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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.
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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
- 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
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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