Australians are engaging more in spiritual conversations, praying more, and thinking about God more during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a poll.
The survey of 1,000 Australians – conducted by Mainstreet Insights, a collaboration between Reventure and McCrindle – found that 26 per cent of Australians had engaged in more spirtual conversations since the pandemic began while 28 per cent have been praying more and 33 per cent have thought more about God.
A woman wearing a face mask rides the light rail at Circular Quay on 19th August. PICTURE: Reuters/Loren Elliott/File photo.
It also found that almost half of Australians have thought about the meaning of life during the pandemic while a similar percentage – 47 per cent – said they had thought more about their own mortality.
Among Australians who are regular church goers – attending church at least monthly, the survey found 38 per cent said they were attending church more often, 45 per cent said they were reading the Bible more and 63 per cent said they were praying more.
Dr Lindsay McMillan, managing director of Reventure Limited and co-founder of Mainstreet Insights, said that while there was a perception that ‘Australians don’t do religion’, the survey results showed “the reality is quite different”.
“Not only are Australians engaging in spiritual pursuits, they are engaging even more in faith practices since COVID-19. This research backs up what I’m seeing consistently in my work: most workers are spending more time thinking about purpose and meaning, God conversations are up, as is prayer.”
The survey also showed that while 89 per cent of those polled said they were willing to reduce their personal freedoms for the sake of community health and 93 per cent said they were “actively listening and following the messages of the health experts and government officials”, two-thirds had growing questions around how the government and authorities were handling the situation.
Some 80 per cent of respondants said they had a “growing sense that we are going to be stuck in this COVID-19 challenge for at least the next two years” and 61 per cent said they were feeling personally drained by ongoing restrictions.
Despite this, 70 per cent said they were in no rush to get back to their workplace or gatherings in the way that it was before the pandemic.
While some 42 per cent of respondants said they had experienced tension in their most significant relationships during the period, 79 per cent felt that COVID-19 had clarifed the relationships they want to invest time into.
Almost three in five said they had experienced an increase in a feeling of loneliness because of the pandemic.
Data for the online survey – which involved a nationally representative sample of 502 males and 500 females – was collected between 24th and 28th July.
