Main Article Content
Abstract
Background: Pandemics disorganize society, and COVID-19 was no exception. COVID-19 significantly impacted the religious practices and lifestyles of millions of believers worldwide. Following COVID-19 guidelines from the World Health Organization, social gatherings, including church attendance, were discouraged, affecting members’ spiritual well-being and church life. This study aimed to determine how COVID-19 impacted Christian wellness from the perspective of church members.
Methods: This study used a descriptive survey design to collect data on how COVID-19 affected the Christian wellness of Seventh-day Adventists in Kajiado County through a questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the extent of these changes and identify the key factors contributing to wellness outcomes.
Results: The findings indicated that spirituality, stewardship, and fellowship practices declined significantly during virtual worship compared to face-to-face worship.
Conclusion: These results provide insights that may enhance support mechanisms toward mitigating the unique challenges religious communities face during global health crises.
Keywords
Article Details
Copyright (c) 2024 Janet Nyaboke Odhiambo
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
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- Campbell, H. (2020). The distanced church: Reflections on doing church online. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/187891
- Coppola, I., Rania, N., Parisi, R., & Lagomarsino, F. (2021). Spiritual Well-Being and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 626944. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626944
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- Del Castillo, F. (2023). Pakikipagkapwa-tao as a mode of inter-religious dialogue in the contemporary Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 79(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8015
- Dowson, R. (2020). A discussion of the practical and theological impacts of COVID-19 on religious worship, events and pilgrimage, from a Christian perspective. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 8(7), 33-51. https://doi.org/10.21427/ytdq-3s12
- Eagle, D. E., Johnston, E., Headley, J., & Holleman, A. (2022). The Financial Impacts of COVID-19 on United Methodist Churches in North Carolina: a Qualitative Study of Pastors' Perspectives and Strategies. Review of Religious Research, 64(2), 399–420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00474-x
- Fragiel, M., Miró, Ò., Llorens, P., Jiménez, S., Piñera, P., Burillo, G., Martin, A., Martin-Sanchez, F., Garcia-Lamberechts, E., Jacob, J., Alquezar-Arbe, A., Juarez, R., Jimenez, B., Del Rio, R., Roca, M., Garcia, A. H., Laguna, L., Diez, M., Garcia J. P., …& SIESTA (Spanish Investigators in Emergency Situations Team) network. (2021). Incidence, clinical, risk factors and outcomes of Guillain‐Barré in Covid‐19. Annals of Neurology, 89(3), 598-603. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.25987
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- Hendricksen, J. A. (2021). Preaching in a Pandemic: Online worship during the lockdown. Is the medium the message? https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-2rgt-kc96
- Hooker, S.A., Masters, K.S., Ross, K.M., Ross, K.M., Jackson, K.H., & Peters, J.C. (2020). Multiple dimensions of wellness: Development and psychometric properties of the Anschutz wellness evaluation 360 (AWE 360). Journal of Well-Being Assessment,4, 95–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41543-020-00028-y
- Itzhaki, Y., & Cnaan, R. A. (2019). Determinants of sense of community in congregations. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(5), 1210–1224. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22181
- Johnston, E. F., Eagle, D. E., Headley, J., & Holleman, A. (2022). Pastoral Ministry in Unsettled Times: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Clergy During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Review of religious research, 64(2), 375–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00465-y
- Kola, L., Kohrt, B. A., Hanlon, C., Naslund, J. A., Sikander, S., Balaji, M., Benjet, C., Cheung, E. Y. L., Eaton, J., Gonsalves, P., Hailemariam, M., Luitel, N. P., Machado, D. B., Misganaw, E., Omigbodun, O., Roberts, T., Salisbury, T. T., Shidhaye, R., Sunkel, C., Ugo, V., … Patel, V. (2021). COVID-19 mental health impact and responses in low-income and middle-income countries: reimagining global mental health. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 8(6), 535–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00025-0
- Kun, Á., Balogh, P., & Krasz, K. G. (2017). Development of the work-related well-being questionnaire based on Seligman’s PERMA model. Periodica Polytechnica Social and Management Sciences, 25(1), 56-63. https://doi.org/10.3311/PPso.9326
- Li, H., & Cao, Y. (2022). Rules We Live by: How Religious Beliefs Relate to Compliance with Precautionary Measures Against COVID-19 in Tibetan Buddhists. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(2), 1671–1683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01512-w
- McBride, D. C., Bailey, K. G. D., Landless, P. N., Baltazar, A. M., Trim, D. J. B., & Stele, G. (2021). Health Beliefs, Behavior, Spiritual Growth, and Salvation in a Global Population of Seventh-day Adventists. Review of Religious Research, 63(4), 535-557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00451-4
- Mukhtar, S. (2020). Psychological health during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic outbreak. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(5), 512-516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020925835
- Musyafaah, N. L., Wafirah, A., & Ramadhan, S. D. (2021, April). Moderation of Fatwa: Worship During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Maqasid Shariah Perspective. In International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Social Science (ICONETOS 2020 (pp. 73-79). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210421.012
- Nardi, P. M. (2018). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315172231
- Osei-Tutu, A., Affram, A. A., Mensah-Sarbah, C., Dzokoto, V. A., & Adams, G. (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 and Religious Restrictions on the Well-Being of Ghanaian Christians: The Perspectives of Religious Leaders. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(4), 2232–2249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01285-8
- Papazoglou, A. S., Moysidis, D. V., Tsagkaris, C., Dorosh, M., Karagiannidis, E., & Mazin, R. (2021). Spiritual Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Orthodox Christianity Devotion Practices, Rituals, and Religious Pilgrimages. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(5), 3217–3229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01347-x
- Parisi, R., Lagomarsino, F., Coppola, I., & Rania, N. (2020). Care tasks and new routines for Italian families during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives from women. Italian Sociological Review, 10, 847-868. https://doi.org/10.13136/isr.v10i3S.401
- Parisi, S., Borrelli, R., Bianchi, S., & Fusaro, E. (2020). Viral arthritis and COVID-19. The Lancet. Rheumatology, 2(11), e655–e657. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(20)30348-9
- Pillay, J. (2020). COVID-19 Shows the need to make church more flexible. Transformation, 37(4), 266-275. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265378820963156
- Roberto, K. J., Johnson, A. F., & Rauhaus, B. M. (2020). Stigmatization and prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(3), 364-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2020.1782128
- Rwafa-Ponela, T., Price, J., Nyatela, A., Nqakala, S., Mosam, A., Erzse, A., Lalla-Edward, S., Hove, J., Kahn, K., Tollman, S., Hofman, K., & Goldstein, S. (2022). “We Were Afraid”: mental Health Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in two south African Districts. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9217. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159217
- Saha, S., & Dutta, D. T. (2020). A study on the psychological crisis during the lockdown caused due to COVID-19 pandemic. Afr J Biol Sci, 3(2), 41-49. https://abjournals.org
- Singaram, K. (2021). E-Church as a virtual service communities during COVID-19 pandemics. Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia, 6(1), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v6i1.509
- Sueca, I. N., Sumertha, I. W., & Winaja, I. W. (2021). A Time-Lag Study on Perceived Threat of COVID-19 in Hindu Religious Community. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 8(3), 217-243. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/855
- Vanhamel, J., Meudec, M., Van Landeghem, E., Ronse, M., Gryseels, C., Reyniers, T., Rotsaert, A., Ddungu, C., Manirankunda, L., Katsuva, D., Grietens, K.P., & Nöstlinger, C. (2021). Understanding how communities respond to COVID-19: experiences from the Orthodox Jewish communities of Antwerp city. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01417-2
- Wu, Z., & McGoogan, J. M. (2020). Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: Summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA, 323(13), 1239–1242. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648
References
Bloomfield, J., & Fisher, M. J. (2019). Quantitative research design. Journal of the Australasian Rehabilitation Nurses Association, 22(2), 27-30. https://doi.org/10.33235/jarna.22.2.27-30
Bryson, J. R., Andres, L., & Davies, A. (2020). COVID‐19, virtual church services and a new temporary geography of home. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie, 111(3), 360-372. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12436
Campbell, H. (2020). The distanced church: Reflections on doing church online. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/187891
Coppola, I., Rania, N., Parisi, R., & Lagomarsino, F. (2021). Spiritual Well-Being and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 626944. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626944
Dein, S., Loewenthal, K., Lewis, C. A., & Pargament, K. I. (2020). COVID-19, mental health and religion: An agenda for future research. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 23(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2020.1768725
Del Castillo, F. (2023). Pakikipagkapwa-tao as a mode of inter-religious dialogue in the contemporary Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 79(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8015
Dowson, R. (2020). A discussion of the practical and theological impacts of COVID-19 on religious worship, events and pilgrimage, from a Christian perspective. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage, 8(7), 33-51. https://doi.org/10.21427/ytdq-3s12
Eagle, D. E., Johnston, E., Headley, J., & Holleman, A. (2022). The Financial Impacts of COVID-19 on United Methodist Churches in North Carolina: a Qualitative Study of Pastors' Perspectives and Strategies. Review of Religious Research, 64(2), 399–420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00474-x
Fragiel, M., Miró, Ò., Llorens, P., Jiménez, S., Piñera, P., Burillo, G., Martin, A., Martin-Sanchez, F., Garcia-Lamberechts, E., Jacob, J., Alquezar-Arbe, A., Juarez, R., Jimenez, B., Del Rio, R., Roca, M., Garcia, A. H., Laguna, L., Diez, M., Garcia J. P., …& SIESTA (Spanish Investigators in Emergency Situations Team) network. (2021). Incidence, clinical, risk factors and outcomes of Guillain‐Barré in Covid‐19. Annals of Neurology, 89(3), 598-603. https://doi.org/10.1002/ana.25987
Gupta, S., Simon, K. I., & Wing, C. (2020). Mandated and voluntary social distancing during the COVID-19 epidemic: A review. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 269–315. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26996643
Hendricksen, J. A. (2021). Preaching in a Pandemic: Online worship during the lockdown. Is the medium the message? https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-2rgt-kc96
Hooker, S.A., Masters, K.S., Ross, K.M., Ross, K.M., Jackson, K.H., & Peters, J.C. (2020). Multiple dimensions of wellness: Development and psychometric properties of the Anschutz wellness evaluation 360 (AWE 360). Journal of Well-Being Assessment,4, 95–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41543-020-00028-y
Itzhaki, Y., & Cnaan, R. A. (2019). Determinants of sense of community in congregations. Journal of Community Psychology, 47(5), 1210–1224. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22181
Johnston, E. F., Eagle, D. E., Headley, J., & Holleman, A. (2022). Pastoral Ministry in Unsettled Times: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Clergy During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Review of religious research, 64(2), 375–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00465-y
Kola, L., Kohrt, B. A., Hanlon, C., Naslund, J. A., Sikander, S., Balaji, M., Benjet, C., Cheung, E. Y. L., Eaton, J., Gonsalves, P., Hailemariam, M., Luitel, N. P., Machado, D. B., Misganaw, E., Omigbodun, O., Roberts, T., Salisbury, T. T., Shidhaye, R., Sunkel, C., Ugo, V., … Patel, V. (2021). COVID-19 mental health impact and responses in low-income and middle-income countries: reimagining global mental health. The Lancet. Psychiatry, 8(6), 535–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(21)00025-0
Kun, Á., Balogh, P., & Krasz, K. G. (2017). Development of the work-related well-being questionnaire based on Seligman’s PERMA model. Periodica Polytechnica Social and Management Sciences, 25(1), 56-63. https://doi.org/10.3311/PPso.9326
Li, H., & Cao, Y. (2022). Rules We Live by: How Religious Beliefs Relate to Compliance with Precautionary Measures Against COVID-19 in Tibetan Buddhists. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(2), 1671–1683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-022-01512-w
McBride, D. C., Bailey, K. G. D., Landless, P. N., Baltazar, A. M., Trim, D. J. B., & Stele, G. (2021). Health Beliefs, Behavior, Spiritual Growth, and Salvation in a Global Population of Seventh-day Adventists. Review of Religious Research, 63(4), 535-557. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13644-021-00451-4
Mukhtar, S. (2020). Psychological health during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic outbreak. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(5), 512-516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020925835
Musyafaah, N. L., Wafirah, A., & Ramadhan, S. D. (2021, April). Moderation of Fatwa: Worship During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Maqasid Shariah Perspective. In International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Social Science (ICONETOS 2020 (pp. 73-79). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210421.012
Nardi, P. M. (2018). Doing survey research: A guide to quantitative methods. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315172231
Osei-Tutu, A., Affram, A. A., Mensah-Sarbah, C., Dzokoto, V. A., & Adams, G. (2021). The Impact of COVID-19 and Religious Restrictions on the Well-Being of Ghanaian Christians: The Perspectives of Religious Leaders. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(4), 2232–2249. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01285-8
Papazoglou, A. S., Moysidis, D. V., Tsagkaris, C., Dorosh, M., Karagiannidis, E., & Mazin, R. (2021). Spiritual Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Orthodox Christianity Devotion Practices, Rituals, and Religious Pilgrimages. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(5), 3217–3229. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01347-x
Parisi, R., Lagomarsino, F., Coppola, I., & Rania, N. (2020). Care tasks and new routines for Italian families during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives from women. Italian Sociological Review, 10, 847-868. https://doi.org/10.13136/isr.v10i3S.401
Parisi, S., Borrelli, R., Bianchi, S., & Fusaro, E. (2020). Viral arthritis and COVID-19. The Lancet. Rheumatology, 2(11), e655–e657. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2665-9913(20)30348-9
Pillay, J. (2020). COVID-19 Shows the need to make church more flexible. Transformation, 37(4), 266-275. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265378820963156
Roberto, K. J., Johnson, A. F., & Rauhaus, B. M. (2020). Stigmatization and prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Administrative Theory & Praxis, 42(3), 364-378. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2020.1782128
Rwafa-Ponela, T., Price, J., Nyatela, A., Nqakala, S., Mosam, A., Erzse, A., Lalla-Edward, S., Hove, J., Kahn, K., Tollman, S., Hofman, K., & Goldstein, S. (2022). “We Were Afraid”: mental Health Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in two south African Districts. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9217. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159217
Saha, S., & Dutta, D. T. (2020). A study on the psychological crisis during the lockdown caused due to COVID-19 pandemic. Afr J Biol Sci, 3(2), 41-49. https://abjournals.org
Singaram, K. (2021). E-Church as a virtual service communities during COVID-19 pandemics. Jurnal Komunikasi Ikatan Sarjana Komunikasi Indonesia, 6(1), 96-106. https://doi.org/10.25008/jkiski.v6i1.509
Sueca, I. N., Sumertha, I. W., & Winaja, I. W. (2021). A Time-Lag Study on Perceived Threat of COVID-19 in Hindu Religious Community. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 8(3), 217-243. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejecs/855
Vanhamel, J., Meudec, M., Van Landeghem, E., Ronse, M., Gryseels, C., Reyniers, T., Rotsaert, A., Ddungu, C., Manirankunda, L., Katsuva, D., Grietens, K.P., & Nöstlinger, C. (2021). Understanding how communities respond to COVID-19: experiences from the Orthodox Jewish communities of Antwerp city. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01417-2
Wu, Z., & McGoogan, J. M. (2020). Characteristics of and important lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: Summary of a report of 72 314 cases from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. JAMA, 323(13), 1239–1242. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648