A Historical Analysis of Adventist World Radio's
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HOWARD UNIVERSITY A Historical Analysis of Adventist World Radio’s Impact in the East Central Africa Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church: A Case Study of Tanzania A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of HOWARD UNIVERSITY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Mass Communication and Media Studies by Desrene L. Vernon Washington, D.C. May, 2011 GRADUATE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES DISSERTATION COMMITTEE ______________________________________ Barbara B. Hines, Ph.D. Chairperson ______________________________________ Carolyn M. Byerly, Ph.D. Dissertation Advisor ______________________________________ Melbourne S. Cummings, Ph.D. Communication & Culture _______________________________________ Sulayman S. Nyang, Ph.D. African Studies _______________________________________ Rhonda S. Zaharna, Ph.D. School of Communication American University ________________________________ Carolyn M. Byerly, Ph.D. Dissertation Advisor Candidate: Desrene L. Vernon Date of Defense: April 14, 2011 ii DEDICATION I have been blessed by God, with an international network of colleagues, family, church family, students and friends, too numerous to mention by name. This dissertation is dedicated to all of you. Thank you for showering me with your love, prayers, and other gifts, both tangible and intangible. “If any of you need wisdom, go to God who gives it graciously and generously to all who ask Him and it will be given to you” James 1:5 (The Clear Word). iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My deepest gratitude is extended to my dissertation committee for providing guidance and support throughout the course of this study. Special thanks to my dissertation advisor, Dr. Carolyn M. Byerly who both taught and modeled how to engage in mass communication and media scholarship. Special thanks to Dr. Barbara B. Hines for exemplifying leadership and always going the extra mile to find solutions. Thank you to Dr. Melbourne S. Cummings, for sharing her insights on how to examine ideologies critically and for helping me to appreciate the richness of rhetorical studies. Thank you to Dr. Sulayman S. Nyang, for exposing me to a wide range of African intellectuals, and for providing the context in which to examine religion and social change in Africa. I would also like to thank Dr. Rhonda Zaharna of the School of Communication at American University for serving as my external examiner and for reminding us that technology should not replace interpersonal contacts. I hereby acknowledge Mwalimu Mkamburi Lyabaya, for sharing her expertise in Bantu languages and Swahili culture; Dr. Anita Nahal for being willing and available to share her insights on history and international affairs, and also Ms. Regina Drake for being a very gracious and supportive work supervisor. This dissertation would not be possible without the kindness and cooperation of Dr. Benjamin D. Schoun, and the Office of Archive and Statistics at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Thank you for being so open and accommodating from start to finish. Special thanks are also extended to Dr. Gaspar Colon, Mrs. Jane Ogora, and other members of the learning community of Washington Adventist University. Thank you Dr. Delyse Steyn of Andrews University, your mentorship and expertise are valued and greatly appreciated. iv ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the impact of Adventist World Radio (AWR) within the East Central African nation of Tanzania. A historical systematic methodology was used to analyze a variety of primary, secondary and tertiary sources, available online as well as from the AWR headquarters, and the Seventh-day Adventist Office of Archives and Statistics located in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. The study utilized the Diffusion of Innovations (Rogers, 2003) and the Systematic Stage Model of Rambo (1993) to examine the conversion process as mediated through religious radio broadcasts. The findings reveal the regions from which listener correspondences originated, the radio programs popular among AWR listeners, and the number of baptisms occurring among the Maasai population as a result of the radio broadcasts. The AWR broadcasts play an integral part in a multifaceted approach by the Seventh-day Adventist Church to spread the gospel of Jesus to all parts of the world. This instrumental case study examined the first 25 years of AWR-Africa’s operations. Though limited in its generalizability, it offers much insight which can serve as a guide for other assessments of international religious broadcasters and their impact on local listeners. Keywords: Adventist World Radio, Historical Systematic Methodology, Mass Communication, Media Studies, Religious Conversion, Seventh-day Adventist, Tanzania. v TABLE OF CONTENTS DISSERTATION COMMITTEE ............................................................................................... ii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................1 Organizational Structure of the SDA Church ...........................................................................2 Historical Development of Adventist World Radio ..................................................................4 Problem to be Investigated ......................................................................................................7 Research Questions (RQ) ........................................................................................................8 Terms Central to the Study ......................................................................................................9 Researcher’s Interest in the Problem ...................................................................................... 14 Organization of Dissertation .................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER 2: RELIGION AND CULTURE IN EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA ........................... 18 Religion and Public Life in East-Central Africa ..................................................................... 18 Religion and Development in East Central Africa .................................................................. 21 Tanzania: Country Profile ..................................................................................................... 22 Religion and Politics in Tanzania .......................................................................................... 24 Language and Culture in Tanzania ........................................................................................ 27 Christian Missions in Tanzania .............................................................................................. 32 Syncretism of Traditional African Religion and Christianity.................................................. 40 Adventism in Tanzania .......................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER 3: REVIEW OF LITERATURE.............................................................................. 54 Origins of Religious Broadcasting ......................................................................................... 54 Radio Usage and Media Effects in Africa .............................................................................. 56 Radio as a Medium of Entertainment and Education .......................................................... 58 Politically Oriented Programming ..................................................................................... 63 Religious Radio Programming ........................................................................................... 66 Theories of Religion .............................................................................................................. 68 The Functionalist Perspective ............................................................................................ 69 vi The Marxist Perspective .................................................................................................... 69 The Phenomenological Perspective.................................................................................... 70 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................... 71 The process of religious conversion ................................................................................... 71 Diffusion of Innovations .................................................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 85 Qualitative Research