Who Will Online Worship Effectively Reach in Futures Years?

Reflections on Pew Research on the Appeal of Online Religious Services

Friday, June 2, 2023 Pew Research Center released the report and analysis of its November 2022 research titled “Online Religious Services Appeal to Many Americans, but Going in Person Remains More Popular.” Here are some of my observations and implications following a review of the report, and reflections on similar patterns I have seen.

Link to full Pew report is HERE.

My presentation of selective items from the research can be further clarified by reading the actual report. In some cases, a simple statement does not fully reflect the richness of the report.

First, approximately 25 percent of US adults watch religious services online. Many of them also attend live worship services in person.

Second, two out of three online worshipers are highly satisfied with the virtual religious services they watch. A majority like the sermons and the music – with a little more preference for the sermons.

Third, one out of three online worshipers are primarily passive participants in the worship rather than active.

Fourth, of various demographic categories presented, Black Protestants are the most engaged in online worship.

Fifth, half of the people watching worship online are doing so alone.

Sixth, the motivation of 40 percent of people for watching online worship is that it is convenient.

Seventh, online worship viewers feel less connected with fellow worshippers. Many would prefer live on-site worship and the interaction it brings.

Eighth, one out of seven people watching online do so because they have an illness or disability that does not allow them to attend worship in person.

Ninth, a majority started watching worship online before the pandemic.

Tenth, one-third of Atheists and Agnostics will unfollow people on social media who post religious content.

ForthTelling Innovation Insights: It is difficult to know for sure if watching – and actively participating – in online worship is the next wave of the church engagement. When the pandemic hit it did allow tens of thousands or more congregations to share their worship services online. It created a way for many congregations to keep their congregants engaged in worship and the life and ministry of their church. Even to continue financially supporting their church.

Perhaps another component was as important as viewing worship services. It was the ability of small groups such as Sunday School classes or Bible studies to keep meeting. To continue nurturing the sense of community people felt with people they considered friends.

It is appropriate to wonder how long it will take for in-person attendance patterns to return to pre-pandemic levels – if ever. It mirrors people who now work from home. Some have found they can worship from home much more conveniently. Yet the desire for human contact may result in a return to in-person worship, but on a less frequent basis than before the pandemic for the people more casual in their faith practice.

I recently visited a mountain resort congregation about 60-90 minutes travel time from various parts of a major metropolitan area. During the pandemic families moved to this resort in larger numbers than before because the adults found they could telecommute and make only occasional trips to an office for core gatherings.

If they had a church relationship back in the city, they could stay connected with it online. They can occasionally make a pilgrimage to interact with their church family in the city.

Perhaps online worship services livestreamed by tens of thousands more churches than before the pandemic is simply a new medium. It allows more churches who were not on the radio, television, or already livestreaming to connect with their congregants.

One perspective found in the research is that people watching online were not necessarily watching their church of membership or a church in their own county or city. Whatever church appealed to them is the one they watched regardless of its location.

Often church attendance patterns change for a while when an external event motivates it. I am old enough to remember how the oil crisis and gasoline shortage of the late 1970s negatively impacted church attendance for a couple of years. Then attendance patterns returned to almost what they were before the oil crisis.

Or following the attacks of September 11, 2001 church attendance skyrocketed for a few weeks to months and then returned to pre-9/11 levels.

So, who will be watching online worship services in the future?

First, the people who have traditionally listened on the radio, watched on television, and viewed online will be watching.

Second, as our population ages and for other people who have illnesses and disabilities, online worship services will be an attraction and a point of connection for them. These target groups will experience incremental growth in viewership.

Third, people who have decided that once per month or less is enough in-person worship may watch from time-to-time just to stay connected with their faith or a specific congregation.

Fourth, those looking for worship-by-convenience will be watching.

Fifth, Agnostics, Atheists, Nones, Dones, Non-Verts, and other names given to people who are not now religiously inclined or spiritually seeking will not be watching much – if at all. Thus, online worship services are not an effective means of reaching non-Christians and unchurched people.

Finally, online worship services may become an expected part of the ministry of congregations, but it will not necessarily add value to the ministry. It may be only an expected part of the programming. If your church does not have online streaming, people new to your area may not give your church a first or second look.

It is like 20 years ago when churches did not have a website. New people to the area did not put them on their list of churches to visit. And, like websites, some churches will do online services well and some churches will do them badly. It will require continual innovation and proactive ways to engage people online and not just serve as a second-best way to participate in worship.