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Mobile Media & Communication

2014, Vol. 2(2) 154­–172
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DOI: 10.1177/2050157914520846
studying religious mobile mmc.sagepub.com

applications

Heidi A. Campbell
Texas A&M University, USA

Brian Altenhofen
Texas A&M University, USA

Wendi Bellar
Texas A&M University, USA

Kyong James Cho

Texas A&M University, USA

Abstract
This article provides a new methodological approach to studying religious-oriented
mobile applications available on the iTunes app store. Through an extensive review of
451 religious apps a number of problems were noted when relying solely on iTunes
categories to identify app functions and purpose. Thus further analysis was done in
order to present a new typology and framing of religious apps, which more accurately
describe their design. We suggest that the 11 new categories offered here suggest a
critical framework for studying religious apps. Thus this study provides a starting point
for scholars interested in analyzing religious mobile applications to investigate how app
developers integrate religious goals into their designs, and consider the primary ways
people are expected to practice religion through mobile apps.

Keywords
Apps, categorization, iTunes, mobile applications, religion

Corresponding author:
Heidi A. Campbell, Associate Professor of Communication, Department of Communication, Texas A&M
University, MS 4234, 102 Bolton Hall, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Email: heidic@tamu.edu
Campbell et al. 155

This study seeks to identify and describe the common types of religious apps found
within the iTunes app store, related to their primary design functions. While such a task
seems straightforward, an initial survey of religious apps performed within iTunes noted
a number of inadequacies within the categories and search options provided due to gen-
eral inconsistencies in their application of what would seem to be similar types of apps.
For example, scholars seeking to study apps that help users quit smoking may have to
search under multiple categories including Utilities, Lifestyle, Health and Fitness, or
even Reference to locate such apps, as their designations are not always intuitive or con-
sistent. The present study offers a methodological framework for scholars interested in
religion and mobile applications. This is done by identifying a range of common catego-
ries describing popular religious app design functions.
This study highlights the challenges experienced by many app designers seeking to
advertise and classify their religious apps within the iTunes store and scholars seeking to
study religious apps. These challenges were noted in an interview with app designer
Eileen Daily, creator of Art/y/fact.Xn, an app which seeks to help users make sense of
and/or reflect on Christian art works they come across in their daily life (Fractal-Ed LLC,
2012). She expressed frustration with the limitations of iTunes categories as being too
broad, with no clear definitions being provided and in some cases not providing adequate
or accurate options. Daily describes her app as a tool for spiritual reflection and religious
education, but was limited to listing it under the category of Education, which she felt
was the closest option to the design intention, though she felt this was not a completely
accurate designation (personal communication, 25 June, 2013). The absence of specific
religious app classifications and lack of clarity surrounding iTunes options therefore
introduces significant problems for many different stakeholders.
This poses a significant challenge especially to researchers seeking to study and
identify trends in the design and use of religious apps as they are currently framed
within iTunes. An initial analysis of religious apps using iTunes categories and a cross-
religion comparison of apps within the iTunes store found the lack of consistency in the
application of categories created problems when seeking to systematically identify
trends in design and use of religious apps. This study suggests scholars seeking to study
apps in the iTunes store may need to develop alternative frameworks for investigating
and classifying design functions and user practices related to certain types of apps
before systematic study can be conducted. Thus, this article provides academic research-
ers with a typology, and range of categories to aid in the classification of religious apps,
which illuminate the primary function of such apps. This article explores not only the
current limitation of iTunes classifications, but also identifies the dominant forms of
religious apps created which must be considered when trying to map the common trends
found in religious apps. Overall this article presents a refined methodological frame-
work for encapsulating the design functions of religious apps for those seeking to care-
fully analyze them, as well as to consider the common types of apps religious users seek
to engage with.
This article presents the initial findings of a larger project that investigates the variety of
mobile apps available that enable religious rituals and meaning-making, and seeks to
develop methods and protocols for researching religious mobile apps. Findings presented
here are based on the first stage of data collection of apps from different religious traditions
156 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

found on the iTunes app store. These have been recorded, tagged, and incorporated into a
searchable database of religious apps, which will be made available to other researchers
at the conclusion of the project (at http://digitalreligion.tamu.edu/toolbox). In short, this
article demonstrates how a thematic analysis of religious apps reveals the dominant
designs of religion-focused apps and highlights how people are expected to practice
religion with them.

Approaches in studying apps and religion in mobile media

The proliferation of mobile apps has drawn the attention of researchers seeking to under-
stand the impact of their development and use within digital culture. Fagerjord (2012),
for instance, suggests apps do not replace the Internet, and access to the Internet is only
a small part of what apps accomplish. Researchers in mobile media and communication
understand mobile devices to be distinct from other media technologies, and thus warrant
focused study. The intersection of mobile media and social communication gives rise to
a number of new contexts of study, religion and mobile culture being one such context.
Scholars have recognized individuals and communities from various religions increas-
ingly use new media, including mobile media and apps for religious purposes (Campbell,
2010). The study of new media and religion, or “digital religion,” has also gained recog-
nition as unique and important subfield within Internet studies (Campbell, 2013). This
suggests that paying attention to the religion-focused design of mobile apps is a valuable
part of study of the impact mobile culture has on broader society.
The study of mobile media and religion has often focused on religious groups’ use of
and response to cell phones, such as the perceived affordances of mobile devices by
religious individuals and communities in the Philippines (Roman, 2006) and Israel
(Campbell, 2010). Such studies often assume at least some negotiation and repurposing
of the features of technology by users. Bell (2006), in building a theoretical framework
for studying religious experience and new technologies, states that the emerging techno-
spiritual practices “are important for the ways in which they highlight alternate para-
digms for technology creation, deployment, consumption and resistance, as well as
pointing to different communities, practices and habits that could be supported” (p. 2).
Bell asserts that the trouble with getting religion and spirituality into the foreground of
thought in examining mobile media is that scholars think of the natural human environ-
ment as secular by default. Such claims suggest the need to examine the religious use of
media, especially mobile technology, which have become more prevalent in society.
In general the systematic study of mobile apps has been scarce despite their popular-
ity. Fagerjord’s (2012) study on Apple’s iPhone proposes a model of app research high-
lighting four processes that apps perform: input, calculation, network, and output. Other
studies emphasize the use of apps for health purposes by physicians for their profession
and consumers for smoking cessation (Abroms, Padmanabhan, & Thaweethai, 2011;
Franko & Tirrell, 2011). To date no studies were found which offer unique categories or
typologies for nonreligious mobile apps.
Similarly only a handful of studies examine religious apps or religious use of apps.
Torma and Teusner (2011) studied what happens when the cultural and social values of
the iPhone intersect with religious values through specific affordances of iPhone app use.
Campbell et al. 157

Bellar (2012) explored questions of app design in how Evangelical Christian users actu-
ally use religious iPhone apps. While these studies of app design and technological
affordances are valuable, both studies noted constraints due to current iTunes categories
limiting the scholar’s ability to easily identify religious apps.
Wagner (2013) provided an initial mapping of religious apps outside of iTunes cate-
gories, by focusing on apps used for religious experience and identity formation. Her
study highlights six categories of religious apps on iTunes: prayer apps, ritual apps,
sacred text apps, religious social media apps, self-expression apps, and focus/meditation
apps. While these app categories are helpful as a starting point, Wagner’s study seeks to
identify what app use says about religious experience, asserting that “our ongoing selec-
tion of apps challenges existing modes of religious authority, calling into question tradi-
tional means of determining religious authenticity” (p. 204). Wagner’s categories are
selective, because they focus on how apps can be used to build religious identity, author-
ity and authenticity, and therefore she does not seek to provide a comprehensive typol-
ogy of religious apps. Thus while her study provides an important starting point, it also
suggests the need for a more comprehensive survey of religious apps available. This
study extends Wagner’s work in order to map broader typology spotlighting common
design functions within current religious apps produced.

Methodology
At the time of writing, information has been collected on 488 religious apps retrieved
from the iTunes store from a range of religious traditions including: Atheist (n = 4),
Baha’i (n = 2), Buddhist (n = 64), Christian (n = 51), Christian-Catholic (n = 79),
Hindu (n = 60), Interfaith (n = 19), Muslim (n = 107), Jains (n = 4), Jews (n = 90), New
Religious Movements (n = 1), Other (n = 1), Pagan (n = 1), Sikh (n = 3), and Wiccan
(n = 2). This article, however, focused on apps related to the five major world
religions—Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism—which were the most
prominent groups in the initial sampling. A focused investigation of 451 apps from
these religions offers a basis for surveying the range of religious apps available and
their design focus.1 An overview of the research sampling strategy and data collection
process is provided here.

Sampling strategy
Data collection on religious apps was done in two segments, each lasting approxi-
mately five months. In the first segment a general search strategy was used within
iTunes, using terms such as “religion,” “spirituality,” “religious apps,” “apps and reli-
gion,” and specific religious traditions (i.e., Christianity, Islam, and Judaism). These
initial searches returned apps that had high ratings or rankings from app reviewers/
users of the apps, demonstrating a variety of different functions and religious focuses.
Research team members each identified approximately 80 apps for initial inclusion in
the app database.
In this segment a challenge was noted in attempts to systematically identify compara-
tive religious apps, as the first round search strategy collected a very Christian-centric
158 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

sample. Part of this difficulty was due to what was perceived by the research team to be
inconsistencies in the iTunes search function or failure of app designers to clearly tag
apps with a religious affiliation. This made it difficult to determine exactly how many
apps dedicated to a given religion are found within the iTunes store, and which religions
were most commonly represented. For example, searches conducted for apps under the
term “Christian” often did not return all Christian-related apps labeled as such and avail-
able in the store database, as some previously identified apps were often absent in subse-
quent search lists. These inconsistencies are problematic and have been noted by other
researchers, such as Bellar (2012) who found iTunes users experienced similar frustra-
tions when searching for religious apps using the classification system and search func-
tions provided.
Since a clear representative sample mirroring the overall percentage breakdown of
apps from specific religions within iTunes was unable to be determined, a selective sam-
ple representing the five major world religions was decided upon. In the second segment
a new strategy was devised to gather apps representative of other major world religions,
in order to provide a more stable comparative sample. This consisted of team members
being assigned to search apps within a specific religious tradition, namely Buddhism,
Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, to produce a final sample with more equal representation
of religions. Each religion required different search terms and strategies reflective of the
religions themselves. The search for apps dedicated to Islam required search terms
“Islam,” “Muslim,” “Quran,” “Mecca,” “Ramadan,” and “Allah.” Judaism used the
search terms “Judaism,” “Torah,” and “Jewish.” Hindu apps were searched for with the
terms “Hindu,” “Hinduism,” “Bhagavad Gita,” “Swami,” “Diwali,” “Dharma,” and
“Ganesh.” Buddhism used terms like “Buddhism,” “Buddha,” “Buddhist,” “Theravada,”
“Mahayana,” and “Zen.” Thus this article draws its conclusion from a sample of 451
apps representing Christian (n = 130), Muslim (n = 107), Jewish (n = 90), Buddhist (n =
64), and Hindu (n = 60) oriented apps.
It is important to note other issues that arose related to this sample. Identifying what
may initially have been labeled as religious often required a closer examination in order
to differentiate between perceived religious apps and cultural/ethnic identity apps. For
instance, some apps identified as “Jewish” focused on Jewish history or cultural activi-
ties but did not possess a clear connection to Jewish religious beliefs or rituals. Such apps
did not fit the criteria of apps with clear links to religious practice. Also due to the com-
position and language limitations of the research team, only apps with English text were
included. This means apps exclusively in other languages (i.e., Hindu apps in Hindi or
Muslim apps in Arabic) were excluded from the sample as app functions could not be
clearly determined or categorized. Finally, some apps identified were not included in the
database because of low ratings from consumers due to poor production quality and
functional problems, making their use and thus analysis of them difficult.

Data collection and analysis

Information collected on apps was entered into a central database by research team mem-
bers. A standardized rubric was developed and data collected on each app from informa-
tion found on the apps’ iTunes page, websites, and/or information contained within the
Campbell et al. 159

app itself. Separate entries were created for each app, including an overview of the func-
tion and aims of each app. Other data collected included: app costs, versions available,
operating system requirements, personalization options, languages, app creator/com-
pany, application ratings, religious affiliation, iTunes classifications, links to related
websites, and contact information of the producers.
From this information two stages of data analysis were conducted from the designated
sample. First, the relationship of the apps to iTunes categories was explored in an attempt
to identify common designs of religious apps according to iTunes. Next, comparative
profiles were assembled of apps related to specific religions, in order to identify common
design functions related to specific traditions. This analysis highlighted noted limitations
within iTunes categorization in relation to identifying dominant functions and definitions
of religious apps, leading to the development of a more refined typology of religious
apps discussed in detail later.

Classifications of religious apps in light of iTunes

It is important to note iTunes has its own classification system, and app designers must
select a single distinction to be applied to their app before it will be accepted for pub-
lication. Unlike podcasts, music, and books in the iTunes store, the categories of “reli-
gion” and “spirituality” do not exist as an option for apps. This means developers must
choose from a general list of utilitarian or secular classifications, such as Lifestyle or
Reference, which do not always accurately describe the purpose or function of reli-
gious apps. Initial analysis involved looking at apps in relation to their designated
iTunes categories, in order to see what such designations might illustrate about the
design functions and focus of these apps. Here an overview of the most common
iTunes app categories found within this sample of religious apps is provided, with the
most dominant being: Lifestyle, Reference, Education, Book, Utilities, Entertainment,
Games, and Music.

Lifestyle
Lifestyle was one of two dominant categories within the database (n = 101). Lifestyle
serves as a broad category describing app functions related to daily patterns and life
choices. This includes apps for religious rituals, keeping kosher, religious games, or
social media and family planning. This broad designation included the Jesuit Prayer app
(Jesuits of the Chicago-Detroit Province, 2013) that offers a daily meditation and scrip-
tures, and a Mikvah app (RustyBrick, 2012) that aids Jewish users in family planning
matters with respect to Jewish law.

Reference
The Reference category equaled that of Lifestyle (n = 101), and provides information on
holy books, religious writings, and other religious information. Many of these apps fea-
ture digital versions of sacred texts such as the Bible and Torah. Others, like Sri
Satyanarayana Swamy Puja (Sreenivas Buddha, 2011), offer aids in the preparation and
160 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

performance of religious rituals like puja, or offer commentaries to religious texts such
as Keys to Paradise (Af IhsaanFusion, 2011), where users can seek out different prayers
and Quran passages for particular life events like funerals and quarreling with fellow
Muslims.

Education
Education apps (n = 92) seem to provide guidance and instruction on religion. Like the
Lifestyle and Reference categories, a wide variety of apps are represented here, includ-
ing instructional text apps like The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Kimes, 2011) and
religious resources like the Tibetan Buddhist Calendar (Rabten Stiftung, 2013). Overall,
like many iTunes categories, Education serves as a broad referent connected to many
types of instructional apps.

Book
Book apps (n = 59), like Reference, often indicate apps focused on or supplement to holy
texts. These apps offer access to religious educational texts and supplemental commen-
tary for religious texts like iTorah – English Commentaries (Crowded Road, 2013).

Utilities
Utilities (n = 48) indicates apps meant to aid users’ religious practices in practical ways,
similar to those in the Lifestyle category. The Utilities category blankets a variety of apps
seeking to support user’s religious needs and traditional rituals including prayer, medita-
tion, and devotional practices. Examples include the Jewish app Beautiful Israel (Davka
Corporation, 2013) providing inspirational pictures of the holy land for religious reflec-
tion or the Qibla Compass (Azzure Labs, 2012) helping Muslim users orient themselves
to Mecca for prayers. Most apps here appear to be tools to aid everyday religious
practice.

Entertainment
The Entertainment category (n = 21) is used for apps providing access to children’s tel-
evision content or religious quotes. For example, Quran Stories for Kids (700apps, 2013)
offers children’s stories based on the Quran. The Laughing Buddha (Kwan, 2009) is an
app that allows users to rub the belly of Buddha to bring wealth, good luck, and
prosperity.

Games
Games apps (n = 17) spotlight religious games that instruct users in religious learning,
like Islamic Quiz (Webelinx DOO, 2013), a game that helps users learn tenets of Islam
or digital versions of traditional games such as Dreidle Labyrinth (Behrman House Inc.,
2010), a new spin on the Jewish game played during Hanukah.
Campbell et al. 161

Music
Music apps (n = 13) indicates musical libraries or religiously themed songs from differ-
ent traditions. Hinduism had the most (n = 5), illustrated by Ganesh Vandana (Winjit
Technologies, 2013) offering music for use in rituals to the divine Ganesh and for the
purification of senses. Other apps found here include the Tibetan Bowls app (Rockcat
Studio, 2012) that imitates the sound of Tibetan singing bowls meant to support medita-
tion and induce a trance.

Other categories
A number of other iTunes designations were used in relation to religious apps including
Health and Fitness, Photo/Video, Productivity, Navigation, News, Social Networking,
Travel, and Weather. However in this study fewer than 10 apps were associated with
each of these categories and therefore did not provide a broad enough sampling to offer
a full description here. It is noted that further study outside the current sample may be
needed to consider the relevance and prevalence of these iTunes categories to religious
apps in general.
As noted before, there is an overlap in many of these categories and the type of apps
associated with them. For example, the Jesuit Prayer app offers daily devotional reflec-
tions linking it to the “Lifestyle” category, but because it includes scripture it could also
be listed under the “Book” category. Thus iTunes categorization did not offer a clear way
to identify the primary design focus of religious apps. The vagueness of iTunes catego-
ries often led to confusion when trying to discern what an app actually did. While
categories like Lifestyle and Utilities gave a general sense of the pragmatic functions, the
variance in apps associated with these classifications offered little assistance in making
clear distinctions related to an app’s purpose. In an attempt to refine this analysis and
look for more concrete patterns of identification, apps were next looked at in relation to
specific religious grouping to see what insights this sorting might provide.

General survey of religious apps

In comparing religion-specific apps, this survey found both variation and overlap in the
iTunes categories used and dominant types of apps found. Findings are discussed here in
order of prominence of religions represented in the sample, namely Christian (n = 130),
Muslim (n = 107), Jewish (n = 90), Buddhist (n = 64), and Hindu (n = 60).

Christian apps
Christian apps were most commonly categorized as Reference (n = 38), Lifestyle (n =
24), and Utilities (n = 22). Christian apps were primarily focused on sacred texts. For
example, the Bible App (LifeChurch.tv, 2013) provides users with multiple translations
of the Bible in different languages. Many Bible-oriented apps also featured study or
devotional tools, such as Girlfriends in God Devotional (Glasswing Publishing, 2012),
offering supplemental readings to help users comprehend the text. Other Christian apps
162 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

(particularly in the Catholic tradition) contained links to reference material on saints and
historic church leaders, such as the Fulton Sheen-Free app with its collection of Bishop
Fulton Sheen’s talks and commentary on scripture and Catholicism (As Written
Productions, 2013).

Muslim apps
Islamic apps were predominately linked to the Reference (n = 32), Education (n = 31),
and Books (n = 16) categories. Know Islam Learn Quran (Zaid Lakdawala, 2012) allows
users to learn basic teachings about Islam through language translation, recitations, and
links to recorded lectures by Islamic leaders. Similarly, The Holy Quran – Arabic Text
and English Translation app (Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, 2012) provides an
English translation of the Quran. Generally, Muslim apps found in this sample were
scripturally oriented, referring to the Quran, and linked to imam/ulama (religious lead-
ers) of the past.

Jewish apps
The most common categories for Jewish apps were Education (n = 22), Lifestyle (n =
19), and Reference (n = 14). Education and Reference categories predominately focused
on the study of the Torah. For example, the iTorah, English, Commentaries, Maps, Audio
Lectures, Bible (Crowded Road, 2013) offers an English translation of the Torah with
interactive maps and study lectures. Lifestyle apps focus mostly on the Jewish lifestyle
like maintaining kosher (e.g., OU Kosher, Orthodox Union, 2013). Some Jewish apps
also include both religious and cultural content, such as Jewish Journal (TRIBE Media
Corp., 2012) which provides both current events information from Israeli newspapers
and details of Jewish holidays and rituals.

Buddhist apps
Buddhism differs from the aforementioned religions in that sacred texts do not play the
same central role, which is partly reflected in Buddhist apps’ dominant classifications.
Buddhist apps were mostly categorized as Lifestyle (n = 20) offering aid in meditation
and mantras. Buddha Chants (Super Audio [Madras] Pvt. Ltd., 2013) offers a series of
Buddhist chants and mantras. Several other Buddhist apps featured quotes from the
Buddha, including Buddha Says (Stucke Development, 2012).

Hindu apps
Hinduism apps tended towards Lifestyle (n = 24) and Books (n = 12) designations.
Lifestyle apps provide tools for performing different Hindu rituals, such as iPuja
(Nileshwar Dosooye, 2011) offering images of Hindu deities with Hindi chants. Book
apps feature ancient texts like the Bhavagad Gita Free app (Sreeprakash Neelakantan,
2011) as well as stories of Hindu gods like Rama (e.g., Tales of India – Ramayan
Children’s Book, Peacock Bookstore, 2013). Lifestyle also includes apps celebrating
Campbell et al. 163

religious festivals (e.g. iDiwali, Appinos, 2012). Like Judaism, some Hindu apps com-
bine cultural content (i.e., language and cultural history) with religious features.
In summary, apps in this study from Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Islam, and
Judaism) tend to center on or facilitate engagement with their sacred texts, study tools,
or reference materials and were associate with iTunes categories of Education, Books,
Reference, and Utilities. Hindu apps also often featured sacred texts, but more frequently
were aimed to aid the performance of specific Hindu rituals and categorized as Lifestyle.
Similarly, Buddhist apps were also associated with Lifestyle and served primarily as aids
for meditation and mantras. Many Catholic, Islamic, and Buddhist apps also stressed
religious wisdom and content from famous religious leaders like the teachings of Bishop
Sheen (for Catholics) and the Buddha.
While this cross-religion comparison yielded some interesting reflections, this analy-
sis was hampered by its reliance on iTunes categories which were inconsistently applied
to religious apps so did not reflect an accurate measure of dominant design functions. As
noted before, a general lack of clarity and consistency in iTunes’ designations and their
application meant these categories often hinder rather than help the identification of the
definitional characteristics of a religious app. Therefore it became clear that a more pre-
cise and concrete list of categories, which specifically correlates to focus and design of
religious apps, is required if more systematic and comparative research is to be
undertaken.

Toward a typology of religious apps

The development of a more refined classification of religious apps began with an over-
view of narratives provided by designers of the 451 apps collected. A range of key identi-
fiers and descriptive terms were noted in regards to the primary function of apps and
features offered. These terms were then grouped around like themes. From this identifi-
cation process a number of common groupings were noted. These groupings were then
compared to Wagner’s (2013) categories. Several of her categories were evidenced in
this data (prayer, ritual, sacred text, and focus/meditation) while others (self-expression)
were not manifest in this sample, or evidenced in the same way as she defined them
(religious social media). After reflection on her framework, this study has sought to
refine how these categories are expressed in relation to our own data. This study com-
bines Wagner’s observations on religious apps design with findings arising from apps
clusters noted in this sample, which highlighted a series of new, unique and clearly
defined categories
This study therefore, provides a more nuanced elaboration of Wagner’s 4 categories
and identifies and defines seven new, unique categories resulting in a typology of 11
categories of religious-oriented apps. This proposed typology also maintains some terms
used by iTunes categories (e.g., Lifestyle, Utilities), but provides further clarification on
what these labels concretely mean in relation to religious apps so they can be applied in
more exact ways. These classifications offer a starting point for considering the domi-
nant purposes and motivations behind religious apps design and their intended use.
The 11 categories emerging from our thematic analysis were Prayer, Focus/Meditation,
Ritual, Sacred Textual Engagement, Devotional Worship, Religious Utilities, Religious
164 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

Social Media, Religious Games, Religious Wisdom and Leaders, Religious Media
Outlets, and Religious Apps for Kids. Closer investigation of these 11 categories showed
they could be grouped into two parent classifications: apps oriented around religious
practice and apps embedded with religious content. The following section defines and
explains the basis and rationale for each category, as well as highlights exemplars for
illustration purposes.

Apps oriented around religious practice

Apps oriented around religious practice are those that provide instruction or help regard-
ing concrete religious rituals. Apps within this parent classification serve an inherently
religious function by helping facilitate religious practices or experiences (e.g., study of
sacred texts or a prayer app that teaches someone to pray the Rosary). “Religious”
denotes that apps are designed and utilized specifically for religious purposes. Apps ori-
ented around religious practice provide concrete ways to aid users’ religious behaviors
informed by specific beliefs. Sacred Textual Engagement, Prayer, Focus/Meditation,
Devotional Worship, and Ritual apps all fall into this parent category.

Sacred Textual Engagement.  Sacred textual engagement apps (n = 71) are linked to canon-
ized texts within specific religious traditions, such as the Bible, Quran, Torah, and the
Bhagavad Gita. Wagner (2013) defined this category as “Sacred Text” apps that include
digitized versions of sacred texts (p. 200). We expand this definition to include those that
also contain study tools that provide resources or connections to the holy texts of a par-
ticular religious tradition. For example the Bible app YouVersion (LifeChurch.tv, 2013)
has more than 57 million downloads and offers different Bible translations, study tools,
and Bible reading plans, and the Gita in Text app (Madhusudhanan Venugopal, 2009)
allows users to read and listen to the Bhagavad Gita.

Prayer.  Prayer apps (n = 65) are associated with a monotheistic understanding of prayer
in the Abrahamic religions (i.e., Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). Here prayer is framed
as communication with a single higher being. Prayer apps utilize the mobile device as a
conduit to facilitate prayer. Therefore, prayer occurs through reading text on the device,
listening to audio prayers, typing in prayer requests, or constructing a private, personal
prayer. This category correlates with Wagner’s (2013) definition of prayer apps as those
that are specifically designed and utilized to communicate with a higher power by typing
and sending prayers through mobile devices (pp. 199–200). There are many examples of
this category, including The Lord’s Prayer (Earblast, 2010), which offers users a simple
way to read and recite the Lord’s Prayer and to “spend a little quiet time with God” and
iPray Jewish (Envision Mobile LTD, 2011), designed to help users to remember to incor-
porate prayer into their daily lives.

Focus/Meditation. Focus/meditation apps (n = 41) provide images, sounds, chants, or

even just mobile mental space in which to practice meditation. For this study’s purpose,
meditation and focus can be defined as an individual practice involving contemplation
on higher beings or spiritual ideas in order to better the self. This differs from the Prayer
Campbell et al. 165

category in that Focus/Mediation apps can also be used within both monotheistic and
polytheistic religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, as well as for spiritual ideas such
as altruism and inner peace. This category also mirrored Wagner’s (2013), although she
did not provide an explicit definition for this category. Wagner does contend that medita-
tion apps are not necessarily dependent on religious authority in terms of their focus (p.
201). Depending on the religion, Focus/Mediation apps can look and operate very differ-
ently. For example, Buddha Box HD app (Guidice, 2012) gives users access to Buddhist
chants and images for meditation, including recorded meditations with Tibetan cymbals
and chants, and 3 Minute Retreat (Loyola Press, 2010) provides guided breathing fol-
lowed by a Bible verse, a meditation session and ends with a formal prayer.

Devotional Worship. Devotional worship apps (n = 32) provide digitized versions of

sacred texts, but the goal of these app design is to facilitate spiritual practices and encoun-
ters through using this information, rather than just providing a text for study. These apps
often contain commentary or an uplifting quote or image. While Prayer, Ritual, Sacred
Text, and Focus/Meditation all connect with Wagner’s (2013) categories, Devotional is a
unique category emerging from our thematic analyisis. Girlfriends in God Devotional
(Glasswing Publishing, 2012), for example, boasts more than 260 inspiring daily devo-
tionals for women, and Images of Faith Vol. 1 (American Information Marketing, LLC,
2009) also uses inspirational images with uplifting verses to “raise your spirits, challenge
you in your daily walk, and share with others.”

Ritual.  Ritual apps (n = 31) are focused on recognized religious practices, such as light-
ing devotional candles and placing flowers on an altar for acts of worship. Our sample
supports Wagner’s (2013) categorical definition of ritual apps in that they provide users
with instruction, guidance, or visual props that replicate real-life religious artifacts for
use in recognized religious practices (p. 200). This category separates other religious
rituals from the more prominent practices that emerged from the data in the Prayer,
Sacred Text, and Focus/Meditation apps. While Prayer and Focus/Meditation could
arguably be considered ritual apps, the predominance of prayer-focused apps in this sam-
ple warranted a distinct category for this set of practices. Examples include Lulav Wizard
(Stuart Rubin Software, 2009) in which the mobile device creates a digital replica of the
lulav teaching users how to swing it during the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

Apps embedded with religious content

Apps embedded with religious content refer to apps providing access to a specific form
of religious information or materials, but not necessarily to facilitate religious practices
or rituals. These apps are utilitarian in that a secular form of these app categories exists
and may be easily identifiable (i.e., “religious games” or “games” apps). Many apps in
this category embed religion into secular practices, rather than recreate facilitation of
established religious practices. For example, Religious Social Media apps are those
where religious ideas, beliefs, or information are embedded into an app which enables
social media interactions or interactions with such platforms. Thus, while social media
apps can be used for religious or secular engagement, depending on the goal of the app
166 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

designer and user intention, here attention is paid to such apps with an explicit religious
orientation. Religious Utilities, Religious Wisdom and Leaders, Religious Media,
Religious Games, Religious Apps for Kids, and Religious Social Media fall into this par-
ent category.

Religious Utilities.  Religious Utilities apps (n = 106) offer information for users related to
specific religious tasks. “Utilities” evokes the language of one of iTunes’ set categories,
yet it is unique in relation to Wagner’s (2013) categories, as it refers to primarily func-
tional apps that provide information to help users perform specific religious practices,
such as remembering when to pray or finding a church or temple. Rather than providing
instruction on how to pray (like apps in the Prayer category) or how to perform rituals
(like apps in the Ritual category), Religious Utility apps merely remind users when to
perform a specific ritual. The apps are designed not for users to practice religion through
their mobile devices, but to provide support and remind users of religious practices that
take place in an offline setting. For example, the Hebrew Calendar Converter (appSTU-
DIO, 2012) helps users remember important dates and times for religious holidays and
ceremonies and My Daily Five (OBLumberjacks, 2011) helps users calculate correct
prayer times using GPS coordinates on their iPhones.

Religious Wisdom and Leaders.  Apps in the Religious Wisdom and Leaders category (n =
60) are linked to key religious leaders who offer books, lectures, and sayings to provide
insight for religious life. While this category is reminiscent of the Devotional Worship
category, it is different in that the materials provided are linked back to a specific theolo-
gian or religious leader. Religious leaders are defined as key authoritative figures, both
historical and present day, from specific religious traditions. Key religious figures can
include specific saints, swamis, and theologians. For example, Pirkei Avot: The Ethics of
the Fathers (Rolnik, 2010) utilizes the sayings of a specific Jewish rabbi that provides
ethical guidelines for religious life and An-Nawai’s Forty Hadiths (Yufid Inc., 2012)
includes lists of teachings from respected imams.

Religious Media Outlets.  Religious Media Outlet apps (n = 37) refer to media products
developed specifically by religious organizations, institutions, or other media outlets
offering religious content. Apps may include connections to websites, news sources, and
other promotional or informational sites. Religious Media Outlet apps create a mobile
platform for religious mass media, for a specific community, or for those with connec-
tions to a specific group. These apps provide links to religious mass media or mobile
versions of websites. Apps like Hope for Today, (Joel Osteen Ministries, 2013) link users
to a digital magazine of Osteen Ministries with articles, photos, and videos and www.
Torah.tv (Sermon Network LLC, 2011) links directly to Chabad.org, a Jewish website
with information and videos about the Jewish faith.

Religious Games.  Religious games apps (n = 31) educate users about traditions, history,
texts, rituals, or rules of a specific religious tradition through play. This echoes iTunes’
games category, but our definition notes such games employ religious symbols or narra-
tives in order to teach about a particular religion in an entertaining way. For example,
Campbell et al. 167

Islamic Free Quiz (OBAID Inc., 2012) uses a game show format to teach users about
basic tenets of Islam and Hebrew-Ku (ACME Digital Laboratories, 2011) based off the
popular Sudoku games, but instead uses Hebrew characters and Jewish icons.

Religious Apps for Kids.  Religious apps for kids (n = 31) refers to instructional and infor-
mational apps aimed at children. Many apps in this category are religious stories with
animations and cartoon characters. Quran Stories for Kids Free (700apps, 2013) uses
artwork and audio to tell kids stories from the Quran, and Bible Time (Bible Time, 2012)
similarly allows kids to recreate biblical scenes by clicking and dragging images.

Religious Social Media.  While Wagner (2013) identified a category with the same name,
our definition parts ways with hers. Wagner defined religious social media as only those
apps developed by specific churches or organizations for use by members (pp. 200–201).
While we maintain Religious Social Media apps (n = 16), are defined as those providing
a space where people can build connections to specific religions, share information, and
network with others. Apps in this category allow like-minded people to interact with one
another through sharing texts, prayers, and comments as well as allowing them to meet
new people and expand their religious social resources. One example, Christian Guitar
Forum (End of Time Studios LLC, 2012), helps connect Christians who play guitar for
worship or fun while also providing information about guitars, music, and worship. The
religious social media app provides users with the opportunity to interact with like-
minded believers for a shared purpose.
This new categorization of religious apps, along with the definitions and examples
provided, seeks to offer scholars a typology of some of the most common religious apps
currently found within iTunes. Together they present a more refined overview of the
design of religious-oriented apps to aid future research in this area. These categories help
in evaluating the intentions and motivations behind religious apps for those seeking to
delve deeper into analyzing their development and utilization. It is important to note that
many apps, while maintaining a focused design goal, also contain side features that allow
the user different use options. Therefore, it can be argued apps can, and usually do, fall
into more than one category. Thus this article suggests apps may fit into multiple catego-
ries, so these categories provide a range of representative descriptors highlighting domi-
nant design goals of many religious apps.

Conclusions and implications

The overall contribution of this study is that it offers a nuanced categorization of reli-
gious apps based on a systematic study of those currently available on the iTunes store.
It highlights the limitations of using iTunes’ categories as the primary way to identify and
classify religious apps, noting that categories such as Utilities and Lifestyle often do not
accurately reflect the focus of religious apps. A thematic analysis revealed religious apps
can typically be associated with one of two parent categories—those oriented around
religious practices and those embedded with religious content—showing apps are typi-
cally designed around certain religious practices or access to religious information and
beliefs. By offering this typology of religious apps with a more refined 11-category
168 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

classification, this study highlights a range of some of the most common religious-ori-
ented apps available.
It also builds on previous work seeking to describe the different types of religious
apps available to mobile users (e.g., Torma & Teusner, 2011; Wagner, 2013), but pro-
vides a classification system that is more thorough in identifying types of religious appli-
cations. Through this systematic analysis, a range of some of the most common types of
religious apps found on iTunes are identified and defined in order to provide researchers
a way to analyze the design functions and use of these apps. It is also unique in that it
represents the largest survey of religious apps analyzed to date and in that it compares
functions of apps developed for the five major world religions. It therefore sets the foun-
dation for studying how designers expect users to practice religion with digital mobile
apps, and give scholars a methodological framework for studying these dominant design
categories.
It is important to note that while these categorizations offer a useful way to organize
religious apps, they are not mutually exclusive. Even the examples provided under each
category are complex and multidimensional. Apps may fit into multiple classifications
and further study may reveal a number of noteworthy subcategories within a given cat-
egory. Also, this study was limited to only apps found on the iTunes store and English-
only apps due to the language limitations of the research team. This means that there may
be other key categories of apps not represented in this study that could be revealed
through more comprehensive and extensive study of additional apps.
However, even with these limitations and the need for more comparison and map-
ping of religious apps, we believe these new categories provide a helpful starting point
for comparing and contrasting intentions behind the production and utilization of reli-
gious apps. It provides a way to classify and rank the most common religious apps
available, such as this study’s highlighting the prominence of sacred text and prayer
apps, thus creating a potential agenda for studying certain religious practices within
mobile culture. This study also highlights the need to investigate apps developers’
intentions related to apps design and implementation in order to seek how this correlates
to the typology offered here. This suggests further potentially interesting research
inquiries into the relationship between app developers and users and their shared or
divergent motivations related to apps use. For example, while our study highlights the
primary purpose and expectations for which apps are designed, it does not investigate
or account for how users may actually use these apps, which is another important arena
for investigation. It also points to the need of studying the implications of intermediary
agencies employed in apps design and execution that may not have been part of the
religious community or tradition of the intended audience, and their impact on app
design. Such areas draw attention to the study of religious mobile applications as a rich
field of inquiry for understanding how mobile culture is shaping many aspects of con-
temporary society.

Acknowledgements
The authors wish to recognize the valuable input of Ruth Tsuria in defining and refining the app
categories presented in this article. We also would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their
constructive feedback, which greatly contributed to the development of this work.
Campbell et al. 169

Funding
This research received funding support from the Initiative for Digital Humanities, Media and
Culture at Texas A&M University.

Note
1. We recognize future research should look at the popular world religions, but it is beyond the
scope of this research effort. Although it is unclear how many apps are dedicated to religion on
iTunes, Islam and Christianity seem to dominate the landscape of apps dedicated to religion.
For example, a search done in July 2013 found that simply using the search term “Islam” pro-
vides 3,062 apps and the search term “Christian” yields 4,180. Compared to “Judaism” (215
apps), “Buddhism” (369 apps), and “Hinduism” (91 apps), this gives a sense of how many
more apps for Islam and Christianity are available.

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Author biographies
Heidi A. Campbell is Associate Professor of Communication at Texas A&M University where
she teaches and conducts research at the intersection of new media, religion, and digital culture.
She is author of Exploring Religious Community Online (Peter Lang, 2005), When Religion
Meets New Media (Routledge, 2010), and editor of Digital Religion (Routledge, 2013) and
Playing With Religion in Digital Games (Indiana University Press, 2014). She is also director of
the Network for New Media, Religion and Digital Culture Studies (http://digitalreligion.tamu.
edu).
172 Mobile Media & Communication 2(2)

Brian Altenhofen is a PhD student in Communication at Texas A&M University with a focus on
media studies. His research interests include new media, digital culture, and negotiations of author-
ity within the Catholic Church.
Wendi Bellar is a PhD student in Communication at Texas A&M University with a focus on media
studies. Her research interests include new media, religion, and mobile communication.
Kyong James Cho is a PhD student in Communication at Texas A&M University with a focus on
media studies. His research interests include media and religion with a specific emphasis on digital
religion.

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