Religious Canadians praying for return to in-person worship, but won’t forsake online services in future

Easter may be a time of rebirth and renewal, but the new surge of COVID-19 infections across the country means 2021 will not bring a much-awaited resurrection of pre-pandemic in-person prayer, gathering, and Communion.

As many Canadians of faith mark a second year of Holy Week at home, a new public opinion survey from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, in partnership with Cardus, finds this demographic reflecting on what they have gained and lost after more than 12 months of separation from their congregations.

The study, which canvassed the views of 1,059 Canadian adults who attended religious services at least once per month pre-pandemic, finds more personal prayer (32 per cent), but less connection to a sense of religious community (50 per cent). Many long for a return to in-person worship (49 per cent), but among those who’ve had an opportunity to do so under pandemic restrictions, a plurality (42 per cent) describe the experience as less satisfying. The pandemic has also had equal parts positive and negative impacts on their own spirituality.

As with almost every aspect of pandemic life, online services have been a lifeline for those craving contact with their churches, temples, and synagogues. The vast majority (77 per cent) of Canadians who regularly attended religious services pre-pandemic say they’ve streamed or “attended” a religious service online, most of them on a regular basis, and most praising it in absence of no other alternative. Indeed, more than three times as many say they would maintain the availability of online services rather than discontinue them post pandemic (56 per cent versus 17 per cent respectively).

More Key Findings:

- Asked how the gathering restrictions on places of worship in their province compare with those imposed on other public venues, two-in-five (39 per cent) Canadians who normally attend religious services say they have been unfairly harsh. BC hosts the highest proportion of those who hold this view (50 per cent).

- Holy Communion is one such practice that has been severely limited under the pandemic. - More than half (55 per cent) of Roman Catholics miss it greatly, while just love per cent do not miss it at all.

- One-in-four (26 per cent) Canadians who normally attend religious services say their financial contribution to religious organizations has declined over the past year.

The full poll can be viewed at www.angusreid.org/ covid-religion-easter-2021/