Streamable Services: Affinities for Streaming in Pre-Pandemic Congregational Worship

Abstract

Following the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many congregational leaders had to scramble to set up streaming or recording systems in order to continue their worship services without putting congregants at risk, but some congregations had already set up such systems in the years leading up to the pandemic. Previous research has found that these capabilities were not evenly distributed throughout the population of congregations, but this work has primarily focused on how technological divides are the result of a lack of economic resources. However, economic resources were not the only factor associated with whether congregations had streaming options or not. Using Wave 4 of the National Congregations Study (NCS) conducted in 2018–2019, I find that, prior to the pandemic, Catholic congregations and Protestant congregations with more enthusiastic worship services were more likely to have streaming or recording systems even after controlling for economic resources, technological knowledge, and other organizational features. The elective affinities between certain worship practices and online streaming meant that some congregations were in a better position to meet the unexpected challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. These findings highlight the important role congregations’ cultural beliefs and practices can play in shaping their activities.