Australian Catholics’ Lived Experiences of COVID-19 Church Closures

Abstract

In 2020, Australian Catholic churches closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but there has been little qualitative data published on the lived experience of churchgoing Catholics in this period. Data from 175 Australian churchgoing Catholic survey participants who left responses describing their COVID-19 worship experiences as part of a larger project revealed five major themes: ‘Church and State’, ‘Blessings in disguise’, ‘Polarisation’, ‘Future proofing’, and ‘Loss’. Respondents expressed a diverse range of views about the church leadership, lockdowns, conspiracy theories, the merits and deficits of online worship, and their own thriving or suffering during church closures.