Abstract
Spirituality has ascendant value during times of adversity. Religious activities have beenfound to increase spirituality, and therefore might be considered a coping resource for the individual. The present research aims to explore participants' experience in an online Catholic prayer group in northern Italy that was held throughout the period of COVID-19 social restrictions. The group comprised 16 Catholic individuals aged 34 to 85, who were interviewed in writing following a protocol of four open-ended questions. The results reported four main thematic areas: (1) the benefits of the spiritual journey while coping with the pandemic; (2) the potential of the online setting; (3) the challenges of the online setting; and (4) the bond with God and how it evolved during the pandemic. The findings confirm the valuable contribution of the on-line group religious activity to the participants' wellbeing, particularly during the time of social distancing.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 201-215 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Pastoral Psychology |
| Volume | 71 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic
- On-line group
- Prayer group
- Spiritual support
- Spirituality
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Religious studies
- Applied Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science
