International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: The Port Harcourt metropolis, a bustling city in Rivers State, Nigeria, has witnessed a significant increase in church establishments in recent years. While the growth of churches reflects the city's spiritual fervour, it has also led to a growing concern of noise pollution arising from often use of outdoor speakers by churches at decibel levels, exceeding permissible limits. This has become a source of contention between churches and neighbours, who often complain of disrupted daily activities, sleep disturbances, and health issues. Churches, often unaware of the disturbance caused, feel their right to worship is being challenged. This has created a delicate situation, requiring effective public relations strategies to manage the conflicts and promote peaceful coexistence. The need for public relations intervention is critical, as the situation threatens to escalate if not addressed.
Objective: This study investigated the perceptions of residents towards noise pollution from church activities and effectiveness of existing Public Relations strategies in managing conflicts arising from noise pollution in PHALGA.
Method: Adopting descriptive survey research design, 400 respondents in PHALGA was determined as a sample size using Taro Yamane and were sampled using stratified and random sampling technique. The participants were stratified into zones which include old Port Harcourt township, Diobu, Trans-Amadi Layout and Elekahia zones while the random sampling was employed to select respondents. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, while analysis was done using a four-point likert scale. Results: Findings showed that Port Harcourt residents have lost confidence in the willingness of churches to take part in activities that would manage and reduce noise pollution and that churches do not apply Public Relations strategies to appeal to Port Harcourt residents for the inconveniences before embarking on rallies and other public activities.
Unique Contribution: The article contributes to public relations scholarship by empirically demonstrating how context-specific PR strategies can be applied to manage noise-pollution-induced conflicts between religious institutions and host communities in PHALGA, Nigeria, and thereby extending conflict-management discourse to faith-based community relations in urban African settings.
Key Recommendation: The study recommended that churches should include initiatives and programmes in their routines on how to manage noise pollution and also participate in public advocacy for noise pollution management and reduction