More than half of adults in the US say they have prayed for an end to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, according to a new survey.
Pew Research Center, who surveyed 11,537 US adults, said that a large number of Americans who pray daily (86%) and US Christians (73%) have taken to prayer during the outbreak.
The findings even show that some of those who say they seldom or never pray, and people who say they do not belong to any religion, have done so (15% and 24% respectively).
Among US adults, who said they attend religious services at least once or twice a month, most (59%) now say they have scaled back their attendance because of the virus.
“This does not mean [religious people] have disengaged from collective worship entirely,” said Pew.
“A similar share (57%) reports having watched religious services online or on TV instead of attending in person.
“Together, four-in-10 regular worshippers appear to have replaced in-person attendance with virtual worship (saying that they have been attending less often but watching online instead).”
The survey found that nearly nine-in-10 adults say their life has changed at least a little as a result of the outbreak, including 44% who say their life has changed in a major way.
Four-in-10 working-age adults aged 18 to 64 report having worked from home because of coronavirus concerns.
Regarding American religious attitudes in the time of the pandemic, two-thirds of Catholics (68%) and mainline Protestants (65%) say they have prayed for an end to the outbreak.
Even adults who say they follow “no religion in particular” have admitted to resorting to prayer, with 36% saying they have prayed about the virus.
“More women than men say they have prayed for an end to the spread of the disease, and more black respondents than white and Hispanic respondents say the same,” Pew said.
“Older people are more likely than younger adults to say they have prayed for an end to the virus, and more Republicans than Democrats have prayed about the outbreak.
“These patterns are consistent with overall differences in the religiousness of these groups.”
