News

The Curious Case of Coronavirus Contagion in Church

Pandemic impact was not as predictable as expected, sociological study finds.

Illustration by Mallory Rentsch / Source Images: Pearl / Lightstock

People who went to church during the height of the COVID-19 lockdowns were generally more likely to catch COVID-19. This is fairly straightforward. Yet look a little closer, and the facts get a bit more perplexing.

The “association between attending in-person worship during lockdown and later testing positive for COVID-19 was limited primarily to those who were not previously frequent worship attendees,” according to a study published in the American Sociological Association journal Socius.

Sociologists Samuel Perry and Joshua Grubbs looked at a survey of 1,200 people during COVID-19 lockdowns in the spring and summer of 2020. They found that people who attended weekly church before the pandemic and continued attending, sometimes against health department recommendations, did not notably increase their risk of catching the coronavirus. But those who seldom attended before COVID-19 and started going weekly during the lockdowns did increase their chances. About 17 percent caught the coronavirus between the spring and summer of 2020.

The rates were even higher for those who had never attended before and started going weekly: 28 percent. The reasons are not clear. Perry and Grubbs say it doesn’t seem to be connected to age, race, or safety practices such as mask wearing. The only statistical difference was newly increased church attendance.

Also in this issue

Our cover story this month argues that Christians have a unique opportunity, in our difficult housing market, to model for the watching world better kinds of community—not only inside our homes, but also out in the towns and cities where we live. Also in this issue: Dallas Willard's worries, enforcing abortion bans, and Afghanistan refugees a year after the pullout.

Cover Story

There Are Many Mansions in Heaven, but We’d Like Something Sooner

Reply All

The Grain of Truth Grows Slowly

Revelation Is Good News for Today, not a Game Plan for the Future

Echoes of Greatness

Testimony

Police Work Nearly Broke Me

If God Is Your Father, You Have Seven Mothers

Stopping Abuse Is Sexual Ethics 101

News

Something Old, Something New. Something Borrowed, Something Pew.

News

Christian Nonprofit Buys Luxury Yacht

New & Noteworthy Books

Our September Issue: Modeling Home

Excerpt

Those God Sends, He First Humbles

How Americans Got Away with Abortion Before ‘Roe v. Wade’

Why Shamelessness Is a Superpower

News

Back to Bolsonaro? Evangelicals Hesitate Ahead of October Election

Americans Forgot How Long Refugee Resettlement Takes

News

Four Out of Five Victims Don’t Report Sexual Assault. Can Christian Colleges Do Better?

Dallas Willard’s 3 Fears About the Spiritual Formation Movement

Playing the Cultural Long Game

Review

The Unsung Heroes of the Underground Railroad

Review

There Is No One Fully Optimized, Not Even One

View issue

Our Latest

News

Charlie Kirk Aims to Expand Turning Point USA to Evangelical Campuses

But not all Christian campuses have embraced the conservative group.

News

Sarah Jakes Roberts Evolves T. D. Jakes’s Women’s Conference

At a record-setting event this fall, 40,000 followers listened to her preach about spiritual breakthrough and surrender.

Being Human

Walking the Camino de Santiago with Barrett Harkins

The missionary to pilgrims shares wisdom from the trail.

News

The Evangelical Voters Who Changed Their Minds

Amid a hyperpartisan electorate, a minority plan to vote differently than they did in 2016 and 2020.

News

Meet the Evangelical Expats Staying in Lebanon

Shout to the Lord in a Foreign Language

Worshiping God with words we don’t understand may seem strange. But I consider it a spiritual practice.

Jesus Is Still Right About Persecution

Nine truths believers need to understand to pray well for the suffering body of Christ.

The Bulletin

Electioneering

The Bulletin discusses the final presidential campaign push, churches in the age of screens, and the UN’s work in Gaza.

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube