On Religion: When Clergy Offered Help With Smartphones (Part 1)
(ANALYSIS) As the CEO of a company that sells family-friendly mobile phones, Bill Brady thought it was safe to assume that many believers in religious sanctuaries and schools would want alternatives to handing their kids smartphones.
After comparing Troomi data with a national consumer database, he saw that his clients are more religious, more educated and more conservative on moral, cultural and political issues. Then again, a high percentage of these families are in the Northeast — not a region known as a “hotbed of religion,” he said.
“Certainly, there are people with a strong faith background that are very conscious of trying to keep their kids out of pornography, for example. They have strong moral reasons for that,” he said in a telephone interview.
Thus, Brady decided to create an outreach program. Working with religious organizations, the program tried to create bridges to companies that market what are often called dumbphones — mobile devices without open doors to social media and the internet. The Troomi phone is built on an Android-based operating system and includes moderated forms of texting and some apps, such as map and traffic programs.
“The church needs to be playing a leadership role,” said Brady. “What I know from my conversations with faith leaders is that they are concerned. ... I know that they are worried about kids zoning out on screens and not making time in their lives for God. I know that they are worried about the stress and the anxiety and depression. ... But all parents love their children. All parents want their children to be happy and healthy and protected from bullies and protected from predators.”
The question was whether religious leaders would act on their concerns.
In the fall of 2024, Brady's research team created a national mailing list of 1,200 faith leaders and religious organizations — including 600 specific pastors. Most, but not all, of these contacts were Christian organizations. While Brady is active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 81% of Troomi's customers are outside of Utah.
Background research and analysis of websites found that many of the congregations were relatively small, with several hundred members, but others “were huge, with multiple facilities and thousands of members,” said Brady.
First, all the contacts received letters by mail, followed by an email support campaign. Also, 300 religious leaders were sent free copies of “The Digital Parenting Guidebook” by David Tucker. Members of participating organizations were offered discounts on wireless plans, and Troomi offered to make small new customer donations to mission groups, youth programs and similar local projects.
The goal was to create local educational events about smartphones and digital technology that would let parents interact with representatives from Troomi and other major companies in the “minimalist” phone marketplace — such as Gabb, Bark, Pinwheel and The Light Phone.
What happened next? Next to nothing.
“Long story short, we didn't have a single taker,” said Brady. “I have been baffled by that response.”
The timing was good, since debates about smartphones, social media and mental health — especially among children — made headlines during 2024. More than a dozen states voted to ban or restrict the use of smartphones in schools, including Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, California, Arkansas, Ohio and Virginia.
Brady said he received a few friendly responses, but that was it.
“I had a few people reach out and say, ‘Hey, thanks so much.’ ... Some people said, ‘Thanks for the book.’ I didn't have anyone say, ‘Absolutely. I’d like to present this to our congregation,’” he said. “I do believe that many clergy are hesitant to take a stand, though few people could make a bigger difference more quickly than they.”
It’s possible that clergy fear causing arguments inside their organizations, since parents may be committed to different approaches about technology in their homes, he said. But no one said that openly.
“The only thing that has made sense to me is that ... pastors and other faith leaders feel deeply about this issue, they know it's a problem, but they feel overwhelmed by the whole thing, just as parents feel overwhelmed," said Brady. "For whatever reason, they have not been ready to take a stand.”
NEXT WEEK: How one Catholic parish discussed technology with its members.
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Terry Mattingly is Senior Fellow on Communications and Culture at Saint Constantine College in Houston. He lives in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and writes Rational Sheep, a Substack newsletter on faith and mass media.