Before the COVID-19 crisis began, many faith communities were already turning to online worship in various forms. Indeed, online religion has been a focus of academic study for many years. Nevertheless, surveys of pastors in the United States demonstrated that for many religious leaders March 2020 was the first time they led services online. Heidi Campbell of Texas A&M University specializes in religion and digital culture. Her research of online services categorizes three main approaches: transferring, translating, and transforming. 

Transferring aims to replicate traditional services online, translating allows for some adaptation to elements of the service to make them appropriate for digital platforms, but transforming uses the digital platform to build new and relevant forms of worship and community. Campbell gives the examples of a pastor in the United States hosting “fireside chats” online to respond to questions emailed and texted to him during the day, and a minister in England incorporating artwork and photos from congregants into the service on Palm Sunday. Campbell’s new edited book, The Distanced Church: Reflections on Doing Church Online, includes many reflections on online worship from religious leaders and scholars worldwide.

(Based on: May 4, 2020, Contending Modernities article)