Religion and Spirituality on Social Media in the Aftermath of the Global Pandemic

TL;DR

This study examines how religious communities transitioned online during the COVID-19 pandemic by analyzing Twitter data and survey responses over three months, revealing shifts in perceptions and activities related to digital religion.

Contribution

It provides a dual-method analysis of religious activity online during the pandemic, combining social media data with survey insights to understand temporal changes and implications.

Findings

Increased online religious engagement during the pandemic

Temporal variations in online religious activities

Insights from triangulating social media and survey data

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Church closed its physical doors for the first time in about 800 years, which is, arguably, a cataclysmic event. Other religions have found themselves in a similar situation, and they were practically forced to move online, which is an unprecedented occasion. In this paper, we analyse this sudden change in religious activities twofold: we create and deliver a questionnaire, as well as analyse Twitter data, to understand people's perceptions and activities related to religious activities online. Importantly, we also analyse the temporal variations in this process by analysing a period of 3 months: July-September 2020. Additionally to the separate analysis of the two data sources, we also discuss the implications from triangulating the results.