At the height of the pandemic in 2020, the Pew Research Center conducted a national survey measuring churchgoing practices. By that time, in the summer of 2020, about one-third of all American adults had watched church services online. This included 18 percent who’d never attended online services before the pandemic and 15 percent who’d begun attending virtual church services earlier.
Interestingly, 91 percent of these individuals were satisfied with the virtual religious experience. However, only five percent of the churchgoing public said they planned to choose online services over in-person services once the pandemic was over.
For the most part, it seems American churchgoers were pleased about having the opportunity to witness religious services online at a time when public gatherings were being discouraged.
But their ultimate desire is to return to the pews. They see going to church as a social activity, where they can spend quality time with friends, neighbors, and family members enjoying a spiritually uplifting atmosphere.
The Arrival of a New Normal
While many churches are opening again, things aren’t back to where they were just yet. The return to normal will be a gradual process, as peoples’ comfort level rises and their desire to participate in in-person services grows. Eventually, everyone will be back in their familiar spots in their favorite churches, attending in-person services as often as they can.
But the virtual church service is clearly here to stay. It will remain a primary choice for a few, and an attractive occasional alternative for many others.
Inevitably, many people are going to come to appreciate the flexibility that online services can provide, more than they realize right now. They will want to use them, even if they’re able and willing to come back to their church once it is fully open again.
Now that virtual church services have been introduced, occasionally even the most dedicated in-person worshipper is likely to choose the online option on days when the weather is bad, or when they’re not feeling well, or when their usual ride to the church is not available.
In the short-term, people experienced the move to online services as a disruption. They generally liked what they saw and experienced during virtual services. But it was still a disappointing and frustrating situation, because people’s freedom of choice had been taken away.
In the future, that will no longer be the case. Virtual services will fill a valuable niche and be appreciated by everyone for what they provide.
(Re)Imagining the Church of the Future
For someone who specializes in church architecture, It has been difficult for me to see churches I designed stay empty and silent for a such long period. People are being denied the opportunity to gather in lovingly crafted houses of worship that were custom-built to provide them with satisfying and memorable spiritual experiences.
Nevertheless, online church services were an identifiable trend, long before the pandemic broke out. This was an inevitable development, given the overall direction of society.
The pandemic kept people away against their will, that is true. But it also sped up the process of evolution considerably. No matter how anyone feels there will be no turning back, not completely.
Ultimately, this will be a good thing, given the flexibility people will soon be enjoying. Once things return to normal, worshippers will be able to attend church online when life situations require it, but still be able to come and experience live, in-person services in the company of friends, neighbors, and family whenever they’d like.
In the new environment, where flexibility will be prized, the adjustments church leaders and architects must make will be essentially the same.
Each side must prepare to meet the needs of a mixed congregation (online and in-person). Churches will always be social spaces, first and foremost. But they’ll have a secondary function as staging environments that allow content producers to put on a good show for the folks sitting in at home. And the people who do come to attend in-person will want to feel safe and secure, meaning they won’t want to be crowded into overly cramped rooms or seating areas with poor ventilation.
There are many considerations that church architects and church leaders must take into account, as they plan new construction and renovation projects. Churches everywhere are likely to be fully open for in-person worship services very soon. But the expanded audience will still include a significant number of online attendees. In fact, overall total attendance may rise, as a more flexible approach brings new members to the congregation and makes it easier for past members to be there (in one way or another) every week.
Moving forward, church architects will try to create master plans that account for all possibilities, while still staying within limited budgets. It will take a lot of skill and creativity to make it work. But just like always, the most innovative professionals will rise to the challenge, developing ingenious solutions that satisfy church leaders and congregation members alike.
The result will be new churches that fill people with joy whenever they step inside, but still, leave them feeling inspired and uplifted when they can only attend services from a distance.