Date

12-16-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Kevin Clark Jones

Keywords

Christian, Leadership, Secular, Secularism, Modernism, Modernization, Truth, Information

Disciplines

Christianity | Leadership Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to understand and explore what influences and effects, if any, may be identified as church leaders interact with congregants that have been exposed to a wide array of information in pursuit of truth obtained from various sources. At this stage in the research, the Information Age is being examined to determine if it has had any influence on the pursuit of truth as people seek answers to life's fundamental questions. Previous research had identified growing changes within young people’s beliefs as they sought higher education thus leading to a decline in enrollment numbers at Christian universities (Nichols, 2016). These institutions alluded to changes recognized in attitudes of applicants and incoming students in terms of social acceptance of behaviors that run counter to Christian beliefs (Adams, 2019). Previous generations relied on a few sources for information as Scripture and theology were the primary basis for truth and guidance. The modern era has provided a multitude of outlets and avenues for a person to gain new insight or rationalize their position on a topic. The theory guiding this study is Modernization theory or modernity as described by Calhoun et al, (2011) whereby modernization brought about answers to some of life’s fundamental questions explained through science and technology. This phenomenon is being explored to determine if it has had any influence on people's pursuit of truth as access to information and modernization converged along with how Christian church leaders are adapting to these changes.

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