Propelled by the pandemic, virtual worship services have become common practice for many religious congregations seeking to maintain worship experiences when in-person attendance is inconvenient or impossible. Though some people have returned to in-person services as pandemic-related restrictions have eased, virtual worship has risen globally, and virtual religious services are here to stay. While the benefits of in-person worship have been studied extensively, little research has been done to understand the impact of virtual worship on well-being and flourishing.
In a project funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation ($499,489), Co-Principal Investigators Patty Van Cappellen and Ward Davis will investigate the impact of virtual worship participation on flourishing. This project, titled “Worship 2.0: Testing the Benefits and Challenges of Virtual Worship Participation for Flourishing,” seeks to address the following questions:
- What are the benefits of virtual worship for flourishing, and how do they compare to those of in-person worship?
- Are the mechanisms through which in-person worship impacts flourishing still activated in virtual worship? To what extent?
- What factors optimize the impact of virtual worship on flourishing?
Across four studies, the research team will partner with Protestant evangelical churches that have existing virtual worship ministries to examine the impact virtual services have on the flourishing of their congregants. In this partnership, researchers will intentionally collaborate with pastors, leveraging their wisdom to bolster the project’s findings for both scientific and ministerial applications. By employing qualitative, quantitative, and experimental research methods alongside practical wisdom from faith practitioners, this project has the ability to yield findings that can promote both psychological research and the flourishing of faith communities.
