COVID-19 caused improvements to Americans' faith and family, according to a recent poll.
As the COVID-19 pandemic caused the world so much trouble, a lot of Americans claimed that the coronavirus outbreak helped cause improvements in their faith and family life. This news comes by way of a recent poll which reveals that there are a lot of people in the United States who were able to see light amid the darkness.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, tens of millions of Americans see the pandemic effect in a different way. These citizens claimed that the coronavirus outbreak lockdowns made them appreciate their families more, and also helped them grow in their faith, Christian Headlines reported.
The recently conducted Pew Research Center survey showed an almost similarly positive result to the survey the center conducted during the early days of the pandemic. However, the latest results showed a significant increase in the aspect of faith growth and strength of the family relationships.
Back in April, among the 10,139 US adult respondents, 24 percent claimed that their faith increased since the lockdown started. Meanwhile, the latest survey says the percentage of faith growth among US citizens increased to 28 percent, according to CH.
The figures marked an increase in almost a nine-month period in spite of the fact that during the pandemic, churches are restricted to conduct in-person gatherings. The restrictions pushed congregations to conduct religious activities on various online platforms.
Still, a majority of churches continue to gather online and are restricted from gathering in person. Yet the poll results show that the prolonged restriction on the in-person gathering of churches did not stop Americans from growing in their faith.
The number of people claiming that their faith grew stronger during the pandemic also varied based on different categories. Among them, 22 percent came from the group of high-earning individuals while 46 percent of them are from the low-income group.
Practicing believers said that the COVID-19 lockdowns created a positive impact on their spiritual well being as well. 49 percent among the claimants are white evangelicals while 35 percent or about thirds are from Catholic groups.
Aside from the spiritual growth, the COVID-19 pandemic marked an increase in the level of family relationship strength as well. Since the lockdown pushed more people to stay together in their houses as schools were shut and employers urged their workers to work from their homes, families spent more time together now more than they did in the past.
The poll results revealed that among the respondents, 41 percent claimed that they now have stronger bonds with their families because they were spared of a lot of their time on the road and at work. While 50 percent among the American respondents claimed that nothing has changed, only eight percent declared that their family bond went down.
The United Kingdom and Italy also recorded the same percentage of people claiming that the lockdown strengthened their family bond. Canada on the other hand recorded 37 percent while Spain tops the list with 42 percent of Spanish citizens saying their families' relationship benefited from the COVID-19 restrictions.
