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The Gnostic Pandemic: Virtual Worship and the Eclipse of Community in the Time of Covid-19

Author

Listed:
  • Luigino Bruni

    (Department of Law, Economics, Politics and Modern languages, LUMSA University)

  • Tommaso Reggiani

    (Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University)

  • Paolo Santori

    (Department of Philosophy, University of Tilburg)

  • Alessandra Smerilli

    (Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences "Auxilium")

Abstract

One of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic is the adoption of lockdown policies by national governments to contain the spread of the virus. The two more visible effects on societies are social distancing and the virtualization of social practices. This paper examines some impacts of these phenomena on people’s religious preferences. We investigated how the shift from in-person to online congregation was perceived by Catholic and Protestant believers. Our results show that the Protestant world felt the lack of community more than the Catholic. Within Catholicism, people who attended more religious services before the lockdown seemed to have less notice of the difference between online and in-person worship. The tendency to virtual congregation appears to bring back Catholics to Gnosticism, meaning a religion too focused on spirituality and knowledge to the detriment of corporality and community. Significantly, priests and nuns resisted this tendency within Catholicism.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigino Bruni & Tommaso Reggiani & Paolo Santori & Alessandra Smerilli, 2022. "The Gnostic Pandemic: Virtual Worship and the Eclipse of Community in the Time of Covid-19," Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, Vita e Pensiero, Pubblicazioni dell'Universita' Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, vol. 130(1), pages 45-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:vep:journl:y:2022:v:130:i:1:p:45-64
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; Social Distancing; Virtual Worship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative

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