Canceling Christmas? The Church’s Response to Coronavirus

Some struggle online, while others see a calling to serve people in person.

America’s religiosity has long stood out from the rest of the first world. As Europe embraced post-Christianity, the United States resisted it for decades. We believed, we prayed, we attended church. Not in the numbers we used to, but we still stood out from our former brothers across the pond. This continues in the age of COVID. Although church has remained important, what we mean by “church” has changed dramatically. Fifty years ago, Protestants would spend Sunday mornings in the hard pews of their Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, or Baptist church, reading the same scriptures and singing the same hymns. The old mainline churches collapsed over the years, ultimately leading many suburbanites into non-denominational evangelical megachurches. These new parishes dispensed with ecclesial hierarchy and holy tradition, drifting instead toward “seeker-friendly” sermons and a contemporary “worship experience.” The goal wasn’t reverence but relevance. Subscribers, click here to read the full magazine. Not a subscriber? Click here to become a Patriot member today and receive access to The American Spectator in print and online! Reinventing an ancient faith every Sunday can be intoxicating, but you lose a lot in the process. Gorgeous cathedrals were replaced with warehouse-like theaters. Icons and vestments were swapped out for PowerPoints and sports apparel. Who needs candles and incense when you can have synchronized stage lights and fog machines? This worked pretty well when times were good. If the world around you is stable, every Sunday can host a new multimedia experience. But when suffering enters the picture, stability is necessary. Culture and politics can’t provide an anchor in a stormy sea. They bring only more chaos. The coronavirus hit megachurches hard. Vast assemblies, some meeting in actual sports arenas, shut down. Sermons and stripped-down music were available only via livestream. It’s tough enough to get the family up in the morning. After a week of distanc...