Gathering religiously in pandemic times

In last year’s Pew Research Center survey on religion in America, we learned that the COVID-19 pandemic actually bolstered one’s religious faith. Nearly 30% of those surveyed reported a strengthening of their faith because of the pandemic. This number was almost double that of most other developed countries.

In the early days of the pandemic my congregation saw an uptick in our Friday night sabbath observance numbers, even though we had gone entirely virtual.

It was clear that people wanted to feel connection even if they were not able to stand shoulder to shoulder with one another.

This is not all that unusual as people tend to become more religious, or at least show up to their houses of worship with more regularity following a shared calamity.

For example, my congregation’s Friday evening service immediately after the 2018 Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh was packed to High Holy Day numbers.

Traumatic events, whether caused by humans or nature, clearly propel congregants of various faiths to seek out the comfort and wisdom their respective religious traditions provide.

In other words, in times of crises, people show up.

Now that we have settled in a bit more to the current state of living amidst a pandemic, it seems as though religious service attendance has begun to decline past pre-COVID-19 numbers. Even after opening to in-person services, following a hybrid model, attendance at my synagogue is lower that I can ever remember. Most weeks, far more congregants show up virtually than at the synagogue itself. And many people who once attended with regularity, before and during the beginning of the pandemic, are nowhere to be found. This is not unique to my congregation but is a trend in many faith institutions across the country.

What is going on here? Are people not wanting to gather in person or have we become too accustomed to staying home? More distressing is to think that people are not finding religion to be a necessary component in their lives.

In a recent Atlantic article, “My Church Doesn’t Know What to Do Anymore,” Elizabeth Felicetti, rector of an Episcopal church in Virginia, writes:

“After a year of trying to assure people that we were still the church even when we weren’t in the same room, I don’t know how to convince them now of the importance of gathering in person... In 2020, no one could come to church. Now some of my parishioners are choosing not to.”

I very much hope that this dip in religious service attendance is just a current side effect of the pandemic, which has been disruptive to nearly all facets of life since March 2020. Perhaps my fellow clergy colleagues are not being patient enough. In time, our sanctuaries and holy spaces will slowly fill back up. Despite all the changes we have made to adapt to this new world, our congregants are not ready. Whatever the reason, we want them to know we miss them and religious communal life is not the same without them.

Samuels is the spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Israel in Bellingham.