@article{Adebayo_Evbuoma_2021, title={Religious Abuse Messaging and Effects on Married Couples in Lagos State, Nigeria}, volume={8}, url={https://journals.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/index.php/cjoc/article/view/2646}, abstractNote={The general public is progressively using messaging apps to create awareness as platforms for freedom of expression. Abuses in domestic settings are on the rise. This study aimed to examine the effects of Whatsapp religious abuse messages on knowledge and behavioral practices of married men and women in Lagos State, one of Nigeria’s 36 states. The study took a quantitative approach, using the trueexperimental design to assign respondents to the experimental and control groups randomly. Some 50 married men and 50 married women formed this research sample size and were selected purposively. A self-structured questionnaire was used to gather data from the respondents. Key findings revealed that women had more knowledge and understood religious abuse at the pre-intervention stage than men. They also engaged in less behavioral practices of religious abuse than men. Men’s and women’s knowledge and comprehension levels significantly increased at the post-intervention phase. In contrast, women engaged in behavioral practices of religious abuse than men. Therefore, one recommendation is that the media and government establish programs and laws on religious abuse in marriage. This move will create awareness, let people know when they are abused, and push for its eradication.}, number={1}, journal={Covenant Journal of Communication}, author={Adebayo, Oluwaferanmi and Evbuoma, Kikelomo}, year={2021}, month={Jul.} }