Churchgoers say faith has prospered as services go online during crisis

Churchgoers say faith has prospered as services go online during crisis

More than 80% of people associated with a religious tradition said their place of worship had been broadcasting services on the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University.

Forty-two percent of those who said they have participated in online religious services said their faith had grown stronger, as opposed to 30.9% of those who have not been watching an online service at all. In addition, only a small portion of those who responded to the survey reported their faith had been weakened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey also found little evidence of substantial demographic disparities with regards to access to streaming services. According to the survey, those 65 or older were equally likely to have access to online services as the youngest respondents.

However, African-Americans as a group were slightly less likely than white or Hispanic respondents to have access to church online, more highly educated respondents were 6% more likely to have access to such services and evangelical churches were 10% more likely than Catholic churches to offer online services. (Religion News Service)