Coronavirus restrictions have been a “catalyst” for some Orthodox women to embrace their religion, a study has shown.
The British Ritual Innovation under Covid-19 project examined how social distancing and the introduction of virtual rituals was affecting spiritual life for Christians, Jews and others.
Researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Chester conducted surveys and talked to hundreds of members of the public and religious leaders.
They found that after synagogues closed during the first lockdown, female-only prayer groups were established online to celebrate Rosh Chodesh, where the women would sing Hallel.
Prior to social distancing, there had been limited participation in online groups. But now hundreds were taking part.
One regular attendee quoted in the study said: “It’s an act of compassion because it brings in women who were excluded for all sorts of reasons.”
She had stopped going to shul as it had “lost all meaning” for her.
But she had found the online sessions reinvigorating.
On the whole, however, congregants surveyed said they had found digital worship to be less spiritual and meaningful.
Josh Edelman, the project’s principal investigator, told the JC that lockdown had presented a unique challenge for religious institutions.
They faced the “twin problems of the real need for religious life during the pandemic and at the same time a real difficulty accessing religious life.
“Just as the need was going up, the ability to access it was going down.”
He added that his wife, a Liberal rabbi, found her North London congregation “a little less geographic nowadays”.
With greater availability of online religious activities, “there are definitely folks that are joining synagogues that are geographically far from them”, Mr Edelman said.
“This is a moment that could define what religious life looks like in this country for a generation.”
