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Open Access 06-05-2024 | COVID-19 | ORIGINAL PAPER

Urban Churches Show an Increase in Attendance, Donations, and Finances During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA: Evidence from the United Methodist Church

Authors: Anum G. Niazi, Nayab Ahmed, Shandana Kifayat, Shanlina Kifayat, Mohammad Asad Niazi, Muhammad Salar Khan

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on religion and its practice. This paper aims to examine how the pandemic affects religious activities, donations, and finances over time and across regions within the United Methodist Church (UMC) in the USA. To address this question, we analyze survey data collected during the pandemic from 2963 churches in the USA by United Methodist Communications. Our analysis utilizes several quantitative techniques, including Z-tests, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multinomial logistic regressions. The results indicate a decrease in church attendance over time, with a more pronounced effect observed in non-urban areas (suburban, small town, and rural). Similarly, while church donations and finances mitigate over time across churches, churches in urban areas experience a quicker rebound compared to those in non-urban areas. Lastly, we find that church attendance and donations positively affect finances. These findings hold important implications for churches in various regions, offering insights to develop strategies for navigating the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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PEW Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/08/24/why-americas-nones-left-religion-behind/.

Washington Times. https://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2012/dec/23/84-percent-world-population-has-faith-third-are-ch/.

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The country witnessed a sharp increase in pandemic cases and suffered life loss and an economic downturn. According to Worldometers, the USA reported over 107.38 million cases and 1.16 million deaths as of July 15, 2023. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/countries-where-coronavirus-has-spread/.

We acknowledge that the data were provided by the UMCom. We are very thankful to Charles C. Niedringhaus, Sr. Director Marketing Research and Evaluation at UMCom, for tremendous support in providing the data used for analysis in this paper.

UMCom https://www.resourceumc.org/en/agencies/communications.

The surveys do not elicit response from individual worshippers. This does not pose serious issues for the analysis because our focus is not on individual worship, we rather examine in-person and online church attendance.

The details about church attendance based on the locality are reported in “Appendix A”.

A post hoc Tukey’s test indicates that the differences between urban and suburban areas are not significant at 10% (t-stat = 1.75, p-value = 0.30).

The post hoc Tukey’s test shows that the differences between urban and rural are significant at 1% (t-stat = 3.60, p-value = 0.00) while those between urban and small town are significant at 5% (t-stat = 2.59, p-value = 0.05).

A post hoc Tukey’s test indicates that the differences between rural and suburban areas are significant at 1% (t-stat = 3.31, p-value = 0.00).

According to the PEWS Research Center, the digital gap is more pronounced in urban and rural areas in the USA, with rural households being 12% less likely to have broadband connections compared to the national average. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/31/digital-gap-between-rural-and-nonrural-america-persists/.

In wave 2, 419 churches from a total of 972 report they applied for the assistance through CARES Act. However, we do not have information whether application for assistance was approved or not.

A total of 1,001 respondents answered the question about the funding provided by the CARES Act. Out of 1,001 respondents, 436 reported acquiring support through the CARES Act.

Wave 1 did not elicit information about the CARES Act because the data collection for wave 1 started before the act was finalized. For further details about the CARE Act, please visit the official government website at: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/cares.

This question is not in wave 3.

According to the PEW Research Center, only about one-in-ten adults affiliated with the UMC are under the age of 30. The median age of UMC adults is 57. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/11/which-u-s-religious-groups-are-oldest-and-youngest/.

According to the PEW Research Center, the membership of the UMC is predominantly white, with more than 90% identifying as white. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/27/the-most-and-least-racially-diverse-u-s-religious-groups/#:~:text=Members%20of%20the%20Evangelical%20Lutheran,all%20more%20than%2090%25%20white.

Read this article which says that the UMC voted to maintain its conventional take against same-sex marriage: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2019/february/united-methodist-lgbt-vote-conference-plan.html.

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Title: Urban Churches Show an Increase in Attendance, Donations, and Finances During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA: Evidence from the United Methodist Church
Authors: Anum G. Niazi
Nayab Ahmed
Shandana Kifayat
Shanlina Kifayat
Mohammad Asad Niazi
Muhammad Salar Khan
Publication date: 06-05-2024
Publisher: Springer US
Keyword: COVID-19
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-024-02046-z

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Urban Churches Show an Increase in Attendance, Donations, and Finances During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the USA: Evidence from the United Methodist Church

Abstract

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