Religious coping and the use of religious apps during COVID-19 pandemic

In response to a recently published correspondence of the authors’ review on the role of religiosity in vaccine hesitancy¹ manifested the threat that pandemic still looms across much of the world.

To prevent the further spread of the disease, strategies include suspension of mass gatherings and implementing physical distancing measures,² and in the absence of mass vaccination especially in developing countries due to short vaccine supplies, governments have moved to restrict most forms of public life, including religious activities.

With these restrictions, among others, stress, depression and anxiety are among the rise, hitting vulnerable populations.³ Confronted with the uncertainty about the future and the present danger of the pandemic, people have used various ways to get by, including practicing religion through religious coping.⁴

Religious coping is defined as emotional, behavioral or cognitive stress responses with a religious framework. This includes perceived closeness to God, connecting with others, personal restraint, attaining the meaning of life, and achieving inner peace.⁵ An example of a religious coping behavior is through prayer.⁶ A strong consensus from various studies showed that religious and spiritual practices can help people cope their stresses of life. As believed to positively contribute to the realm of mental health, the cooperation between psychiatry and religion ‘is essential for psychiatric practice to be effective.’⁷

The various governments’ proposal on involuntary social isolation measures caused many people to spend more time with their electronic devices reaching to increase as large as more than 80%.⁸ So, it comes as no surprise that downloads of top religious apps have also increased, by more than 300% from March to August of 2020, as compared to 2019.⁹ Although the top apps are about Bible content, there has been increasing activity to create more powerful apps. The Tithe.ly app provides churches with custom layout and branding, help post interactive religious content, and integrate media content, allowing community members a better digital experience.¹⁰ Hallow, a Catholic prayer app, enables users to personalize their prayer experience, connect with a prayer group, build a prayer habit and even reflect on their prayers through an in-app journal.¹¹ Abide, a mobile app founded by former Google employees, provides prayer content and meditation with the Bible through different digital channels.¹² Interestingly, investors are beginning to support funds for these apps. Venture funding for American faith-based apps hit a record of more than $18 million last 2019.¹³

All these developments point to a growing trend of religious groups realizing that it is not just about transplanting religious ministries into a virtual space; it is also reaching out to new and existing members about their relationship with their faith, helping them connect with other like-minded people, and providing a source of care in the context of a digital venue. Strong public health is not just about the efficiency of our hospitals and the resiliency of our health workers; it is also the capacity of our faith leaders to guide us in our spiritual journeys amidst one of the seminal events of the 21st century.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest in this paper.