Utilization of internet for religious purposes and psychosocial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research findings pointed towards an alleviating effect of religion on depressive symptoms and loneliness. However, it is not clear whether such a relationship persisted when worships were mostly held as online events. Consequently, this study investigates the link between religion-related internet utilization, particularly for online worships, depressive symptoms, and loneliness during the lockdown period.

Methods: Data were derived from a representative sample of German individuals aged 40 years and above, which was conducted in June and July 2020. Utilization of internet for religious purposes was treated as a dichotomous variable.

Results: Regarding bivariate analysis, individuals that used the internet for religious purposes were significantly older, and more likely to be female or to live in an urban setting. Furthermore, they had significantly more severe depressive symptoms. According to multiple linear regression, internet usage for religious purposes was both associated with more depressive symptoms, R² = .30, F(11, 3367) = 113.01, ß = 0.39, p = .050, and higher loneliness levels, R² = .09, F(11, 3367) = 25.75, ß = 2.24, p = .025.

Conclusions: It seems possible that the alleviating effect of religion on depressive symptoms and loneliness did not hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may imply that online worships are not perfect replacements for traditional worships in terms of their social and health benefits.