Lockdown worship in the Church of England: predicting affect responses to leading or accessing online and in-church services

ABSTRACT

This study draws on data provided to the Covid-19 & Church-21 Survey by 2,017 Anglicans (clergy and laity) living in England to explore the experiences of those leading and those accessing online (pre-recorded and live-streamed) and in-church services within the Church of England between January and July 2021. The data demonstrated that for both those leading services and those accessing services, online worship was less rewarding than in-church worship, even as expressed within the context of Covid restrictions. Moreover, pre-recorded online services were less rewarding than live-streamed services both for those leading and for those accessing services. Among leaders, the return to in-church services was most rewarding for older leaders, lay ministers, Anglo-Catholics, those working in rural churches, extraverts and the emotionally stable.