Survey: Only 3 in 5 Christian Radio Listeners Tune In for Music

By Josh Kimball, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, July 15, 2008

More believers are tuning in to Christian radio for reasons other than music than some might think, according to a new survey.

While the most popular reason for tuning in to Christian radio was to listen to Christian music (56 percent), 40 percent of Christians say they tune in to listen to sermons and teaching, the Wilson Research Strategies survey found.

"There is a much higher demand for teaching programs than what the conventional wisdom might expect," commented Rick Dunham, president and CEO of Dunham+Company, which commissioned the survey.

Furthermore, those who are primarily driven to listen to Christian music are predominantly women aged 18-44 and are more likely to attend church less frequently, while those who tune in to Christian radio to listen to teaching/sermons tend to be older men and women and attend church more frequently.

"There is a distinct difference between those who tune into Christian radio to listen to music compared to those who want teaching," Dunham noted in a news release. "I think it is safe to say that those who desire teaching content are in fact the more serious Christians who are definitely connected with their local church."

Across the nation, an estimated 46 percent of Christian adults – representing more than 69 million people – tune in to Christian radio compared to the 91 percent of Christian adults who tune in to general radio.

According to the latest survey, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of those who listen to Christian radio do so at least several times per week, with nearly one-third (29 percent) saying they tune in every day. That represents approximately 20 million people who listen to Christian radio each day.

Regarding the findings on those who tune into Christian radio for teaching/sermons, Dunham said it is "good news for Christian programmers."

"This is … an important challenge to Christian radio station owners to understand the importance of the teaching program to Christian adults across America," he added.

Other notable findings from the survey include the demographics of those who tune into Christian programming. Listeners were found to be predominantly women 45-54 years of age, frequent churchgoers, Pentecostal/Charismatic, residents of the South, politically conservative, and self-described activists.

Also, nearly 1 in 4 (23 percent) of those who say they don't listen to Christian programming say they are not interested in listening to Christian content, and 1 in 5 (20 percent) say they prefer other content such as news and sports. Eleven percent say they prefer to get their Christian content elsewhere.

The sample surveyed for the Wilson Research Strategies' study represents 72 percent of U.S. adult population – which is equal to roughly 150.5 million people – who call themselves Christians. Christians in this study were defined as people who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that by believing He died for their sins have eternal life.

The survey of 1,000 Christian adults nationwide has a margin of error of ±3.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The study was conducted by telephone May 27-29.

On the Web: More information on the poll at www.dunhamandcompany.com/radio