In the past decade religiosity has been on the decline. The pandemic has reversed that trend however and in 2020 24% of Americans reported that the crisis has strengthened their faith:
Does this increased religiosity and interest in prayer represent anything more than a grasping at straws?The pandemic is making people more religious
Established religious institutions have been in decline, but a COVID-induced spiritual awakening is likely to find new outlets.
The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 800,000 people worldwide, sickened many more, and triggered the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. But one consequence of the pandemic has received less attention. In the past few months, as the pandemic hit one country after another, religiosity has risen across the world, from the United States to Indonesia.
In April, even as congregations across the United States closed regular worship services to the public, a survey by the Pew Research Center found that 24 percent of Americans said their faith had strengthened since the onset of the crisis; only 2 percent said that it had weakened. More than half of all Americans said that they had prayed to end the coronavirus. Google searches related to prayer, meanwhile, soared as the pandemic hit. In March, according to research by the economist Jeanet Bentzen, the share of Google searches for prayer surged to the highest level ever recorded. The biggest increases in religiosity occurred in more religious societies, such as Indonesia, and were especially strong among Christians and Muslims.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/27/ ... religious/
Does it represent anything other than a desire for an all-powerful parental figure to step in and resolve this crisis created by COVID-19?
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