41% of churchgoers unhappy with online worship service

Four in 10 church members are dissatisfied with online worship services, according to an online survey of 2,555 members at the Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, Friday.

Many churches here have been offering services online to allow their members to attend from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Some churches that organized onsite services were found to be a breeding ground for the coronavirus and resulted in a number of infection clusters.

The survey found that 41 percent of the respondents were dissatisfied with staying home and listening to a sermon via digital devices, saying it was harder to maintain focus during the service. Some members also said the online worship lacked feeling, while others complained about not being able to interact with other church members.

About 24.2 percent expressed satisfaction with having religious worship at home, with many saying online services made them realize the importance of worshiping at church. Others said they liked online services because people could attend wherever they were.

But only 11 percent thought churches should continue to offer regular online worship. About 74 percent said they believed churches should offer online sermons while onsite gatherings are impossible.

Asked about difficulties churches will likely face after the pandemic, 40 percent said fewer people would go to church amid a growing trend of avoiding crowded places.

The respondents also said churches would struggle to deal with a weakening sense of community among followers and that offerings would fall.