Women’s Church Attendance within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In-person religious gatherings have been linked to the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Public health guidance restricting gatherings has met resistance, compromising by limiting behaviors and capping attendance in worship services; virtual worship services have been offered in many congregations as an alternative. This qualitative study provides insight into the decision-making process of women members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as they chose to attend in-person church services during the COVID-19 pandemic when virtual church services were offered. Twelve women living within the Bothell Washington Stake, a geographic unit of the LDS church in western Washington, USA, were interviewed one-on-one remotely between May and July 2021. Data were analyzed through deductive and inductive coding using the social cognitive theory as a guiding framework. Six themes emerged around the decision to attend and/or discontinue in-person services: 1) women went to church to receive the Sacrament, renew their covenants; 2) women felt the presence of the Holy Spirit stronger with the congregation in-person than in isolation at home; 3) Women returned to church to counter the loss of purpose and community they experienced during COVID-19; 4) women attended in-person to reaffirm their commitment to God, to support their family, and serve the congregation; 5) women attended when their risk-benefit assessment favored in-person services; and 6) discontinued when it did not. The author recommends the following actions be taken by public health officials to increase compliance with public health recommendations: encourage home worship during infectious disease outbreaks, partner with LDS leadership to develop guidance on safely preserving the essential components of worship services and ordinance of the Sacrament, and consider harm reduction strategies for women to meet and worship together over prolonged outbreaks of communicable disease. Future research should examine the changing patterns of in-person worship over time, particularly when restrictions are relaxed and tightened again.