Rethinking the Validity of Online Church During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period

Manotar Tampubolon

doi:10.36256/ijrs.v5i1.281

Rethinking the Validity of Online Church During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period

Manotar Tampubolon

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the scope of the world, and various stakeholders have used technological advancements around the world. Fear of death and health emergencies have brought people closer to religion. However, social and other limitations have made it hard for people to keep their religious duties. This study examines the use of technology and the online church for Christian services during the COVID-19 lockdown period, which is not in accordance with the concept of congregation. The author discusses the validity of the use of technology and online church by Christians and how it impacts traditional worship services from biblical and theological perspectives. Research Findings show the high attendance after the change from traditional worship services to the use of technology and online church. The data used in this study is secondary data that was found through desk research and reliable sources. The research findings indicate big effects on all parts of society and religion, which should not be a surprise. The epidemic has changed religious practices from traditional to online church and contradicts biblical injunctions. Most religions, including Christian ones, put a lot of emphasis on the importance of community. It has been found that online churches have become popular in the proposed areas, and the technology provides a better opportunity for Christians in Nigeria, the Balkans, and Indonesia to carry out their religious obligations by following lockdown restrictions

Keywords

Online Church; Worship; Covid-19; Restriction

Full Text:

PDF

References

Addo, G. (2021). Join the Holy Spirit on Zoom African Pentecostal churches and their liturgical practices during COVID-19. Approaching Religion, 11(2), 45-61.

Adedibu, B. (2022). Black Mental Health Challenges and Responses by Britain's Black Majority Churches. In Racialized Health, COVID-19, and Religious Responses (pp. 185-191). Routledge.

Afolaranmi, A.O., (2020). Effects of covid-19-pandemic lockdown of churches in Nigeria on pastoral ministry: Matters arising. EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR), 6(6), pp.164-171.

Agundez Marquez, R. (2020). And let's not stop congregating... Adjustments to the practice of congregating of three evangelical Christian churches during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexicali, México. Culturales, 8.

BBC.com. 2022, [online], [Accessed 20 October 2022]

Brewer, L.C., Asiedu, G.B., Jones, C., Richard, M., Erickson, J., Weis, J., Abbenyi, A., Brockman, T.A., Sia, I.G., Wieland, M.L. & White, R.O., (2020). Emergency preparedness and risk communication among African American churches: leveraging a community-based participatory research partnership COVID-19 initiative. Preventing chronic disease, 17, p. E158.

Bruce, M. A. (2020). COVID-19 and African American religious institutions. Ethnicity & disease, 30(3), 425.

Campbell, H. A., & Osteen, S. (2021). When Pastors put on the “Tech Hat”: How Churches Digitised during Covid-19.

Capponi, G., & Carneiro Araújo, P. (2020). Occupying new spaces: the “digital turn” of Afro-Brazilian religions during the COVID-19 outbreak. International Journal of Latin American Religions, 4(2), 250-258.

Chiluba, B. C., & Shula, H. (2020). Zambia: Editorial Comment-COVID-19-Epidemiological Thought on Why Politics and Religion Are Compromising the Fight. Journal of Preventive and Rehabilitative Medicine, 2(1), 1-4.

Chiluwa, I. (2012). Online Religion in Nigeria: The Internet Church and Cyber Miracles. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 47(6), 734–749. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909611430935

Chukwuma, O. G. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on religious practices of churches in Nigeria. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 77(4).

Churches, T., & Jorm, L. (2020). Flexible, freely available stochastic individual contact model for exploring COVID-19 intervention and control strategies: Development and simulation. JMIR public health and surveillance, 6(3), e18965.

Church-Hill, A. N. (2021). ICT: A Coping Strategy by Nigerian Churches amidst Covid-19 Pandemic. Research Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 7(1).

Corpuz, J. C. G., & Sarmiento, P. J. D. (2021). Going back to basics: experiencing Domus ecclesiae (house church) in the celebration of the liturgy during COVID-19. Practical Theology, 14(1-2), 110-122.

Dada, D., Djiometio, J. N., McFadden, S. M., Demeke, J., Vlahov, D., Wilton, L., ... & Nelson, L. E. (2022). Strategies that promote equity in COVID-19 vaccine uptake for Black communities: A review. Journal of urban health, 1-13.

DeSouza, F., Parker, C. B., Spearman-McCarthy, E. V., Duncan, G. N., & Black, R. M. M. (2021). Coping with racism: a perspective of COVID-19 church closures on the mental health of African Americans. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 8(1), 7-11.

Djalante, R., Lassa, J., Setiamarga, D., Sudjatma, A., Indrawan, M., Haryanto, B., ... & Warsilah, H. (2020). Review and analysis of current responses to COVID-19 in Indonesia: Period of January to March 2020. Progress in disaster science, 6, 100091.

Dowson, R. (2020). A discussion of the practical and theological impacts of COVID-19 on religious worship, events and pilgrimage, from a Christian perspective. The international journal of religious tourism and pilgrimage, 8(7), 33-51.

Elia, A. J. (2020). Ecologies of Space in the Paradoxes of Technology and Community: Adaptability and Resilience in Libraries, Churches, and Theological Schools in a COVID-19 World. Atla Summary of Proceedings, 19-31.

Ezechimere, R. R. I. S. E., Jacob, O. N., & Deborah, J. (2021). The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Local Churches in Nigeria. CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND CULTURE, 2(3), 36-43.

Francis, L. J., & Village, A. (2021). Shielding, but not shielded: Comparing the experience of the Covid-19 lockdown for Anglican churchgoers aged seventy and over with those under the age of sixty. Rural Theology, 19(1), 31-40.

Francis, L. J., & Village, A. (2022). The pandemic and the feminisation of the Church? How male and female churchgoers experienced the Church of England’s response to Covid-19. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 43(2), 207-216.

Francis, L. J., Village, A., & Anne Lawson, S. (2021). Increasingly fragile? Assessing the cumulative impact of the pandemic on rural Anglican churches. Rural Theology, 19(2), 72-78.

Francis, L.J., Village, A. & Lawson, S.A., (2021). Impact of Covid-19 on fragile churches: Listening to the voices of lay people. Rural Theology, 19(1), pp.41-47.

Ganiel, G. (2020). Identity on the island of Ireland after Brexit and Covid-19: can the churches help shape a new landscape? Queen’s University Belfast, 16.

Ganiel, G. (2021). Online opportunities in secularising societies? Clergy and the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland. Religions, 12(6), 437.

Hanly, M. J., Churches, T., Fitzgerald, O., Post, J. J., MacIntyre, C. R., & Jorm, L. (2022). The impact of re‐opening the international border on COVID‐19 hospitalisations in Australia: a modelling study. Medical Journal of Australia, 216(1), 39-42.

Heland-Kurzak, K., & Holmes, S. (2021). Investigating the impact of covid-19 socialisation restrictions on children’s spiritual well-being: case studies from Poland and the UK. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 26(4), 177-198.

Holmes, S. E. (2021). An exploration of online Christian faith nurture for children, using UK churches as a case study. International Journal of Christianity & Education, 25(2), 169-183.

Kim, E. S., & Chung, J. B. (2021). Korean mothers’ morality in the wake of COVID-19 contact-tracing surveillance. Social Science & Medicine, 270, 113673.

Kim, S. W., & Suh, E. S. (2021). Educational ministries in Korean churches amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Christian Education in Korea, 65, 103-131.

Kipkoros, W. C. (2021). The future of Children and Teenage Ministries in Kenyan Churches: Fear of an Emergence of a Generations without a solid Christian Foundation after COVID-19 Pandemic. Kabarak Journal of Research & Innovation, 11(1), 85-92.

Lacsa, J. E. M. (2022). COVID-19 vaccination program: The Catholic Church’s all-time support to the government when it is for the common good. Journal of Public Health, 44(2), e320-e321.

Latif, H. F., Pangkey, J. M. T., Handayani, D., & Sarumaha, N., (2022). Digitalisasi sebagai Fasilitas dan Tantangan Modernisasi Pelayanan Penggembalaan di Era Pasca-Pandemi: Refleksi Teologi Kisah Para Rasul 20:28. Kharismata: Jurnal Teologi Pantekosta, 4(2), 296-311.

Lee, S., & Oh, S. (2021). Religion and Public Conflict in the Post-COVID Era: The Case of Protestant Churches in South Korea. Religions, 12(10), 851.

Mahiya, I.T. & Murisi, R., (2022). ‘Reconfiguration and adaptation of a church in times of Covid-19 pandemic: A focus on selected churches in Harare and Marondera, Zimbabwe. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 9(1), p.2024338.

Masoga, M. A. (2020). Effectiveness of WhatsApp homiletics in the era of COVID-19 in South Africa. Pharos Journal of Theology, 101, 1-16.

McKenna, U. (2021). Assessing the Church of England’s leadership response to the Covid-19 pandemic: Listening to the voice of rural lay people. Journal of Anglican Studies, 1-19.

Molli, S. D. (2022). Immigrant Women’s Protagonism: Exercising Leadership Roles in Ethnic Churches at the Time of the Pandemic in Italy. Religions, 13(8), 696.

Niche, G. C. (2022). Is it yet uhuru? How religious institutions disconnect with the governments in the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 40(2), 286-303.

OECD. (n.d). The COVID-19 Crisis in the Western Balkan, Economic Impact, Policy Responses and Short-term Sustainable Solutions. (Online). < https://www.oecd.org/south-east-europe/COVID-19-Crisis-Response-Western-Balkans.pdf> [Accessed 7 January 2023]

OJILE, B. A. (2020). Society for Research and Academic Excellence University of Nigeria, Nsukka Virtual Conference. In International Conference, Held the (Vol. 28, No. 30).

Papazoglou, A.S., Moysidis, D.V., Tsagkaris, C., Dorosh, M., Karagiannidis, E. and Mazin, R., 2021. Spiritual health and the COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on orthodox Christianity devotion practices, rituals, and religious pilgrimages. Journal of religion and health, 60(5), pp.3217-3229.

Parish, H. (2020). The absence of presence and the presence of absence: Social distancing, sacraments, and the virtual religious community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Religions, 11(6), 276.

Parker, M., & Spennemann, D. H. (2020). Anthropause on audio: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on church bell ringing and associated soundscapes in New South Wales (Australia). The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 148(5), 3102-3106.

Pillay, J. (2020). COVID-19 shows the need to make church more flexible. Transformation, 37(4), 266-275.

Pluss, J. D. (2020). COVID-19, the Church, and the Challenge to Ecumenism. Transformation, 37(4), 286-296.

Rep, W. (2021). Tackling vaccine hesitancy—in churches and on Twitter. Nature, 590, 377. reuters.com. 2022, [online], [Accessed 20 October 2022]

Santos, N. J., & Chai, D. H. (2022). The Vatican’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic: The COVID-19 Commission and preparing the future. In Community, Economy and COVID-19 (pp. 603-610). Springer, Cham.

Saptorini, S., Harmadi, M., Lumbantobing, T. S. P., Suryaningsih, E. W., & Christimoty, D. N. (2022, July). Virtual Pastoral Care for Missionaries of Union of Indonesian Baptist Churches in The Digital Era. In International Conference on Theology, Humanities, and Christian Education (ICONTHCE 2021) (pp. 221-225). Atlantis Press.

Serrao, R. & Chaves, J. (2020). Immigrant evangelicalism in the COVID-19 crisis: Reactions and responses from Brazilian Evangelical Churches in Florida. International Journal of Latin American Religions, 4(2), pp.235-249.

Solahudin, D., & Fakhruroji, M. (2019). Internet and Islamic learning practices in Indonesia: Social media, religious populism, and religious authority. Religions, 11(1), 19.

Storslee, M. (2022). The COVID-19 Church-Closure Cases and the Free Exercise of Religion. Journal of Law and Religion, 37(1), 72-95.

Sulkowski, L., & Ignatowski, G. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on organisation of religious behaviour in different Christian denominations in Poland. Religions, 11(5), 254.

Tadese, K., Jenkins, S., Aycock, D., Jones, C., Hayes, S.N., Burke, L.E., Cooper, L.A., Patten, C.A. & Brewer, L.C., (2022). Factors Facilitating Academic–Community Research Partnerships with African American Churches: Recruitment Process for a Community-Based, Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Health Promotion Practice, p.15248399221118394.

Tan, M. M., Musa, A. F., & Su, T. T. (2022). The role of religion in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic: The Malaysian multi-faith perspectives. Health Promotion International, 37(1), daab041.

Thinane, J. S. (2021). Missio hominum as the compassionate response to socio-economic and vaccine challenges during COVID-19 in South Africa. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 77(3).

Thinane, J.S., (2022). Religious perspectives on Vaccination: Mandatory Covid-19 vaccine for SA Churches. Pharos Journal of Theology, 103(10.46222).

Thompkins Jr, F., Goldblum, P., Lai, T., Hansell, T., Barclay, A., & Brown, L. M. (2020). A culturally specific mental health and spirituality approach for African Americans facing the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(5), 455.

van der Merwe, J. M. (2020). Poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic: A challenge to the church. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 76(1).

Village, A. & Francis, L.J., (2021). Churches and faith: Attitude towards church buildings during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown among churchgoers in England. Ecclesial Practices, 8(2), pp.216-232.

WHO.int. 2022, [online], [Accessed 20 October 2022]

Widjaja, F. I., Abraham, R. A., Simanjuntak, F., Boiliu, N. I., & Harefa, O. (2021). Fruit in the unfruitful season: A case study of the Indonesian Bethel Church's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Verbum et Ecclesia, 42(1), 1-8.

Wildman, W. J., Bulbulia, J., Sosis, R., & Schjoedt, U. (2020). Religion and the COVID-19 pandemic. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2), 115-117.

Wild-Wood, E., Grant, L., Adedibu, B., Barnard, A., Ojore, A. & Way, Y., (2021). The public role of churches in early responses to Covid-19 in Africa: Snapshots from Nigeria, Congo, Kenya and South Africa. Studies in World Christianity, 27(1), pp.65-84.

Williams, M.J., Wagoner, Z., Rodman-Alvarez, S., Pasillas, V. and Sanchez, A., 2021. Prioritising health: Churches response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of prevention & intervention in the community, pp.1-17.

Wobodo, J. J. (2020). The Church perspective of disease control in Africa: A Case of Covid-19 global pandemic. Tropical journal arts & humanities, 2(1), 25-36.

Wobodo, J. J. (2020a). The church utility of ICTs in Nigeria amid covid-19 global pandemic. Sapientia global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Development Studies, 3(3).

Yezli, S., & Khan, A. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic: it is time to temporarily close places of worship and to suspend religious gatherings. Journal of travel medicine, 28(2), taaa065. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa065

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36256/ijrs.v5i1.281