early 1990s. In Kenya, the churches have at different

times been at the forefront of a sustained campaign for constitutional reforms. From

the 1960s to the 1990s, the churches acted as the voice of the voiceless and the

conscience of the society (Gifford, 2009; Parsitau, 2012). During this time, the clergy

were involved in political communication, where from time to time they questioned

the one-party rule excesses from the pulpit. It is worth noting that the clergy spoke

with one voice as the men of the cloth and of honor.

Christian clergy have a status in the society. They have a position or place in

the social system and its attendant right and duties. Their status has a public value

attached to it (Grunlan & Mayers, 1988). By virtue of being religious leaders,

Christian clergy hold a status in the society. Such positions make the society deem

them as credible sources of information. However, the involvement of the clergy in

political communication seems to have always raised mixed reactions. A poll



27

conducted in Kenya in 2012 on the preparedness of Kenya towards the 2012 general

election showed that a majority of the Kenyans were of the view that religious leaders

should stick to spiritual matters and shun politics since the latter is a dirty game

(Mutua, 2010). In the study, almost a third (64%) of the respondents expressed that

the clergy should stick to religious matters while according to 14.23%, religious

leaders had been overshadowed by politicians. The interesting result of the same poll

was that 55.8% of the participants believed that the clergy would influence the

outcome of the 2012 election.

According to the CIA (2015) and KNBS (2010), the 2009 population and

housing census showed that an approximate of 83% of all the citizens in Kenya were

professing Christians, a population under the influence of the Christian clergy. If the

clergy would have managed to convince this significant population to vote against the

draft constitution, the obvious expectation would be a win for the NO vote. KNDR

(2010) reported that the voter turnout on the 2010 Kenyan constitutional referendum

was 72%, where over 80% of the voters were Christians. It further reported that the

results of the referendum showed that the draft constitution received a popular

endorsement of 67% against a disapproval rate of 31%. Moreover, specific statistics

from KNDR indicated that Changamwe Constituency returned a very strong ‘YES’

verdict on the draft constitution with an overwhelming 73% voting in the affirmative,

and only 24% opposing. The overall voter turnout in Changamwe Constituency was

63% (KNDR, 2010).

Empirical Literature Review

Source Credibility in Communication

Source credibility is a concept that since the days of the Philosopher Aristotle



28

has been scrutinized through the years. Aristotle referred to source credibility as ethos

(Aristotle, trans. 2010; Umeogu, 2012), viewed by McCraken (1989) as the image of

the source in the minds of the receivers. The source of a message contributes to the

persuasiveness of that message (Shimp, 2002). Aristotle also suggested that credibility

consists of intelligence, character, and goodwill as perceptual dimensions that act as

sources of influence on every receiver (Thweatt & McCroskey, 1996).


concerning the believability of a communicator (Callison, 2001). As stated by Hogg

and Vaughan (2013), credibility is a perceived quality, one that people assign to the

communicator based on a number of elements. The postulation by Callison (2001)

and further elaborated by Hogg and Vaughan implies that source credibility is a

perception phenomenon whose origin lies with the receiver in the communication

process.

Levine and Stephenson (2007) espoused that source credibility is a description

of the image of a communicator held at a given time by a receiver, who can either be

one person or a group. It influences the receiver and arises from how the public view

or perceive a speaker. Aristotle emphasized that the elements which positively

influence source credibility are perceptual, especially expertise and trustworthiness

(Aristotle, trans. 2010). No message is received independent of the source. This is true

of political communication as argued by Richmond and McCroskey (as cited in

Teven, 2008), source credibility in a political communication context is a critical

factor in the selection of an opinion leader. The success or failure of any political

campaign or endeavor depends on how credible the voters perceive the candidate to

be. Researchers have found that sources having more credibility dimensions induce



29

greater attitude change faster compared to those having less of those dimensions

(Dholakia, 1987; Umeogu, 2012). The credibility of any candidate is quite important

in determining the effectiveness of political advertising. Advertisements for

candidates with high credibility have a greater impact on influencing audiences and

potential votes (Druckman, Jacobs, & Ostermeier, 2004; Lee & Chang, 2011).

Key Constructs/Dimensions of Source Credibility

Contemporary research has supported what McCroskey and Young (1981)

proposed almost four decades ago; that source credibility is a very important element

in the communication process whether the goal of the communication effort is

persuasion or the generation of understanding. The receiver holds an initial attitude

towards the source and the topic. The source, through the message delivered,

expresses a particular attitude towards the topic and the two may be consistent or

inconsistent. A credible source of information makes for quicker and firmer decisions

(Gass & Seiter, 2014). A favorable speaker's ethos equals credibility and believability

(Aristotle, trans. 2010; Teven, 2008.). Aristotle asserted that a speech consists of three

things: the speaker, the subject that is treated in the speech, and the listener to whom

the speech is addressed (Umeogu, 2012). The speech can produce persuasion either

through the speaker, the emotional state of the listener, or the argument itself. The

hearer or listener determines the end of the speech. So far, there is a consistent

assertion among scholars that in communication, the extent of agreement is usually

higher when the statements are attributed to high status sources, that is sources whose

credibility is high.

The credible person is defined as an expert, one who is experienced, qualified,

intelligent, and skilled. Such a person is also trustworthy in that he is fair, honest,



30

unselfish, careful in the choice of words, and disinclined to deceive (Hilligoss & Rieh,

2008). Just as our minds can deny a favorable reception to a person against whom

they are prejudiced; so can they receive a speech when they have been favorably

impressed by speaker. It is also obvious that all people are persuaded by

considerations of their interests and these interests lie in the maintenance of the

established order.

Even though one may be an expert, if he is not perceived as such by the

hearers his influence over them would have very minimal effects. This is because

credibility is context-dependent and an expert in one situation may be incompetent in

another (Gass & Seiter, 2014). Expertise is the perceived knowledge, skill, and

experience of the source. Hilligoss and Rieh (2008) held that expertise is an important

factor because it is closely related to user perceptions of the ability of a source to

provide information that is both accurate and valid. Hilligoss and Rieh further

indicated that expertise is closely related with trustworthiness in that when people find

that sources of information have expertise they will likely judge that information as

trustworthy.

The construct of expertise in a source is about competence, intelligence,

qualification, and authoritativeness gained from knowledge and experience

(McCroskey & Teven, 1999). It refers to the extent to which a speaker is perceived to

be capable of making correct assertions. Experts are usually considered highly

credible unless or until they are perceived as biased or self-serving. They are more

persuasive than non-experts. Same arguments carry more weight when delivered by

someone who presumably knows all the facts. Lack of integrity can cancel out the

positive impact of expertise. The construct of trustworthiness refers to the honesty and



31

believability of a source (Shimp, 2002). It is about the degree to which an audience

perceives the assertions made by a communicator to be valid because they are

perceived to be honest, sincere, and objective (McCraken, 1989). Trustworthiness is

about being honest and unbiased.

McCroskey and Teven (1999) observed that the construct of goodwill refers to

the friendly disposition, benevolence, kindness, and a sense of caring in the source. It

is about the speaker’s intention towards the receiver. The three constructs or

dimensions of expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill are not empirical realities but

perceptions that can be created, managed and cultivated (Cornan et al., 2006). As

indicated by Hogg and Vaughan (2013), other perceptual elements of credibility are

integrity, sound judgment, relational sensitivity, and likeability. In fact, credibility can

be seen to be a mixture of trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness (Levin &

Stephenson, 2007).

Source Credibility in Political Communication

A political contest is in essence a contest on credibility and the audience will

vote for the person they perceive to be most credible (Chong & Rogers, 2005). The

success or failure of any political campaign or endeavor depends on how credible the

voters perceive the candidate or opinion leader to be (Thweat & McCroskey, 1996). A

credible source of information makes for quicker and firmer decisions (Gass & Seiter,

2014). As posited by Fjalkowski (2014), leaders can increase or decrease the utility of

politicians based on credibility. Aristotle espoused that the source of a message

contributes to the persuasiveness of that message (Teven, 2008). Since the voters

determine what credibility is, the strategy for the politician is to find out what the

audience wants and identify himself with those wants and needs.



32

The Christian Clergy and Political Communication


concerning the believability of a communicator (Callison, 2001). As proposed by

Umeogu (2012), a favorable speaker's ethos equals credibility and believability

because the ability to persuade and convince effectively is directly proportional to

how credible most of the followers perceive the speaker to be. Generally, and as

observed by several communication scholars, religious leaders are often prominent on

a range of social, economic, and religious issues as far as opinion leadership is

concerned (Umeogu, 2012). It is not strange for many people to look up to their

religious leaders or clergy on difficult and religious matters. This being the case, these

opinion leaders have the ability to sway the opinion of their members or followers.

Ideally, the basic expectation is that the clergy would be sources of communication

worthy of credence. It is highly expected that the opinions of a religious leader, when

and if rooted on scriptural or moral imperatives, will resonate more with the public

than if he they were based logic (Levine & Stephenson, 2007).

Recent studies have indicated that Christian churches in Kenya are not

credible and believable sources of political communication. This means that these

churches cannot be described as the voice(s) and conscience of the society or the

spokespersons of the poor and the vulnerable (Parsitau, 2012). The culmination of this

voiceless culture in the part of the mainline church clergy became increasingly

evident during the post-election crisis which gripped the country after the disputed

elections in late 2007 and early 2008 (Mutua, 2008; Parsetau, 2012). The clergy was

largely accused of the abdication of their prophetic call and voice to speak against

bloodletting, injustice, and rape. They were seen to have failed to give the badly



33

needed moral direction.

Cavendish (2001) posited that political communication by Christian clergy is

fundamental to our understanding of the relationships between religion and politics.

This is because the political speech of the clergy is core to relating and unearthing

underlying associations between religious variables, public opinion, and political

participation. This understanding was espoused further by Djupe and Calfano (2013)

with the assertion that effective clergy communication will overcome or avoid

congregants’ defenses against dissonant political information. The clergy may shape

members' politics through the priming of religious values, which may often occur

during sermons or elite-led presentations (Sniderman & Theriault, 2004).

The Tensions in the Involvement of the Christian Clergy in Political communication

Occasionally, the clergy tend to have coherent worldviews making them

effective opinion leaders who can frame grievances in ways that express their

relevance to parishioners (Crawford & Olson, 2001; Wald & Calhoun-Brown, 2014).

They are part of the key political and social elite as far as opinion leadership and

direction is concerned (Smidt, 2003). For instance, as highlighted by Gathongo

(2007), Martin Luther King Junior, a Baptist preacher, is a classic example of a

Christian clergy who was involved in successful political communication. However,

scholars do not fully agree on the matter of Christian clergy being credible sources of

political messages. Djupe and Calfano (2013) opined that at times Christian clergy are

found to have less credibility when they communicate political rather than spiritual

messages.

As intimated by Gurbo (2013), separation of the church and state is considered

a prerequisite of a modern state as it promotes democracy, tolerance and pluralism,



34

since the society is not compelled to the dominance of one religion or denomination.

Community members also systematically misperceive the validity of political cues

that the Christian clergy can provide based on the direction of their attitudes and issue

of importance (Djupe & Gilbert, 2008). In the same breath, Krosnick et al. (as cited in

Djupe and Gilbert, 2008) argued that the influence of congregation leaders is limited

by a number of factors which are based on the receiver characteristics and involve

members projecting their own views onto the clergy.

Sniderman and Theriault (2004) observed that it is worth noting that the

credibility of political messages by the Christian clergy is affected by a number of cue

attributes which include the strength of the message and whether the message is pitted

against competing arguments. This concept was reported by Dholakia (1987) while

reporting the common findings of researchers that sources with more credibility

dimensions induce greater attitude change faster compared to those having less of

those dimensions. Therefore, for there to be a maximum effect of the political

communication by the Christian clergy, the clergy must be perceived by their

audience to be credible. According to Fragale and Heath (2004), source credibility

affects the perceived validity of information in a message.

Communicators with high credibility in the eyes of message receivers tend to

gain respect and their words are accepted more readily (Umeogu, 2012). However, it

is not always the case that every time that Christian clergy are not perceived as

credible sources of political messages, the result is a lack of the desired impact on the

audience (Pornpitakpan, 2004). Scholars appreciate the paradox that the clergy find

themselves in when they (clergy) are involved in political communication. Although a

religious leader may be a credible authority, he is not necessarily an appropriate figure



35

to argue an issue from a material viewpoint, as it is the case in political

communication (Umeogu, 2012). Religious leaders, including pastors and bishops,

speak out on public issues through sermons, newsletters, and other public statements

and are perceived by their religious constituencies as offering cues on sociopolitical

issues in a highly selective fashion (Leege & Kellstedt, 1993). The clergy actively

participate in both direct and indirect political cues giving, as well as in a myriad of

other political activities (Guth, Green, Smidt, & Kellstedt, 1997).

The clergy have several qualities that give them the potential of political

influence for their congregations. This would be because they like engaging more in

ideological thinking, are more aware of the moral dimensions of the problems in the

society and are able to frame these societal problems (Smidt, 2003). The clergy also

garner high levels of respect and trust from their congregations and are positioned to

create, transmit, and maintain group norms and attitudes (Wald, Owen & Hill, 1988).

All these are pointers that, by virtue of their position, the clergy are able to possess

resources and an opportunity to give political cues or political communication leading

to action. The overarching question is whether the position, resourcefulness, and

opportunity of the Christian clergy can qualify them to be credible sources in political

communication.

With all factors held constant, credibility levels would always determine the

outcome of every communication endeavor. The review of literature makes it clear

that credibility is the product of the interplay of different constructs. The most

prominent of all is expertise (competence), trustworthiness (honesty) and goodwill

(benevolence). The dimensions add up to give the sum total of the level of credibility

that the recipients of a message would have about a speaker. These constructs are



36

perceptual and not empirical.

There is a direct link between credibility and perception. Credibility would

only be awarded according to what the hearers think about the source. The perception

of the hearers on the speaker in regard to expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill,

would determine whether they would pay attention, retain what he says or even act on

it. The rating of the level of credibility of any speaker or source can only be done by

the hearers or listeners. It is about how the source presents itself to the listeners. What

the recipients know about the speaker can also determine if he would affect their

attitude or not.

It is evident that there are gaps in regard to the involvement of the Christian

clergy in political communication. Both the general and empirical research show that

there are some areas of concern that require urgent attention. The theoretical and

conceptual frameworks developed and adopted for this study helped to determine if

that could have been a credibility gap.

Conceptual Framework

A conceptual framework is a schematic representation of a research problem

that includes a network of concepts (factors or variables) and exhibits the flow and

direction of their relationships (Chandran, 2004). It is a flow chart that exhibits which

concepts are related to which others. How we understand something is greatly

depended on our friends as well as our personal perception and intelligence.

Information is seldom directly acted upon by an individual, when received it is

normally processed through interpersonal networks (Smith, 1992). With this

understanding on conceptualization, the researcher sought to find out how the

Christian voters as individuals and members of the society who composed the



37

population of study perceived political messages delivered by their clergy in the midst

of other political communication machinery.

Figure 2.2 presents the conceptual framework developed as a representation of

the relationship between the Christian clergy as the source of political messages and

the Christian voters as the receivers of the same.

Figure 2.2: Conceptual Framework

Source: Author (2018)

Discussion

In the development of the conceptual framework, the political messages by the

Political communication

Source - Christian clergy

Independent Variable


Receiver - Christian voter

Dependent Variable


Sources-Career politicians,

Political analysts and commentators,

Family and significant others

Intervening Variables

Perception questions

1. Are you an expert?

2. Can I trust what you say?

3.Do I see, sense or perceive goodwill

in what you say?

Political decision

made

By the Christian voter

Level of credibility

indicator



38

clergy were taken as the independent variable because they would either influence or

not influence the receiver. On the other hand, the perception of the political messages

from the Christian clergy by the Christian voters was treated as the dependent variable

because it was considered to be either influenced or not by the clergy’s political

messages. Family background, career politicians, the media, among others were

identified as intervening variables.

Also demonstrated in Figure 2.2 is the relationship between perception and

source credibility since the two affected each other proportionally. Perception on the

source would be equal to credibility. The answers given by the receiver on the

perception questions regarding the source would determine the level of credibility

hence the communication effects realized. High level of credibility would mean

maximum communication effects while low level would mean minimum or no

communication effects.

Summary

This chapter has interacted, reviewed, and evaluated what scholars have

written on perception and source credibility as it relates to Christian clergy and to

political communication. In the chapter, source credibility theory has been identified

as the theory guiding the study. General review of literature covering the central

aspects of source credibility in political communication among the clergy; and

empirical literature review on the fraction of Christians in Kenya, as well as important

statistical details of the referendum have also been discussed. In addition, a

conceptual framework highlighting the key variables informing this study has been

provided. The next chapter discusses the study’s research methodology.



39

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter discusses the study’s research design, population, target

population, sample size, the sampling technique, data collection instruments, data

collection procedures, pretesting of instruments, and data analysis plan. The ethical

considerations in this research are also discussed in this chapter.

Research Design

This study used descriptive research design which is also called survey

research. Putting into consideration research concepts presented by Kothari (2004),

the research design sought to systematically solve the research problem by providing

an operational framework within which meaning of data was extracted so that it

would be more clearly understood. At its core, the main purpose of this study was to

collect data that would be used to gauge the credibility of the Christian clergy in

regard to political communication. Borrowing more research concepts from Okeke &

Wyk (2015), the descriptive research design also provided a practical framework that

would be used to search for answers to the research questions. Within this framework,

the data collected was used to determine and report the level of source credibility of

the Christian clergy in regard to political communication as perceived by Christian

voters. It also provided a basis for the comparison of the levels of source credibility of

the clergy regarding political communication and communication on spiritual matters.

The research questions raised were mainly concerned with what was going on in the

minds of Christian voters as far as the involvement of the Christian clergy in political



40

communication was concerned.

Population

The population identified for this study was the Christian voters in Changamwe

Constituency in Mombasa County in Kenya. Changamwe Constituency is a

cosmopolitan area with heterogeneous population of both local as well as from

upcountry citizens (KNBS, 2010). It is both a residential and industrial area located

on the mainland area West of Mombasa Island. According to KNBS (2010), the 2009

Kenya population census results revealed that the entire Changamwe Constituency

covers an area of 16 km2 and is home to an approximate population of 132,692 people

distributed in five county wards. KNBS reported the population distribution in the

wards as follows: Port Reitz (31,720); Kipevu (29,100); Airport (31,721); Chagamwe

(11,013); and Chaani (29,138).

Target Population

O. M. Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) articulated that the size of the population

should be accessible and that it must have the characteristics required for the study.

The key characteristics of the participants who were chosen to provide the sample

were that they had to be Christians who were registered voters in Kenya and who had

participated in voting during the August 2010 constitutional referendum.

According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Kenya

Today, 2012), there were (in 2012), 58,038 registered voters in Changamwe

Constituency distributed in the various wards as follows: Port Reitz Ward (11,828);

Kipevu Ward (8,785); Airport Ward (10,860); Changamwe Ward (13,409); and Chaani

Ward (13,156). A survey done in the Kenyan Coast by Ipsos revealed that in



41

Mombasa County, 59% of the population was Christian while 41% was Islam (Wolf,

Muthoka, & Ireri, 2013). In determining the approximate number of Christian voters

out of the 58,038 registered voters, this study worked with 59% since Changamwe

Constituency lies within Mombasa which is part of the Coast. 59% of 58,038 is 34,

242.42. The study’s target population was therefore 34,242.42.

Sample Size

Scholars such as Kothari (2004) and Mugenda and Mugenda (2003) have

postulated that the smaller the sampling size, the bigger the sampling error and so it is

important to get a sample that is as big as possible. To determine the most

representative sample size free from extreme errors, the researcher used the following

formula.

n = z2

pq

d2

“n” is the desired sample size because the desired target population is greater

than 10,000. “z” is the standard normal deviation at the required confidence level. “p”

is the proportion in the target population estimated to have the characteristics being

measured. “q” is 1-p. “d” is the level of statistical significance set (Mugenda and

Mugenda, 2003).

The calculation was as follows

p = 34, 242.42 x 100

58,038

p = 59%

p = 0.59

z = 1.96

q = (1 – 0.59)

= 0.41

d = 0.05

n = z2

pq

d2

Therefore n = (1.96)2 (0.59) (0.41)



42

(0.05)2

n= 3.8416 x 0.59 x 0.41

0.0025

n = 0.92928304

0.0025

n = 371.713216

The representative sample size for the study was therefore determined to be

372 Christian voters.

Sampling Technique

Sampling in research provides information about groups that are too large to

study as they are (Mugenda and Mugenda, 2003). At the time of this study, the entire

Changamwe Constituency had five county wards namely Airport, Port Reitz, Chaani,

Kipevu, and Changamwe. The researcher endeavored to ensure that the selected

portion represented the target population adequately. Multistage sampling was

employed to 372 Christian voters from Changamwe constituency. This was done

using both probability and non-probability sampling.

Sampling the Ward of Study

Probability sampling was used to identify the county ward for study. Simple

random sampling was used to pick one county ward out of the five county wards in

Changamwe constituency. This gave all the county wards equal chances of being

selected while ensuring that the possibility of bias was eliminated and that a

representative sample was obtained as advised by Orodho (2009) and Du Plooy

(2009). Numbers were assigned to the county wards found. Chaani Ward was

intentionally left out of this process since the researcher worked and resided there.

This was done so as to avoid researcher bias. Numbers one (1) to four (4) were

assigned to each county ward. The numbers were then mixed vigorously and then one



43

of them was picked. Number three (3) was the number picked, and it represented Port

Reitz Ward. The county ward represented by the picked number then became the ward

of study.

Sampling the Individual Respondents

After Port Reitz ward was identified as the ward of study, systematic sampling

was used to identify the houses of Christian voters to be selected as respondents.

Christian voters living in all types of residential houses within Port Reitz ward were

included in this study to ensure the representation of all social classes of Christian as

to increase the external validity and reduce extremes in the study results.

The respondents were picked from every fifth house. This was a deliberate and

considered decision since there was no list available to show the number of houses

where Christian voters in Port Reitz ward lived. Saifuddun (2009) advised that where

such a list does not exist, the researcher makes a decision on the nth

position and the

rest of the sample is selected using that predetermined pattern. If such a list was

available, the formula proposed by Du Plooy (2009) would have been used to get the

nth

house.

The formula is:

Population size = Sampling interval

Desired sample size

While in the fifth house, purposive sampling was used to choose only

Christian voters to fill the questionnaire. Scholars in the field of research have agreed

that the underlying assumption of purposive sampling is that, with good judgment and

appropriate strategy, a researcher can handpick the cases to be included in the sample

and thus develop a sample that meets the predestined criterion of importance. If the



44

fifth house was not composed of Christians research assistants were advised to

consider, as the fifth house, the most immediate house where Christians were found.

The key characteristics of respondents required for this study was that they should be

Christians who were registered voters in Kenya and who participated in voting during

the August 2010 constitutional referendum. Convenience or accidental sampling

applied, where only those found in the houses on the day of distributing the

questionnaires and were willing to participate, were issued with the self-administered

questionnaires to fill.

Data was collected from every willing Christian voter who was found in the

house and who had voted during the August 2010 constitutional referendum. Data

collection was not limited to those who attended church services on a regular basis.

The study intentionally focused on every voter who identified themselves as Christian

whether they attended church regularly or rarely because they all cast votes and they

identified with Christianity as their religion. On the questionnaire, respondents were

required to indicate how regularly they attended church worship services so as to

increase the reliability and the validity of the data collected.

Data Collection Instruments

Political communication scholars employ the use of questionnaire in research

as a primary tool for assessing attitudes, cognition, and behaviors relevant to both

politics and communication (Bennet & Iyengar, 2008). A Questionnaire explores

research questions which cover personal experiences, perceptions, opinions, attitudes,

and reported behaviors (Harrison & Startin, 2001). Guided by these postulations, the

sole data collection instrument used in this study was a structured self-administered

questionnaire.



45

The questionnaire was designed and tailored with the research questions in

focus and it had four sections. Section A was concerned with demographic

information; Section B raised questions on the perceptions that Christian voters had

on the involvement of Pastors in delivering political messages; Section C raised

questions on the perceptions that Christian voters had on the involvement of Pastors

in delivering spiritual messages; and Section D interrogated issues concerning the

August 2010 constitutional referendum. The last question in section D was an open-

ended one that gave an opportunity to the respondents to express their views (in

writing) on why the Christian clergy lost in the August, 2010 constitutional

referendum. The questions in section B, C, and D were mainly tailored to measure the

variables of expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill. These three latter sections in the

self-administered questionnaire focused on the three objectives of the study. The

matters raised in them concerned the source credibility of Christian clergy in the

communication of either political or spiritual messages.

The use of a questionnaire targeted the generation of the qualitative and

quantitative data which was the central purpose of this work. In a structured manner,

a copy of the self-administered questionnaire was given to each individual who met

the sampling criteria and who was willing to participate in the exercise to fill.

Data Collection Procedures

Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire which was

developed by researcher. It was pretested before it was used for the collection of the

final data. Only the research assistants were engaged in the collection of data to avoid

researcher bias on the part of the researcher who was part of the Christian clergy. Five

research assistants facilitated the distribution, follow-up and collection of the self-



46

administered questionnaires. Before the process of distributing the questionnaire

copies begun, the researcher guided the research assistants on how to build rapport

with the respondents, and also oriented them to the content of the questionnaire.

The questionnaires were distributed in the evenings on work days and during

the day on Saturdays and Sundays at the homes of the respondents. Only respondents

who were registered Christian voters and had participated in the August 2010

constitutional referendum were involved in filling the questionnaire. Responses from

those who had filled the questionnaire without meeting the criteria were not

considered during data analysis and reporting. The questionnaire was designed to be

completed in one sitting but some of the respondents asked to be given more time to

complete and return the questionnaire on a later date. This was allowed and the

research assistants made a follow-up to pick the filled copies of the questionnaire.

However, not all of them returned their copies, while some returned them totally

blank. After 265 copies of the questionnaire copies, which accounted for 71.23% of

those distributed, were completed and returned, the data collected was immediately

organized for analysis.

Pretesting

According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), 1-10% of the sample size can be

used for pretesting. For this study, the questionnaire was pretested on 20 respondents,

accounting for 5% of the study sample of 372. Copies of the questionnaire were

distributed randomly among twenty Christian voters from Changamwe Ward which

was within Changamwe Constituency but was not part of the wards in the study

sample. Respondents were required to fill in the questionnaire in one sitting.

After the pretest, some questions that lacked clarity were rewritten using better



47

and simpler wording. This was done to ensure that the questions were stated clearly

and had same meaning to all respondents, and also to spare the researcher high costs

in terms of money and time, in the event where lack of credibility in the collected data

could lead to the researcher going back to the field. The pretest was also done to save

the quality of data and results from any possible seriously damaging effects as advised

by Harrison and Startin (2001). The data collected in the pretesting process was not

used in the final reporting.

Data Analysis Plan

After 265 out of the 372 distributed copies of the self-administered

questionnaire were returned, the data was cleaned up by checking if the filling in had

been appropriately done. The copies not appropriately filled, as well as those filled by

people who were either not registered Christian voters or/and had not participated in

the August 2010 constitutional referendum were considered spoiled. Only the copies

filled registered voters who had voted in the August 2010 referendum were coded and

used for reporting. All raw data was entered into the Statistical Package for the Social

Sciences (SPSS), version 20) for analysis. The analysis was presented in tables. The

data obtained was both numerical and descriptive. The numerical data was presented

in percentages in tables and an interpretation was made. An explanation was provided

for both the numerical and the descriptive data.

The main descriptive statistics developed from this study were the measures of

distribution which included percentages and frequencies (Mugenda & Mugenda,

2003). All these were calculated in a bid to measure the extent to which the

respondents attributed source credibility to Christian clergy in political

communication.



48

Ethical Considerations

This was a study that elicited mixed reactions due to the political aspect in it

and therefore, the researcher made the following deliberate efforts so as to ensure that

the research process was free from prejudice and bias:

1. Chaani Ward, where the researcher served was deliberately excluded in

the process of obtaining a sample for the study.

2. The researcher clarified on the questionnaire that although he was part

of the Christian clergy serving within Changamwe Constituency, he

was a student at Daystar University and was therefore collecting the

data for academic use only.

3. Permission to conduct research was sought from Daystar University,

and from the National Commission for Science, Technology and

Innovation (NACOSTI).

4. Proper care was taken to ensure that the questionnaire questions were

fair and to the best less personalized. To ensure this, the questionnaire

was subjected to a pretest after which necessary modifications were

made.

5. To ensure anonymity, no respondent was required to disclose their

name before or after filling the questionnaire.

6. All the data collected was kept in confidence and used only for the

purposes of this study.

Summary

This chapter has focused on the research methodology used in determining the



49

perception of Christian voters on the involvement of their clergy in political

communication. In the chapter, the study’s research design, the population, and the

sample size have been identified. The data collection instrument, data collection and

analysis procedures, pretesting, and the study’s ethical considerations have also been

discussed.

The next chapter covers the presentation, analysis, and interpretation of the

collected data.



50

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION

Introduction

In this chapter, the collected data is presented, analyzed, and interpreted. The

study used a self-administered questionnaire as its research instrument. The analysis

of the data was presented in tables. An explanation regarding the information in each

table was provided. Since much of the quantitative data represented measures

distributed among respondents, it was presented in percentages. When providing

explanation on the information in each table, reference was made to the percentages

as they were while at other times the fraction they represented was used.

Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation

Response Rate

A total of 372 copies of the questionnaire were distributed, out of which 265

were completed and returned. This represented a 71.23% response rate. Out of the 265

copies, only 231 were used for analysis and reporting. The 231 copies were selected

after a data cleaning and coding exercise which ensured the accuracy of the filled in

data and represented a 62.09% response rate.

In addition, the 231 questionnaires used for reporting also represented 87.17%

of those which were returned. According to Mugenda and Mugenda (2003), a

response rate of 50% is adequate for analysis and reporting, whereas 60% is good,

70% and over is very good. Consequently, the response rate in this study was very

good for data analysis, interpretation and reporting.



51

Demographic Information of the Respondents

Age of Respondents

The ages of respondents were provided in ranges. The respondents as per the

age brackets were as follows: 18-25 years (2.6%), 26-35 (45.5%), 36-45 years

(33.8%), 46-55 (14.3%), and above 55 years (3.9%). The highest percentage of the

respondents was that within the age bracket of 26-35 years, followed by those in the

36-45 years age bracket. These findings are presented in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Age of Respondents

Age bracket Frequency Percent Valid percent

18-25 6 2.6 2.6

26-35 105 45.4 45.4

36-45 78 33.8 33.8

46-55 33 14.3 14.3

Above 55 9 3.9 3.9

Total 231 100 100

According to the results shown in Table 4.1, The highest percentage of the

respondents was that within the age bracket of 26-35 years. This could be an

indication that that the youth represented the highest voting age in Changamwe

Constituency

Gender of Respondents

As presented in Table 4.2, the male respondents represented 67.1% while their

female counterparts represented 32.9%, hence the majority of the respondents were

male.

Table 4.2: Gender of Respondents

Gender Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Male 155 67.1 67.1



52

Female 76 32.9 32.9

Total 231 100 100

These results could be attributed to the fact that the research was conducted

within the city where most of the male respondents live (away from their spouses).

This is so considering that according to Table 4.3, 74% of the respondents reported to

be married.

Marital Status of Respondents

In Table 4.3, the marital statuses of the respondents are provided. Only 18.6%

of the respondents were single. The highest number of respondents (74%) were

married. Those who reported to be widowed were 5.6%, while the divorced and

separated accounted for the smallest percentage; at 0.9% each.

Table 4.3: Marital Status of Respondents

Category Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Single 43 18.6 18.6

Married 171 74 74

Widowed 13 5.6 5.6

Divorced 2 0.9 0.9

Separated 2 0.9 0.9

Total 231 100 100

A comparison of the age brackets of the respondents (as shown in Table 4.1)

with their marital status (shown in Table 4.3) confirmed that a majority of the

respondents were married.

Education Level of Respondents

The findings presented in Table 4.4 reveal that: 10.4% of the respondents had

primary education, 13.9% had secondary education, while 24.2% had college

education. The findings also show that 19.9% had a degree, 24.2% had a diploma,



53

while 5.6% had a certificate. Only 1.7% of the respondents reported to have other

levels of qualification which included either PhD or Master’s. Some also indicated

that they had dropped out of school.

Table 4.4: Education Background of the Respondents

Level Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Primary 24 10.4 10.4

Secondary 32 13.9 13.9

College 56 24.2 24.2

Degree 46 19.9 19.9

Diploma 56 24.2 24.2

Certificate 13 5.6 5.6

Other 4 1.7 1.7

Total 231 100 100

Approximately 88% of the respondents reported to have secondary education

and above. No wonder the majority of the respondents were in the city for the purpose

of making a living; some were employed, others in business, while others were job

seekers, which would require some good level of education. This is an indication that

those who were engaged in this study had considerable literacy levels.

Occupation of Respondents

As outlined in Table 4.5, 9.1% of the respondents were civil servants, 8.2%

worked in the banking industry, 34.2% were self-employed, while 21.2% reported to

work in the private sector. In addition, 7.4% of the respondents reported to be

Christian workers, 4.3% worked as educationists, 1.3% worked as technicians, while

3.0% were medical practitioners. Those in the category of others (either unemployed

or working in the informal (Jua-kali) sector) were 11.3%.



54

Table 4.5: Occupation of the Respondents

Occupation Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Civil Servant 21 9.1 9.1

Banking Industry 19 8.2 8.2

Self Employed 79 34.2 34.2

Private Sector 49 21.2 21.2

Christian Worker 17 7.4 7.4

Educationist 10 4.3 4.3

Technician 3 1.3 1.3

Medical Practitioner 7 3 3

Other 26 11.3 11.3

Total 231 100 100

Therefore, according to the responses the highest number of respondents

(34.2%) were self-employed followed by those working in the private sector.

Respondents and their Voter Registration Status

As demonstrated in Table 4.6, 100% of the respondents reported to have

registered as voters in Kenya. This was so because every self-administered

questionnaire filled by a respondent who was not a registered voter in Kenya was not

used in reporting. This was pre-planned as a key exercise in the data analysis plan to

ensure reliability and external validity of the results that were reported.

Table 4.6: Respondents who were Registered Voters

A registered voter Frequency Percent Valid Percent

YES 231 100 100

NO 0 0 0

Total 231 100 100

Religion of Respondents

As reported in Table 4.7, all respondents who participated in this study



55

reported to be Christians. In this study, a Christian simply referred to anyone who

identified with the Christian faith either by word, practice, or both. The reason for this

was that the target population was Christian voters. The study was therefore

intentionally designed to only sample Christians.

Table 4.7: Religion of the Respondents

Are you a Christian? Frequency Percent Valid Percent

YES 231 100 100

NO 0 0 0

Total 231 100 100

Frequency of Church Attendance

According to the results displayed in Table 4.8, 6.9% of the respondents

reported attending church only once per month, 10% attended church twice each

month, 22.1% attended at least thrice in a month, while those who reported to attend

church every Sunday stood at 53.7%. In addition, only 1.3% of respondents reported

never attending church, while 6.1% were in the category of others (daily, often, and

Saturday).

Table 4.8: Number of Times the Respondents Attended Church Worship Services

Times Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Once 16 6.9 6.9

Twice 23 10 10

Thrice 51 22.1 22.1

Every Sunday 124 53.7 53.7

Never 3 1.7 1.7

Other 14 6.1 6.1

Total 231 100 100

It can be noted that majority of the respondents (53.7%) reported to attend



56

church every Sunday. All Christians, whether they attended church or not were

allowed to participate in the study as respondents. This finding was a pointer to the

fact that those who were willing to participate in this study were those who were

frequent church attendees. This added to the strength of the findings because it would

mean that a majority of the respondents had frequent contact with the Christian clergy

who were the key object of study. This in a sense contributed towards the reliability

and validity of the findings of the study.

Respondents who Voted in the 2010 Referendum

The figures presented in Table 4.9 indicate that all of the respondents reported

to have voted in the 2010 constitutional referendum. Having voted in the August 2010

referendum in Kenya was a key characteristic of the population of study. Any

questionnaire where the data indicated that a respondent had not voted in the

constitutional referendum was dropped and hence was not used in reporting. This was

pre-planned as a key exercise in the data analysis plan to ensure reliability and

external validity of the results that were reported.

Table 4.9: Number of Respondents who Voted During the August 2010 Referendum

Did you vote? Frequency Percent Valid Percent

YES 231 100 100

NO 0 0 0

Total 231 100 100

The Manner of Voting by Respondents in the August 2010 Referendum

The results displayed in Table 4.10 show that most of the respondents (64.9%)

reported that they voted ‘YES, with’ only 35.1% reporting to have voted ‘NO’.



57

Table 4.10: How Respondents Voted During the August 2010 Constitutional

Referendum

Side voted Frequency Percent Valid Percent

YES” 150 64.9 64.9

NO” 81 35.1 35.1

Total 231 100 100

The findings presented in Table 4.10 clearly reveal that a majority of the

respondents voted for the new constitution in the referendum, this despite all of them

identifying with the Christian faith and a majority of them indicating that they

attended church every Sunday (see Table 4.8).

Involvement of Pastors in the Communication of Political Messages

The Construct of Expertise in Political communication

Findings on the construct of expertise as pertains to the Christian clergy in

political communication were as provided in Table 4.11. Pertaining to this construct,

two questions were asked. Through the questions, the study sought to interrogate the

experience and knowledge of pastors on political issues. These two (experience and

knowledge) are key components used to determine the expertise or competence of a

source. The statement questions read as follows:

1. Pastors in Kenya are politically experienced. Responses on this statement are

indicated under the initials “PEx 1” in Table 4.11.

2. Pastors have wide knowledge about political issues in the country. Responses

on this statement are indicated under the initials “PEx 2” in Table 4.11.



58

Table 4.11: The Construct of Expertise in Political communication

Response Frequency

(PEx 1)

Percent

(PEx 1)

Frequency

(PEx 2)

Percent

(PEx 2)

Average Percent

(%PEx

1+%PEx2) /2

YES 85 36.8 109 47.2 42

NO 113 48.9 87 37.7 43.3

I don't know 33 14.3 35 15.2 14.7

Total 231 100 231 100 100

An analysis of the response to each statement is provided and the average of

both is calculated and shown in Table 4.11. The average provides the figures used to

make conclusions in this study. The Figures (as outlined in Table 4.11) indicate that

36.8% of the respondents reported that pastors were experienced in communicating

political messages, while according to 47.2% the pastors were politically

knowledgeable. This translates to an average of 42% of the respondents who felt

pastors in Kenya had expertise in political communication.

A significant number (48.9%) reported that pastors were not experienced in

communicating political messages. Regarding knowledge on political issues, 37.7%

reported that pastors were not politically knowledgeable. This translates to an average

of 43.3% of the respondents who held the view that pastors were not experts in

political communication. Some (14.3%) indicated that they did not know if pastors

were politically experienced. In addition, 15.2% indicated that they did not know if

pastors had political knowledge. An average of 14.7% did not know if pastors were

experts or not when it comes to political communication.

The Construct of Trustworthiness in Political Communication

Two questions were asked on the dimension of trustworthiness with the goal



59

of determining the extent to which the respondents found the political statements of

pastors honest, sincere, and unbiased. The findings on this construct of

trustworthiness are provided in Table 4.12. The statement questions were:

1. Every political opinion given by the pastors can be trusted. This statement is

indicated using the initials “PTr 1” in Table 4.12

2. We should always vote for candidates who are pastors. This statement is

indicated using the initials “PTr 2” in Table 4.12.


both is calculated and shown in Table 4.12. The average provided the figures that

were used to make conclusions in this study.

Table 4.12: The Construct of Trustworthiness in Political communication

Answer Frequency

(PTr 1)

Percent

(PTr 1)

Frequency

(PTr 2)

Percent

(PTr 2)

Average Percent

(%PTr

1+%PTr2) /2

YES 40 17.3 25 10.8 14

NO 164 71 186 80.5 75.8

I don't know 27 11.7 20 8.7 10.2

Total 231 100 231 100 100

The figures presented in Table 4.12 show that 17.3% of the respondents

reported that the political opinion of pastors could be trusted, while according to

10.8%, pastors should always be voted for. In reference to both statements, an average

of 14% of the respondents felt that in regard to political communication, pastors were

trustworthy.

A majority of the respondents (71%) were of the view that the pastors’

political opinion could not be trusted. However, an even bigger number (80.5%)

expressed that pastors should not always be voted for. This means that an average of



60

approximately 75.8% of the respondents were of the opinion that pastors did not pass

the test of trustworthiness in political communication. The figures also indicated that

11.7% of the pastors did not know if the pastors were politically trustworthy. Others

(8.7%) expressed that they did not know whether to always vote for candidates who

were pastors or not. An average of 10.2% indicated that they did not know if the

pastors could be trusted or not when it comes to political communication.

Generally, a majority of the respondents strongly reported that pastors could

not to be trusted in communicating political messages. There was a very big gap of

approximately 60% between those who perceived the pastors to be trustworthy

communicators of political messages and those who did not.



61

The Construct of Goodwill in Political Communication

Just like the other two constructs, two questions were asked on the dimension

of goodwill in political communication as it pertains to the Christian clergy. The

questions focused on determining the extent to which the respondents perceived the

political statements of pastors to be caring, well intentioned, and benevolent. The

analysis of the responses on the dimension of goodwill is provided in Table 4.13. The

following were the statements questions raised:

1. Pastors get involved in political issues because they care about the welfare of

the citizens. In Table 4.13, this statement is indicated using the initials

“PGo1”.

2. Pastors who get involved in politics have the best interest of the voters in their

hearts. In Table 4.13, this statement is indicated using the initials “PGo2”.

The response to each statement is analyzed and provided. The average of both

is calculated and shown in Table 4.13. This average provides the figures used to make

conclusions in this study.

Table 4.13: The Construct of Goodwill in Political communication

Answer Frequency

(PGo 1)

%age

(PGo 1)

Frequency

(PGo2)

%age

(PGo 2)

Average

Percentage

(%PGo

1+%PGo2) /2

YES 104 45 77 33.3 39.1

NO 92 39.8 109 47.2 43.5

I don't know 35 15.2 45 19.5 17.4

Total 231 100 231 100 100

A considerable number of the respondents (45%) affirmed that pastors got

involved in politics because they cared about the voters’ welfare. With regard to the



62

second statement, 33.3% of the respondents felt that pastors involved in politics had

the best interest of the voters in their hearts. This translates to an average of 39.1% of

the respondents who attributed goodwill in political communication to Pastors.

At the same time, 39.8% of the respondents expressed that pastors involved in

politics did not care about the welfare of the citizens, while as per 47.2%, pastors

engaged in political communication did not have the best interest of voters in their

hearts. This means that an average of approximately 43.5% of the respondents were of

the opinion that pastors were not motivated by goodwill when they got involved in

political communication. An average of 17.4% of the respondents expressed that they

did not know if pastors in political communication had goodwill at the core. Some

15.2% indicated that they did not know whether pastors involved in politics cared

about their welfare or not, while 19.5% did not know whether pastors had the voters

interest at heart or not.

The figures shown in Table 4.13 confirm that a majority of the respondents,

(43.5%) found the pastors lacking goodwill in political communication. It is however

good to take notice of the 39.1% respondents who attributed goodwill to the pastors.

The difference between those who found pastors to be of goodwill and those who did

not was small (4.4% margin), that is 43.5% (respondents who did not perceive

goodwill in the pastors) minus 39.1% (respondents who perceived goodwill in the

pastors).

General Perception on the Involvement of Pastors in Political Communication

In Table 4.14, a summary of the general perception by respondents on the

involvement of the pastors in political communication is presented.



63

Table 4.14: The General Perception of Respondents on the Source Credibility of

Pastors as Communicators of Political Messages.

Construct “YES” Average Percent

Expertise or competence 42

Trustworthiness or Good character 14

Goodwill or noble intentions 39.1

Average of respondents who find the Pastors to be

credible sources of political messages

31.7

According to the figures displayed in Table 4,14, 42% of the respondents

viewed the pastors as experts in the communication of political messages. Only 14%

perceived the pastors as trustworthy. On the other hand, 39.1% of the respondents

credited the pastors with goodwill and benevolence. Generally, up to approximately a

third (31.7%) of the respondents found the pastors to be credible sources of political

messages.

Involvement of Pastors in Communicating Spiritual messages

The Construct of Expertise in Communicating Spiritual Messages

Two questions were asked in relation to the construct of pastors’ expertise in

communicating spiritual messages. The questions dwelt on the professional

credentials and Biblical knowledge of the pastors. These two aspects are considered

central ingredients for building up the expertise or competence of a source. The

statement questions were as follows:

1. Pastors in Kenya are well trained in matters concerning Christian living. The

responses on this statement are indicated under the initials “SExp1” in Table

4.15.

2. Pastors in Kenya have wide knowledge of Bible content. The responses on this

statement are indicated under the initials “SExp2” in Table 4.15.



64

The findings on the construct of expertise in the communication of political

messages by the Christian clergy are provided in Table 4.15. An analysis of the

response to each statement is provided and the average of both is calculated and

shown in the same table. The average provides the figures used to make conclusions

in this study.

Table 4.15: The Construct of Expertise in Communicating Spiritual Messages

Answer Frequency

(SExp1)

%age

(SExp1)

Frequency

(SExp2)

%age

(SExp2)

Average Percentage

(%SExp1+%SExp2) /2

YES 140 60.6 133 57.6 59.1

NO 60 26 63 27.3 26.6

I don't know 31 13.4 35 15.2 14.3

Total 231 100 231 100 100

As shown in Table 4.15, a significant number of the respondents (60.6%)

reported that pastors were well trained on Christian living, while according to 57.6%,

the pastors had wide knowledge of the Bible. These figures translate to an average of

59.1% of the respondents who attributed expertise in the communication of spiritual

messages to pastors.

In relation to training in Christian living, 26% of the respondents expressed

that pastors were not well trained, while 27.3% felt that the pastors did not have wide

knowledge of the Bible. This translates to an average of 26.6% of the respondents

who held the view that pastors were not experts in the communication of spiritual

messages. Those who indicated that they did not know if pastors were well trained on

spiritual matters were 13.4%. The fraction of the respondents who reported that they

did not know if pastors had wide Biblical knowledge was 15.2%. An average of

14.3% of the respondents said that they did not know if pastors were experts or not

when it comes to communicating spiritual messages.



65

These results provide a basis for interpreting that a minority, accounting for

slightly a quarter of the respondents, held the view that pastors were not experts in

communicating spiritual messages. A significant number of the respondents (at

59.1%) felt that the pastors were competent in this regard.

The Construct of Trustworthiness in Communicating Spiritual Messages

Two questions were asked on the dimension of pastors’ trustworthiness in the

communication of spiritual messages. The questions focused on determining the

extent to which the respondents found the pastors honest and unbiased. The findings

on this construct regarding the Christian clergy and the communication of spiritual

messages are provided in Table 4.16. The statement questions were as below:

1. I must fully obey the pastor’s teaching regarding my walk with God.

Responses on this statement are indicated under the initials “STru1” in Table

4.16.

2. What pastors teach is inspired by God. Responses on this statement are

indicated under the initials “STru2” in Table 4.16.


both is calculated and shown in the table. The average provides the figures used to

make conclusions in this study.

Table 4.16: The Construct of Trustworthiness in Communicating Spiritual Messages

Answer Frequency

(STru1)

Percent

(STru1)

Frequency

(STru2)

Percent

(STru2)

Average Percent

(%STru1+%STr

u2) /2

YES 140 60.6 131 56.7 58.7

NO 74 32 53 22.9 27.5

I don't know 17 7.4 47 20.3 13.8

Total 231 100 231 100 100



66

Figures in Table 16, show that 60.6% of the respondents reported that

whatever the pastors say must be obeyed implying that it is trustworthy. On the

authenticity of the message delivered by pastors, 56.7% reported that pastors are

inspired by God again insinuating that to a good extent, their message is trustworthy.

For both statements, an average of 58.7% credits the dimension of trustworthiness to

pastors when they are involved in the communication of spiritual messages.

Another fraction composed of 32% of the respondents reported that whatever

the pastors says must not be obeyed while 22.9% reported that pastors are not inspired

by God. This means that an average of approximately 27.5% of the respondents

perceive that pastors do not pass the test of trustworthiness in communicating spiritual

messages. Those who did not know if whatever the pastors say must be obeyed were

7.4%. Those who did not know whether what pastors said was inspired by God

accounted for 20.3% of the respondents. An average of 13.8% of the participants did

not know if pastors can be trusted or not when it comes to the communication of

spiritual messages.

Generally, slightly a quarter of the respondents reported that pastors were not

to be trusted in communicating spiritual messages. Over half of the respondents

perceived the direct opposite and accorded pastors the construct of trustworthiness in

the communication of spiritual messages.

The Construct of Goodwill in Communicating Spiritual Messages

Two questions were asked on the dimension of goodwill in the communication

of spiritual messages as pertains the Christian clergy. The questions focused on

determining the extent to which the respondents perceived the statements and actions

of pastors to be caring, noble, and selfless when they communicate spiritual messages.



67

The analysis of the responses on this dimension are provided in Table 4.17. The

following were the statement questions raised:

1. Pastors preach and teach God's word because they care about my welfare. In

Table 4.17, this statement is indicated using the initials (SGoo1)

2. Pastors do counseling because they want the best out of the congregation. In

Table 4.17, this statement is indicated using the initials “SGoo2”

The response to each statement was analyzed and the results were as provided

in Table 4.17. The average of the responses from both statements was calculated and

the results are shown in the same table. This average provides the figures used to

make conclusions in this study.

Table 4.17: The Construct of Goodwill in Communicating Spiritual Messages

Response Frequency

(SGoo1)

Percent

(SGoo1)

Frequency

(SGoo2)

Percent

(SGoo2)

Average Percent

(%SGoo1+%SGoo2)/2

YES 139 60.2 176 76.2 68.2

NO 56 24.2 19 8.2 16.2

I don't

know

36 15.6 36 15.6 15.6

Total 231 100 231 100 100

A majority of the respondents (60.2%) were of the view that that pastors

taught about God because they cared about the voters’ welfare. On the second

statement, a larger fraction of participants (76.2%) expressed that pastors were

involved in counseling because they cared about the welfare of their congregation.

This translates to an average of 68.2% of the respondents who attributed goodwill to

pastors as far as the communication of spiritual messages is concerned.

Conversely, 24.2% of the respondents felt that it was not out of concern for the

welfare of their congregation that pastors taught the word of God. A small fraction



68

(8.2%) of the respondents did not think that the reason behind the pastors’ practice of

counseling was the desire for the best out of their congregation. This means that an

average of approximately 16.2% of the respondents felt that pastors were not

motivated by goodwill when they communicated spiritual messages. An average of

15.6% indicated that they did not know if pastors possessed goodwill in

communicating spiritual messages.

General Perception on Pastors’ Communication of Spiritual Messages

A summary of the general perception by respondents with regard to the

pastors’ participation in the communication of spiritual messages is presented in Table

4.18.

Table 4.18: General Perception on Pastors’ Communication of Spiritual Messages

Construct “YES” Average Percent

Expertise or competence 59.1

Trustworthiness or Good character 58.7


Average of respondents who find the

Pastors to be credible sources of

spiritual messages

62

As per the figures provided in able 4.18, 59.1% of the respondents found the

pastors to be experts in the communication of spiritual messages. In addition, 58.7%

of the respondents perceived the pastors as trustworthy, with 68.2% crediting them

with goodwill and benevolence in the communication of spiritual messages. An

average of approximately two thirds (62%) of the respondents found the pastors to be

credible sources of spiritual messages. The number of respondents who felt that

pastors were credible sources of spiritual messages was almost double that of those

who were of the same view when it came to the pastors’ involvement in political



69

communication.

Pastors’ Participation in Campaigning Against the Draft Constitution

This study also sought to establish whether Christian voters in Changamwe

constituency perceived that the source credibility of their clergy with regard to their

communication of political messages may have contributed to the defeat of the NO

vote in the August 2010 constitutional referendum. To achieve this goal, the

respondents were presented with statements that aimed at comparing and contrasting

the credibility of the Christian clergy and that of career politicians as sources of

political messages.

The Construct of Expertise in the Christian Clergy During the Referendum

The statement interrogating the expertise construct within the context of the

referendum stated that, “the politicians in the ’Yes’ camp during the August 2010

constitutional referendum were more politically experienced than the pastors in the

‘No’ camp”. The respondents were to either ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ with the statement or

indicate that they were ‘not sure’. The analysis of the results of the participants'

responses is presented in Table 4.19.

Table 4.19: The Construct of Expertise in the Christian Clergy During the

Referendum

Response Frequency Percent Valid Percent

Agree 127 55 55

Disagree 71 30.7 30.7

Not Sure 33 14.3 14.3

Total 231 100 100

This statement that “politicians in the ’Yes’ camp during the August 2010

constitutional referendum were more politically experienced than the pastors in the



70

‘No’ camp” was affirmed by a majority (55%) of the respondents. Only 30.7% of the

respondents disagreed with the statement while the remaining 14.3% were not sure. It

is therefore clear that only a small number (30.7%) of the respondents perceived the

construct of expertise to have been present in the Christian clergy during the

referendum.

With over half of the participants accepting that the politicians in the “YES”

camp were more experienced than the pastors in the “NO” camp, it would be justified

to say that the Christian voters perceived the career politicians as possessing a greater

command of political matters compared to the clergy.

The Construct of Trustworthiness in the Christian Clergy During the

Referendum

Two statements were used to test the dimension of the trustworthiness of the

pastors in comparison with the career politicians in regard to the August 2010

referendum.

The first statement stated that, “pastors had sincere motives when they

campaigned in the 2010 constitutional referendum”. The statement is indicated using

the initials “RTr1” in Table 4.20. With this statement, the researcher sought to find out

the perception of the respondents on the honesty and sincerity of the Christian clergy

when they campaigned against the draft constitution. The second statement was,

“voters trusted politicians more than the pastors during the 2010 constitutional

referendum”. This statement is indicated using the initials “RTr2” in Table 4.20. The

statement compared the perception of the respondents on the pastors as they expressed

dissenting opinions on the same subject matter with the career politicians as they



71

campaigned during the referendum.

The respondents’ take on both statements is presented in Table 4.20.



72

Table 4.20: The Construct of Trustworthiness in the Christian Clergy During the

Referendum

Response Frequency

(RTr1)

Percent

(RTr1)

Frequency

(RTr2)

Percent

(RTr2)

Agree 132 57.1 176 76.2

Disagree 46 19.9 29 12.6

Not Sure 53 22.1 26 11.3

Total 231 100 231 100

On the first statement, a significant fraction of the respondents (57.1%)

agreed, only 19.9% of the registered disagreement, while 22.9% said they were not

sure. With regard to the second statement, a majority of the respondents (76.2%)

were in agreement, only 12.6% disagreed, while 11.3% indicated that they were not

sure. The responses to these two statements on the trustworthiness of the pastors in

relation to their participation in the referendum served two important functions. The

response to the first statement demonstrates the Christian voters’ initial perception on

their clergy's participation in the referendum. It submits that the political opinion of

the Christian clergy can be trusted. The response to the second statement demonstrates

the second order perception which is formed when the career politicians who are

deemed the experts are brought into the picture. The average of those respondents

who perceived trustworthiness in pastors was found to be approximately 34.9%. This

was arrived at by adding the percentage of those agreed that the pastors were sincere

(57.1%) to that of those who disagreed that voters trusted politicians more that their

pastors (12.6%), and then dividing the sum by two.

The Construct of Goodwill in the Christian Clergy During the Referendum

Two statements were used to measure the construct of goodwill or the

inclination to care in the pastors in comparison to the career politicians when they



73

campaigned in the August 2010 referendum. The respondents’ position on both

statements is presented in Table 4.21.

The first statement on goodwill stated that, “pastors should have left the

politicians alone to address voters during the referendum”. In Table 4.21, this

statement is indicated using the initials “RGo1”. Through this statement, the study

examined what the respondents thought about pastors leaving the political platform to

the career politicians.

The second statement stated that, “unlike the pastors, politicians expressed the

best interest of Kenya when they campaigned for the draft constitution during the

referendum”. In Table 4.21, this statement is indicated using the initials “RGo2”.

Through this statement, the study contrasted the pastors and career politicians in

regard to their intentions during the August 2010 constitutional referendum. The

response on these two statements on the construct of goodwill regarding the pastors in

their communication during the referendum was used to determine the respondents’

perception on the whole phenomenon.

Table 4.21: The Construct of Goodwill in the Christian Clergy During the Referendum

Response Frequency

(RGo1)

Percent

(RGo1)

Frequency

(RGo2)

Percent

(RGo2)

Agree 39 16.9 65 28.1

Disagree 175 75.8 123 53.2

Not Sure 17 7.4 43 18.6

TOTAL 231 100 231 100

Regarding the first statement (RGo1). only 16.9% of the respondents agreed,

while 7.4% indicated that they were not sure. A substantial fraction of the respondents

(75.8%) disagreed with the statement. With such a large figure (75.8%) disagreeing

with the statement, it could be interpreted that the respondents considered the voice of



74

the pastors to have been a voice of goodwill during the referendum. With regard to the

second statement (RGo2), most of the respondents (53.2%) disagreed, while only

28.1% agreed. Those who indicated that they were not sure of the validity of the

statement accounted for 18.6% of all the respondents.

The average of the respondents who perceived goodwill in the pastors as they

campaigned during the August 2010 constitutional referendum was 64.5%. This was

attained through adding the 75.8% who disagreed with the first statement to the

53.2% who disagreed with the second one and the dividing the sum by two.

The General Perception on Pastors Participating in the August 2010

Constitutional Referendum

In Table 4.22, a summary of the general perception by respondents with regard

to pastors participating in the August 2010 constitutional referendum where they

campaigned against the draft constitution is presented.

Table 4.22: General Perception of Respondents on the Source Credibility of Pastors

as they Participated in the August 2010 Constitutional Referendum

Construct Average percentage of respondents

who perceived the construct in

pastors during the referendum

Expertise or competence 30.7

Trustworthiness or good character 34.9


Average of respondents who perceived that

pastors possessed source credibility during the

August, 2010 referendum

43.4

As the figures shown in Table 4.22 illustrate, 30.7% of the respondents

reported that pastors were politically competent enough to participate in the

referendum. Those who found the pastors to be trustworthy accounted for 34.5%,



75

64.5% perceived goodwill and benevolence in the pastors as they campaigned against

the draft constitution. The differences on the respondents' perception of the

participation of pastors in the referendum based on specific constructs are a bit

extreme.

The constructs perceived to be present in the pastors by the lowest number of

respondents were expertise and trustworthiness, with an average of 32.8%. On the

other hand, a significant number of the respondents (64.5%) perceived goodwill in the

pastors. The difference between the construct perceived in the pastors by the highest

number of respondents and those perceived by the lowest number was 31.7%; quite

significant. Based on this, it can be argued that armed with the construct of goodwill,

the clergy are in a position of authority to influence the political decisions of Christian

voters. In average, approximately 43.3% of the respondents perceived that the pastors

emitted some source credibility when they participated in the August 2010

constitutional referendum. This is a perception which could be viewed to earn the

Christian clergy some niche in political communication. The perception of the

Christian voters on the expertise and trustworthiness as core dimensions in source

credibility is what interfered most with the pastors' source credibility in the context of

the referendum.

General Overview of the Source Credibility of Pastors

Table 4.23 provides a general overview on the source credibility of pastors as

per the respondents of this study. The overview reflects how the respondents reported

about the three dimensions of measuring source credibility based on the contexts in

question. This study provided the following three contexts within which respondents

determined the source credibility of pastors: The communication of spiritual



76

messages, the communication of political messages, and the August 2010

constitutional referendum. Pastors were perceived to be credible sources of messages

to different extents within each context.

Table 4.23: General Overview of the Respondents' Approval of the Source Credibility

of Pastors

Construct/Dimension Political messages Spiritual messages Referendum

context

Expertise/competence 42% approval 59.1% approval 30.7% approval

Trustworthiness 14% approval 58.7% approval 34.9% approval

Goodwill/Caring 39.1% approval 68.2% approval 64.5% approval

Average approval 31.7% approval 62% approval 43.4% approval

The highest number of respondents (average of 62%), perceived the clergy to

be credible sources of spiritual messages. In the context of the referendum,

participants felt that the pastors were to some extent credible sources of political

messages, thanks to the construct of goodwill (at 64.5%). An average of 43.4% of the

respondents perceived the pastors to have been credible speakers during the

referendum. The aspect of pastors as sources of political messages without reference

to a particular event received the least approval, with only an average 31.7% of the

respondents attributing source credibility to the pastors in this regard. Arranged in a

descending order, the respondents’ perception on the pastors' source credibility was as

follows: communication of spiritual messages (62%), participation in the referendum

(43.4%), and communication of political messages (31.7%).

According to the findings of this study, goodwill was presented as the

strongest construct of pastors in source credibility. An average of 57.3% of the

respondents perceived it across all the objectives of the study. The construct of

expertise follows with an average of 43.9% while trustworthiness comes last with an



77

average of 35.7%. This could communicate that the Christian clergy need not to stay

away from political communication. The respondents confirm a perception of

goodwill across all the objectives, a source credibility construct which they do not

accord career politicians. This is indicative of the value of the Christian clergy’s voice

in the political sphere.

Why Voters Were Not Persuaded to Vote 'NO' During the

August 2010 Referendum

An open-ended question was provided at the end of the questionnaire

requesting the respondents to provide their thoughts on why the voters, including the

Christian ones were not persuaded to vote 'NO' during the August 2010 constitutional

referendum. The feedback is presented in Table 4.24.

Table 4.24: Why Voters Were not Persuaded to Vote 'NO' During the 2010 Referendum

Reason Reported Frequency Percent

No reason highlighted 41 17.75

Dispensation and posterity reasons 83 35.93

Politicians' influence reasons 61 26.41

Social and economic status reasons 49 21.21

Civic education reasons 45 19.48

Source credibility reasons 39 16.88

Only 82.25% of the 231 participants responded to this question, while 17.75%

left it blank. Some of those who responded provided several reasons while others only

provided one reason. As shown in Table 4.24, the reasons are grouped into five broad

categories.

The first category looked at dispensation and posterity reasons, focusing

mainly on the expected change and the benefits that were contained in the draft



78

constitution. These reasons were reported by 35.93% of the respondents. The second

category looked at politicians' influence reasons in which the respondents attributed

the failure in persuasion to the influence of a particular politician or a group of

politicians. These reasons were reported by 26.41% of the respondents.

The third category was the social and economic status reasons which were

based on social standing, economic ability, and political affiliation and power. These

reasons were reported by 21.21% of the respondents. The fourth cluster looked at

civic education reasons which touched on knowledge and awareness on the content of

the draft constitution. Reasons in this category were mentioned by 19.48% of the

respondents. The last category looked at source credibility reasons which connected

with the constructs of expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill as far as the Christian

clergy were concerned. These reasons were reported by 16.88% of the respondents.

With reference to all the reasons highlighted in Table 4.24, it can be

interpreted that there was an extent to which the lack of source credibility in the

Christian clergy contributed to the defeat of the “NO” vote.

Summary of Key Findings

A majority of the respondents were of the view that the pastors were not

credible sources when it came to communicating political messages. of the

respondents (attribute such credibility to them. Only third 3(1.7%) of the respondents

considered the pastors as credible sources of political communication, hence the

pastors' performance as sources of political communication was dismal (see Table

4.23). Therefore, to a considerable extent, the lack of source credibility in terms of

political communication contributed to the defeat of the “NO” vote during the August

2010 referendum.



79

The pastors were credible sources in the communication of spiritual messages.

An average of approximately two thirds (62%) of the respondents found the pastors to

be credible sources of spiritual messages (see Table 4.23). The number of respondents

who were of the view that the pastors were credible sources of spiritual messages was

almost double that of those who had the same view regarding the pastor’s

involvement in political communication. The pastors' performance as sources of

spiritual messages in these circumstances is therefore impressive.

There were extreme differences on the respondents' perception of the

participation of pastors in the referendum based on specific constructs. The lowest

constructs in this regard were expertise and trustworthiness at 30.7% and 34.5%

respectively, while the highest was goodwill at 64.5% (see Table 4.22). The difference

between the highest rated construct and the lowest rated ones was approximately

34%. Trustworthiness stands out as the dimension that interfered most with the

pastors’ credibility in the context of the referendum. The key observation here is that,

in the context of the referendum, an approximate average of less than half of

participants found the pastors to have been credible sources of political messages

during the referendum. There was however an impressive response on the construct of

goodwill as far as pastors were concerned.

Arranged in a descending order, the respondents’ approval of the pastors'

source credibility was as follows: communication of spiritual messages (62%),

participation in the referendum (43.4%), and communication of political messages

(31.7%). The credibility of the Christian clergy as communicators of spiritual

messages is hereby affirmed by the respondents. They are perceived to be custodians

and authorities of faith matters. However, that notwithstanding, the Christian clergy



80

are also perceived to be an important voice in communicating political messages

within a context (in this case, this was the 2010 constitutional referendum), where

they clergy did better than in general situations. These observations suggest that the

Christian voters considered the Christian clergy more strongly as carriers of spiritual

messages as compared to their role as carriers of political messages. It would also be

unfair not to see that given a political context, the Christian voter would still want to

hear what the Christian clergy has to say about the matter of discussion.

According to the average responses, trustworthiness stands out as the

dimension that interfered most with the pastors' source credibility; with an approval of

34.5% (see Table 4.23). Except in the communication of political messages without a

context, the respondents rated the pastors highly in the construct of goodwill (see

Table 4.23).

Through the open-ended question that asked respondents to provide reasons as

to why voters, including Christian ones were not persuaded to vote “NO”, the study

revealed that, besides source credibility, there were other factors that shaped the

referendum debate and eventually the results (see Table 4.24)

Summary

In this chapter, the findings of the study as well as analysis and interpretation

of the findings have been presented. In the next chapter, a discussion of the study

findings, the study’s conclusions based on the findings and the study’s

recommendations will be provided. Suggestions for further research will also be

provided.



81

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

This study sought to determine whether the source credibility of the Christian

clergy as sources of political communication could have contributed to the defeat of

the “NO” vote in the constitutional referendum conducted in Kenya in August, 2010.

To this end, the constructs of competence (expertise), trustworthiness, and goodwill

were used to determine the extent to which Christian voters in Changamwe

Constituency perceived their clergy to be credible sources in political communication.

The results of the referendum informed the premise for the problem statement of the

study.

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 Christian

voters in Changamwe Constituency perceived their clergy to be credible sources in

the communication of political messages; and to establish the extent to which

Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency 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

Discussion of Key Findings

The discussion of the findings was based on the study’s objectives.

The Clergy as Credible Sources in the Communication of Spiritual Messages

The findings indicated that Christian voters perceived their clergy to be



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credible sources of spiritual messages. On the three constructs of competence or

expertise, trustworthiness or character, and goodwill, the Christian clergy performed

impressively. There was a balance on the performance where the respondents

provided almost the same feedback in each of the three constructs. The majority of

the respondents expressed confidence in the knowledge and experience of the pastors

in the dissemination of biblical content hence finding them to have expertise. Further,

an almost equal majority also indicated that they found the pastors honest and

unbiased whenever they delivered messages whose motivation was purely biblical

hence finding them to have trustworthiness. A greater majority was convinced that the

motivation of pastors in communicating spiritual messages was care and noble

intentions, hence finding them to have goodwill. Thus, there is a basis to argue that to

a great extent the Christian voters attribute high source credibility to their clergy when

they are involved in communicating spiritual messages.

Adding to the findings regarding the first objective, the majority of the

Christian voters indicated that they would have no difficulty shifting their paradigms

when addressed by the pastors on the basis of scriptures and Christian moral practice.

These findings show that with reference to spiritual messages, Christian clergy are

practically confirmed to be sources of communication worthy of credence. Although a

small minority of the respondents expressed reservations and indifference, there was

no serious contention as far as the involvement of the Christian clergy in the

communication of spiritual messages is concerned.

The Clergy as Credible Sources in the Communication of Political Messages

According to the findings on research objective number two, Christian voters

did not perceive their clergy to be credible sources in delivering political messages.



83

The same constructs of expertise, trustworthiness and goodwill were used to

determine this. There were big extremes as far as the performance in each of these

constructs was concerned. Respondents were not clear on the construct of expertise in

that, while some few respondents felt that the pastors had political knowledge, they at

the same time found them to be lacking in political experience. This means that the

respondents felt that the Christian clergy lacked competence or expertise in political

communication. On the construct of trustworthiness, the highest number of

respondents mentioned bias, with only less than a fifth indicating that the Christian

clergy were trustworthy. This could mean that the Christian clergy lacked

trustworthiness in political communication.

A majority of the respondents were not convinced that their pastors’

involvement in political communication was driven by noble intentions or

benevolence. This is an indication that according to the respondents, the Christian

clergy lacked goodwill in political communication. With these findings, this study

determined that the extent to which Christian voters perceived their clergy as credible

sources of political messages was quite low.

Source Credibility of Christian Clergy in Delivering Political Messages

During the Referendum

Regarding the third objective of this study, findings revealed that lack of

source credibility in political communication on the part of the Christian clergy was a

factor that led to the defeat of the “NO” vote. While the highest percentage of

respondents were positive concerning goodwill in the Christian clergy as they

communicated spiritual messages, when it came to political communication by the



84

same clergy as they participated in the August 2010 referendum, only a few

respondents considered them to be experts or trustworthy. When a comparison was

done between the Christian clergy and the career politicians, over half of the

respondents perceived the career politicians to possess a greater command in political

communication expertise than the clergy. It is however important to underline that

Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency strongly opined that the Christian clergy

should be involved in political communication.

To increase the validity of the findings on the third objective, an open-ended

question was provided at the end of the questionnaire used for this study. The question

asked the respondents to provide their thoughts regarding why the voters, the

Christian ones included were not persuaded to vote 'NO' during the August 2010

constitutional referendum. The responses to this question indicated that besides source

credibility, other factors contributed to the lack of persuasion of the voters by the

Christian clergy. The researcher grouped the factors into five broad categories (as

outlined in Table 4.24 in Chapter Five).

These factors included: Dispensational and posterity reasons, mainly focusing

on change and the benefits that were contained in the draft constitution - such as

devolution and the human rights chapter; politicians' influence, focusing on reasons

which were attributed to a particular politician or a group of politicians; social and

economic status focusing on social standing, economic ability, and political affiliation

and power; civic education, focusing on knowledge and awareness on the content of

the draft constitution; and source credibility, which connected with the constructs of

expertise, trustworthiness and goodwill.

Christian Clergy’s Political Messages Role in the Defeat of the “NO” Vote



85

The findings on the third objective of study established that Christian voters in

Changamwe constituency perceived that, to a notable extent, the lack of source

credibility of their clergy in political communication contributed to the defeat of the

“NO” vote in the August 2010 referendum. It is worth noting here that source

credibility was a key factor in determining the outcome of the referendum. There was

however, an interaction of other factors where source credibility was also included.

Generally, on the question of the perception of Christian voters in Changamwe

Constituency on the involvement of their clergy in political communication, the

findings indicated that, to a great extent, the respondents did not find their clergy to be

credible sources of political messages. The source credibility of the Christian clergy in

political communication according to the respondents was negatively affected in the

constructs of expertise and trustworthiness. Additionally, the findings revealed that the

construct of expertise was negatively affected by the lack of political experience. The

dimension of goodwill was perceived to be the source credibility strength of the

Christian clergy within the context of the August 2010 referendum.

Conclusion

It is significant that the respondents accorded their Christian clergy high

source credibility in the communication of spiritual messages. On the other hand, they

accorded them low source credibility in general political communication without

reference to a particular event. In the context of the referendum, the respondents

attributed some source credibility to the clergy. As observed by Levine and

Stephenson (2007), this study found these findings to communicate that it is highly

expected that the opinions of a religious leader when and if rooted on scriptural or

moral imperatives will resonate more with the public. The same concept was



86

espoused by Umeogu (2012) that it is not strange for many people to look up to their

religious leaders or clergy on difficult and especially religious matters.

To a significant extent, the findings of this study demonstrated that source

credibility is always a description of the image held of a communicator (at a given

time) by a receiver who can either be one person or a group (Levine & Stephenson,

2007). The same respondents who attributed high source credibility to their clergy in

the communication of spiritual messages also attributed low credibility to the same

clergy when it came to political communication. This is in agreement with a previous

study by Djupe and Gilbert (2009) that determined that members of the community

more often than not systematically underestimate the validity of political cues that the

clergy can provide based on the direction of their attitude and the issue of importance.

When asked if they thought that the Christian clergy should have left the

referendum debate to the career politicians, over three quarters of the respondents

disagreed. This was in agreement with an observation by Mulligan (2006) that the

involvement of the Christian clergy in political communication is fundamental to the

understanding of the relationship between religion and politics. There was however, a

source credibility gap where in that respondents indicated that they did not trust their

clergy to offer political direction. This was in accordance with their responses based

on the constructs used in the study.

Nevertheless, the perceived credibility aspects that the respondents raised as

the reasons for their lack of trust in their clergy as credible sources of political

messages, appear to be justified by Smidt’s (2003) postulation that the clergy have

several qualities that give them the potential of political influence for their

congregations, but when the congregations perceive their political opinions to be self-



87

serving they can easily disengage. The findings of this study established the

observation by Smidt so strongly considering that only less than a fifth of the

respondents perceived the Christian clergy to be trustworthy as far as political

communication was concerned. Referring to the August 2010 constitutional

referendum, only close to a third of the respondents attributed trustworthiness to the

pastors. This provides a basis to conclude that source credibility influences the

receiver and it arises from how the public views or perceives a speaker. Just as opined

by Umeogu (2012), it turns out that, although a religious leader may be a credible

authority, he is not necessarily an appropriate figure to argue an issue from a material

viewpoint, as it is the case in political communication.

However, the findings of the study and the observations made by Smidt (2003)

and Umeogu (2012) appear to be in contradiction with the assertions of other scholars

(Crawford & Olson, 2001; Wald & Calhoun-Brown, 2014) that clergy members tend

to have more coherent worldviews which make them effective opinion leaders who

can frame grievances in a way that makes them relevant to parishioners. The question

of effectiveness in leading on political opinion was not confirmed by respondents

hence the conclusion that the Christian voters in Changamwe did not find this present

in their clergy.

Olson (2009), while writing within the context of the clergy and political

communication, seemingly disagrees with these findings with the observation that the

pronouncements of the clergy do carry a lot of weight, particularly among the faithful,

who believe that God is the ultimate source of credibility and that He speaks through

religious leaders. The view of the Christian voters in Changamwe Constituency does

not align with that of Olson, especially on the matter of political communication.



88

Against this background then, it would be a significant conclusion to make here that

political communication is highly context-dependent. The same speaker can be rated

differently by the same audience depending on the context of presentation.

In their recent study on ‘persuasion, social influence and compliance gaining’,

Gass and Seiter (2014) observed that credibility was context-dependent and that an

expert in one situation can be been found incompetent in another situation. The

findings of this study showed that a majority of the respondents expressed approval

on the competence of the Christian clergy in the communication of spiritual messages.

On the other hand, the respondents did not affirm the clergy’s competence as sources

of political messages. There is thus a premise here to agree with Richmond and

McCroskey (1999) as cited in Teven (2008) that it is practical that source credibility

in a political communication context is a critical factor.

The findings of this research show that source credibility was a key factor in

the defeat of the “NO” vote, which was championed by the Christian clergy. The

context of political communication during the August, 2010 referendum determined

the source credibility of the Christian clergy and hence the outcome of the “NO” vote

which they championed for. Still on the question of the referendum, political

communication and context, the respondents felt that the Christian clergy had tough

competing arguments pitted against the contentious issues they raised. However, the

arguments by career politicians shaped the context of communication. The career

politicians opined that there was room for amendment of the draft constitution in the

future and that the larger fraction of the constitution was worth adopting, among other

arguments. This augurs so well with prior political communication research which has

established that certain cue attributes which include the strength of a political message



89

and whether it is pitted against competing arguments determine the success of

political communication (Sniderman and Theriaut, 2004).

In this circumstance, the political message of the Christian clergy was pitted

against competing arguments which to some extent caused their source credibility to

depreciate. As perceived by the Christian voters, the Christian clergy did not strongly

appeal in the dimensions of expertise and trustworthiness. This led to the failure in

tilting the 'NO' vote despite the large following of Christian voters that the Christian

clergy in Kenya enjoy. As observed by Knight (2007) if the speaker appears to be

credible, the audience will form the second order judgment that, the propositions put

forward by the speaker are true and credible. Aristotle advised that the speaker must

display practical intelligence which is expertise or competence, a virtuous character

which is about trustworthiness, and goodwill which is about a caring disposition and

exhibiting noble intentions. The receiver must perceive that the speaker has

accomplished the three constructs of expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill by what

he says.

This study brought out the perceptual nature of source credibility as something

that exists in the listeners' minds and relates to the speaker so clearly. This is as argued

by Borg (2004) that the credible speaker is supposed to have profound knowledge and

credentials on a specific theme thus qualifying him or her to be an expert. The concept

on the perceptual nature of source credibility is further expressed by Callison (2001)

who stated that credibility is all about the judgments made by a message recipient

concerning the believability of a communicator.

Findings through the three objectives of this study revealed what respondents

thought about the credibility of pastors as far as communication in each circumstance



90

was concerned. Moreover, the subject and context of communication determined how

the respondents perceived the believability of the Christian clergy. This discovery

confirmed the observation made by Chong and Rogers (2005) that the ability to

persuade and convince effectively is directly proportional to how credible the

followers perceive the speaker to be. Thus, in this case the perception of the Christian

voters as receivers or followers is equal to the credibility of Christian clergy who are

the source or speakers. Basically, this study confirmed the link between credibility

and perception where source credibility can only be ascribed according to what the

hearers think about the source. As articulated by Severin and Tankard (2008), the

perception of the hearers is a critical factor in determining whether they would pay

attention to the speaker, retain what he says. or even act on it.

The conceptual framework used in this study raised perception questions that

the Christian voters could likely raise on the credibility of the clergy as sources of

political communication. As the dependent variable in the study, the perception of the

Christian voters determined the credibility of the Christian clergy who on the other

hand represented the independent variable. This worked out consistently with the

assertion by Fragale and Heath (2004) that source credibility affects the perceived

validity of information in a message.

Evidently, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, the findings of this study

revealed that to a considerable extent, the inability of the Christian clergy to persuade

large numbers of Christian voters to vote in favor of the 'NO' vote could be attributed

to the lack of source credibility in communicating political messages. This is in

agreement with what Umeogu’s (2012) assertion that a favorable speaker's ethos

equals credibility and believability. It also confirms that communicators with high



91

credibility in the eyes of message receivers tend to have respect and their words are

accepted more readily, a view also held by Richmond, McCroskey, and Powell

(2012). Generally, people are likely to be persuaded if the person doing the

persuading is seen as being credible, an expert, as well as trustworthy.

The source credibility theory provided the theoretical framework for this

study. It states that people or receivers are more likely to be persuaded when the

source presents itself as credible. The theory assumes that credible sources tend to

create the desired impact on the audience (Pornpitakpan, 2004). The findings of this

study proved to be consistent with the source credibility theory. This was

demonstrated in that the Christian clergy could not persuade the voters during the

August 2010 constitutional referendum because they lacked source credibility in

political communication. This is further in agreement with the assertions made by

Hilligoss and Rieh (2008) that source credibility is an established theory that explains

how communication persuasiveness is affected by the perceived credibility of the

source of that communication.

Making reference to what earlier studies have revealed (Tormala et al., 2005),

the use of the source credibility theory in this research further established its value of

focus and straight forwardness, a characteristic which added to the theory's rich

history in persuasion research. The general thought developed from this study is in

agreement with what Teven’s (2008) suggestion that in the context of political

speaking, source credibility is a very critical factor in the selection of an opinion

leader, for the success or failure of any political campaign or endeavor depends on

how credible the voters perceive the candidate to be.

A majority of the Christian voters did not find their clergy to be credible



92

sources of political messages. The average on expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill

of the Christian clergy in political communication did not meet the threshold. The

study therefore makes the deduction that with this credibility deficit, the Christian

clergy could not influence Christian voters to tilt the 'NO' vote to secure a win.

Although Christian voters cast their votes, it was not in favor of the proposal given by

their clergy.

The summary to the conclusion of this research would be stated using the

postulation by Prete (2007) that, for political communication to achieve its principle

objective of informing, persuading, and acting, it needs to have a high degree of

credibility. The social standing of the Christian clergy and the service they offer to

God and humanity earn them a considerable degree of goodwill. According to this

study, the construct of goodwill stood out as the leading dimension when the general

source credibility of the Christian clergy was measured. Ironically, according to the

overall findings of the research, the construct of goodwill alone did not earn the

Christian clergy enough source credibility for maximum effects in political

communication.

Recommendations

Based on its findings, this study makes the following recommendations:

1. That Christian clergy could work towards developing their source credibility

in constructs of expertise and trustworthiness in regard to political

communication. This would help in making them credible sources of political

messages. In this regard, the Christian clergy can deliberately work on the

construct of expertise in political communication by increasing their political

knowledge through constant learning of the day to day dynamics and



93

emerging trends in the political arena.

2. On the same construct of expertise, the Christian clergy would need to make a

deliberate effort in order to create the perception of competence in the minds

of the public (including the Christian voters). This they can do through

participating in more political forums so that they do not appear like strangers

in the field. To appear in more political forums for the clergy does not

necessarily mean that they become career politicians per se, but that they

would engage in political discussions more deliberately and frequently. This is

about expanding the consultative base on political matters affecting the

country to include those that they lead. It would also serve to enrich content

and create in the Christian voters a sense of ownership of the common press

statement that the clergy issue. Furthermore, it could contribute to giving the

clergy political experience.

3. The Christian clergy could purpose to develop on the construct of

trustworthiness by avoiding bias and being honest in their political

engagements. This can be a complicated process because of the general

public's perception of politics, but by being consistently true in their political

relationships and dealings, the Christian clergy can build political trust. The

general overview on the source credibility in the study showed that a majority

of the respondents did not attribute trustworthiness to their clergy. Thus, this is

an area whose attainment would require extra effort from the Christian clergy

if they are to emit honesty and unbiasedness.

4. Since the Christian clergy excel in the construct of goodwill according to the

study, they may capitalize on the construct of goodwill accorded to them by



94

Christian voters. The average findings for each construct in all the research

questions revealed that compared to the other constructs, the respondents rated

the Christian Clergy highly on the construct of goodwill. It is therefore

recommended that the Christian clergy work towards maintaining this

goodwill. They can achieve this through consistently and continually growing

in their noble intentions and caring inclination.

Areas for Further Research

The findings of this study revealed that there are real gaps that exist within and

around the involvement of the Christian clergy in political communication. Some

have to do with the Christian clergy while others have to do with the Christian voters.

The study therefore suggests the following as possible areas for further research:

1. A related study focusing on the perception of Christian voters on the

involvement of their clergy in political communication can be carried

out in other constituencies or wider jurisdictions.

2. An investigation into how Christian clergy can be fruitfully involved in

political communication towards the accomplishment of their cultural

and ecclesiastical mandate.

3. A study focusing on how to bridge the gap on the existing perceptions

regarding involvement of Christian clergy in communicating both

spiritual and political messages.



95

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APPENDICES

Appendix A: Self-Administered Questionnaire

Dear Participant;

I am an ordained minister of the Africa Inland Church, Kenya and currently a Master

of Arts in Communication Student at Daystar University in Kenya. I am researching

on the topic The Perception of Changamwe Christian Voters on the Involvement of

Their Clergy in Political Communication – A Study on Source Credibility' as part of

my academic requirements. I humbly invite you to fill the questionnaire below to

provide important information needed for the research. All information shall be

received with appreciation, treated with confidence and its use shall be limited to this

study. Thank you for accepting to participate in this exercise.

Timothy MwongelaMuthusi

Do not write your name please.

If you did not vote during the August 2010 constitutional referendum, kindly

do not fill the questionnaire just return it.

SECTION A

Demographics.Kindly tick [ ] in the box that applies to you

1. Age

18-25 [ ] 26-35 [ ] 36-45 [ ] 46-55 [ ] Above 55[ ]

2. Gender

Male [ ] Female [ ]

3. Marital status

Single [ ] Married [ ] Widowed [ ] Divorced [ ] Separated [ ]

Other [ ]________________

4. Which is your highest educational level?

Primary [ ] Secondary [ ] College [ ] Degree [ ] Diploma [ ]

Certificate [ ] Other [ ]_____

5, What is your occupation?

Civil servant [ ] Banking industry [ ] Self-employed [ ] Private Sector [

] Christian Worker [ ] Educationist [ ] Technician [ ] Medical practitioner [ ]

Other [ ]___________

6. Are you a registered voter in Kenya?

Yes [ ] No [ ]



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7. Are you a Christian?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

8. How often do you go to church in a month?

Once [ ] Twice [ ] Thrice [ ] Every Sunday [ ] Never [ ]

Other [ ] ______________

9. Did you vote during the August, 2010 referendum?

Yes [ ] No [ ]

If your answer in number nine (9) above is 'NO' please do not proceed.

10 (a) During the August, 2010 referendum did you vote for 'YES' or for 'NO'

Yes [ ] No [ ]

10 (b) If you voted for 'YES', what influenced you to vote for 'YES'

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

__________________________

10 (c) If you voted for 'NO', what influenced you to vote for 'NO'

_______________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

___________________________

SECTION B

The following are statements about the involvement of Pastors in

communicating political messages. If you agree, choose “Yes” and if you disagree

choose “No.” If you are not sure choose “I don't know”. Kindly tick [ ] your choice.

11. Pastors in Kenya are politically experienced.

Yes [ ] No [ ] I don't know [ ]

12. Pastors in Kenya have wide knowledge about the political issues in the

country.


13. Every political opinion given by the Pastors can be trusted.


14. We should always vote for candidates who are Pastors.


15. Pastors get involved in political issues because they care about the welfare

of the citizens.



103


16. Pastors who get involved in politics have the best interest of the voters in

their hearts.


SECTION C

The following are statements about the involvement of Pastors in

communicating Spiritual messages. If you agree, choose “Yes” and if you disagree

choose “No.” If you are not sure choose “I don't know”. Kindly tick [ ] your choice.

17. Pastors in Kenya are well trained in matters concerning Christian living.


18. Pastors in Kenya have wide knowledge of Bible content.


19. I must fully obey what Pastors teach regarding my walk with God.


20. What Pastors teach is inspired by God.


21. Pastors preach and teach God's word because they care about my welfare.


22. Pastors do counseling because they want the best out of the congregation.


SECTION D

The following statements are opinions about Pastors participating in

campaigning against the draft constitution in the 2010 referendum. Tick [ ] your

opinion about each statement.

23. Pastors had sincere motives when they campaigned in the 2010

constitutional referendum

Agree [ ] Disagree [ ] Not sure [ ]

24. Politicians in the ‘Yes’ camp during the 2010 constitutional referendum

were more politically experienced than the Pastors in the ‘No’ camp.


25. Voters trusted politicians more than the Pastors during the 2010

constitutional referendum.




104

26. Pastors should have left politicians alone to address voters during the

referendum.


27. Unlike the Pastors, politicians expressed the best interest of Kenya when

they campaigned for the draft constitution during the referendum.

Agree [ ] Disagree [ ] Not sure [ ].

28. Why do you think voters were not persuaded to vote ‘NO’ during the

August 2010 constitutional referendum?

_________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

________________________________________________

Thank you for taking your time to fill this questionnaire. God bless you.



105

Appendix B: Daystar University Letter of Introduction



106

Appendix C: Research Permit



107



108

Appendix D: Letter of Authorization



109

Appendix E: Anti-Plagiarism Report

by Timothy Muthusi

The Perception of Christian Voters in Changamwe on the Involvement of their

Clergy in Political Communication –

A Study on Source Credibility

Submission date: 10-Oct-2017 10:47PM (UTC+0300)

Submission ID: 860539405

File name: timothy_thesis_-doc.doc (326.5K)

Word count: 25837

Character count: 153919

SIMILARIT Y INDEX: 13%

INT ERNET SOURCES: 11%

PUBLICAT IONS: 7%

ST UDENT PAPERS: 7%

1



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