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The coronavirus lockdown has sparked a surge in online religious worship.\n\u200b
\nBefore the pandemic, 44% of faith communities in Ireland did not provide online worship; that has now fallen to 13%.<\/p>\n
The coronavirus lockdown has sparked a surge in online religious worship.
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\nBefore the pandemic, 44% of faith communities in Ireland did not provide online worship; that has now fallen to 13%.<\/p>\n
The situation has also seen denominations reach out, with 74% from the largest \u2013 Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist \u2013 providing social services to the wider community, according to research.<\/p>\n
The findings come from a study carried out by academics at Queen\u2019s University Belfast.<\/p>\n
Dr Gladys Ganiel, from the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, questioned people of faith about coping with the pandemic.<\/p>\n
She said many faith leaders revealed \u201csurprising\u201d numbers of people tuning in for online services, including some who they believe would not have entered a church building.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving faith online has created new opportunities for religious practice. In some cases, lay volunteers have assisted faith leaders in moving faith online,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is an opportunity to increase and enhance lay involvement in many aspects of ministry and should be encouraged.<\/p>\n
\u201cReligious practice will continue to feature a mixture of online and in-person elements. Faith communities should invest in training and resources for faith leaders and laity to develop blended online\/offline ministries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The research also found that 70% said they would retain aspects of online ministries after lockdown, 46% of faith leaders said their ministry had been more stressful than usual, and 82% who are cocooning for age or underlying health conditions have continued their ministry.<\/p>\n
The survey was distributed to more than 2,000 faith leaders across Ireland via direct email, with 439 responses received between May 6 and 22.<\/p>\n
Of the respondents, 35% were Catholic, 18% Church of Ireland, 14% Presbyterian, 9% Methodist, 23% other Christian and 1% other religion.<\/p>\n
\u2013 The full report, entitled People Still Need Us, is available here: https:\/\/www.irishchurches.org\/covidsurvey<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>