Consuming Faith: Reimagining Congregational Communities in a Digital World

By Colleen Hill I Hartford Institute for Religion Research

Five years after COVID-19 lockdowns began, digital religious connections established during the pandemic have endured longer than anticipated. 

The Hartford Institute for Religion Research found that in 2023, congregations primarily used social media, video platforms, and conferencing software for virtual worship. Few used audio-only options like radio or podcasts, and fewer still utilized television. 

Brian Clark of Hartford, Connecticut represents this digital shift. Despite living 1,100 miles from Woodland Hills Church in Maplewood, Minnesota, Clark remains fully engaged with its services. He and his wife Amy listen through headphones while doing dishes or watch together on their computer. 

The Digital Worship Space

EPIC data suggests that 75% of congregations as of 2023 have established an online worship space, with 80% planning to continue indefinitely.

Brett McCracken, author of “Scrolling Ourselves to Death: Reclaiming Life in a Digital Age” argues that technology use has increased the consumeristic culture of worship.

“The people who have been raised in this technological environment, it’s so second nature now to just look at everything in the world through this hyper consumeristic ‘convenience first’ mode where we start to look at things like church in the same way that we look at an app on our phone or scrolling through social media,” McCracken said.  

His book, releasing April 15, explores this digital revolution, and its transformation of both our society and our cognitive processes.  

According to McCracken, social media and smartphones have fostered a culture of constant distraction, social isolation, and deteriorating mental health. For Christians, these technological shifts present significant challenges to spiritual development.

The term “Church Shopping” gained prominence in the 20th century, particularly in the context of the American church growth movement. McCracken believes digital technology has accelerated this consumer approach.

“I would say, really the last half century has been in Western American context, that kind of consumeristic approach to looking at church as something I want to get something out of right. Like, I go to church for this reason for me, and it’s a choice I make, and it’s my prerogative to go or not go, and I’m going to choose a church based on what fits me,” says Brett “That mentality has been pretty much standard operating procedure, for many decades, but I do feel like it’s gotten exacerbated by technology.”  

Cindy Lippert, a retired unity minister in New Mexico says that she doesn’t need to be in a physical church to experience her spirituality. Lippert attends church completely online with Sunshine Cathedral, a Metropolitan Community Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  

“The reason I think this church is so successful, even through COVID and all of it and other churches are dying and falling apart, is they are not ministering to the needs of the people,” she said.  

Sunshine Cathedral provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals and those with religious trauma. The congregation has become a 24/7 community space, hosting drag shows, comedy shows, and other events beyond sermons.

EPIC data shows that in 2015, 30% of congregational leaders believed internet technologies were helpful but not essential for a congregation’s vitality.

During the pandemic, The Clarks gradually transitioned to Woodland Hills Church. For approximately six months, they participated in online services from multiple churches. By 2021, they had fully integrated with Woodland Hills.

“We did come back, we did visit and such, but there was a way in which by the time it was really safe to come back we were already firmly on the sort of Woodland track,” Brian Clark said.  

For Clark, the transition was challenging. Having held a leadership role with Hartford City Church, the loss of community was difficult.

“I think a big piece of what was lost for me was singing. I had been in the worship team in our church plant, and singing with that worship team was definitely the high point of that whole community experience,” he said.

The Clarks have integrated into small groups that meet virtually each Tuesday.  

“If we didn’t have those (Tuesday night) groups, and you’d ask me, do you go to church? I would say no. I listen to a podcast sometimes, but I don’t go to church”, Clark said.  

McCracken argues that online worship should no longer be the priority.

“Live stream church was a fix for a problem, which was (that) we could not be together physically,” he said. “It’s not ideal to be watching your church as a consumer on your couch like you’re watching Netflix”.  

The 2023 EPIC data suggests that “high-tech” congregations report being more vital and optimistic than their “low-tech” counterparts, even accounting for congregation size.

Despite concerns about commercialization, McCracken sees hope in younger generations.  

“I talked to like 20-somethings, and they’re like, ‘we don’t want the church to be like TikTok. We get enough of that on our in our lives. We want to come to church and feel something different,” he said “It’s encouraging to me that I’m hearing that from younger voices because that feels like evidence that there is a tide turning”.