Opinion | Why Virtual Religious Services Aren't Enough - The New York Times

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Insufficient virtual services-but I will keep going.

About nine months ago, when our Savior Church switched to online services, our family tried to keep everything normal. We let the children wear beautiful Sunday clothes, although we will watch through the screen instead of entering the shelter. We put the chairs in the living room like long chairs. We try to follow, bow at the right time, and pass ourselves at the right moment.

Anyone who has ever participated in a religious ceremony (or any activity) with a child knows that it is a constant struggle to let them sit still, pay attention and not distract the people around them. Pew's every Sunday is a battle of wills. However, if face-to-face service is just a skirmish, then online churches are a war.

My family is a group of outliers. Only 33% of Americans participate in religious ceremonies

As for the rest of the country, about one-third of people go to church about twice a month to several times a year. The last third rarely participates (if any). But no matter which spectrum people fall on, the pandemic has changed the way we experience religion.

After the first Zoom church week, our family gave up church clothes and temporary benches. Everyone's attention fell behind.

Maybe screen fatigue. My child goes to Zoom school. As a professor, I have Zoom teaching.

, We have Zoom marriage, and now we have Zoom Church. Some must be paid.

In July, researchers from Barna, a group dedicated to faith and cultural studies, discovered

In the United States, the number of outbreaks during the pandemic has dropped significantly. I am not surprised. I also experienced a period when I couldn't stand the Zoom service. Instead, we opened the "Common Prayer Book" and worshiped as a family unit.

But this is all we can get-lest we simply shut down these services until the church can gather without restriction.

Indeed, Zoom’s religious services are fundamentally insufficient. This is not a criticism of the great creativity of clergy and non-professional leaders. In a sense, this is an indictment of the true thoughts of what we are looking for in the church, and an opportunity to readjust our views. In a sense, this is because even face-to-face services are insufficient. Everyone who believes in religion knows the first season of passion. People are excited and energized by the newly discovered beliefs; the service seems to be transcendent. But this feeling often disappears and becomes something else.

If the body and physical space are indeed the means by which we try to meet God on earth, then when worship becomes virtual, we will lose immeasurable things. During the festival, this loss becomes more serious. During this festival, the church is usually filled with candles, flowers and flowing clothes. Instead, the choir's booths and seats will be basically empty.

WEB Dubois is known for describing black churches as "missionaries, music and fanatics". As a kind of sociological analysis, this is indeed correct, but for the congregation, there is a fourth element in this mixture: to find the presence of God himself in it.

Almost nothing is more powerful than in front of a black gospel choir. The lead singer of the black choir applauds and has a moving rhythm, proving the power of God. Sometimes, the following choir and missionaries can lift the entire congregation and carry it out. They can be filled with despair and fear with the courage to demand justice.

Nowadays, we have been trying to get along with the virtual worship leader, not the choir.

During the months of pandemic worship, I gradually realized that religious services, by their nature, cannot fulfill their promises. The service tries to bring the finite number of people into the front of the people we consider to be unlimited. What hymn or sermon can capture this? We are chasing the wind. It is counterproductive, implying something on the edge of our perception, but the thing itself does not.

Humans are disappointing, especially those we expect to share our beliefs and values. We saw that other believers failed to show their deep love for each other, and praised strangers in our God Bible. We have witnessed others damaging the deepest values ​​we sacrificed to gain power. Integrity seems to be in short supply. We will participate in services where people are unfriendly, preaching is not good, and music is struggling. We did not meet the transcendent, but reached the limit of human talent.

These frustrations, no matter how big or small, make people ignore their religious beliefs in much the same way that people view the Zoom service. However, why did about one-third of Americans travel to service week after week before the pandemic? Why do some people continue to log in during this period?

We stayed because attending is not about what the church gives us. This is our way of giving something to God. This is a small rebellion, a meaning of life, not just simply gaining more. This is an attempt to become a kind of charity and service life.

Whether it is Zoom or other aspects, the shortcomings of church services remind us that in any case, it means that we will not enter the church to learn how to raise children or learn to be a good American life course. Our goal is bolder. We are trying to meet God, and therefore may find ourselves for the first time.

On a recent weekend, we gathered again at Zoom Church. My wife logs in from her military post, and I log in with my children. I work in the technical support department. Two young children hovered happily on the sofa coloring. When I followed the service, some things surprised me. I looked up from the computer and saw my daughter standing in the middle of the living room. Her gentle, beautiful voice echoed throughout the space. She is singing. I found myself welcoming something that did not fit the description.