(Free Online Lecture) Toward a Hybrid Church: Women’s Online Religious Activities during the Pandemic

We would like to invite you to attend the Professorial Chair for Religious Studies and Br. Flanan Paul FSC Professorial Chair for Rhetoric Lecture “Toward a Hybrid Church: Women’s Online Religious Activities during the Pandemic” of Prof. Dr. Agnes M. Brazal on August 13, 2022, 10:00 – 11:45 AM (Manila Time).

ABSTRACT: This paper aims to respond to the question: How has the shift of religious activities online been received by women? The study reveals no significant difference in the level of engagement in religious activities before and during the pandemic among women respondents in the NCR, Philippines. Women have played crucial roles in maintaining the religious well-being of their household, suggesting the exercise of agency and leadership. When disaggregated by age, however, a significant decrease can be noted in the Mass participation of young women (ages 18-29), a group that was also significantly less regular in their Mass attendance even before the pandemic. This implies the importance of in-person gatherings for the Masses to strengthen the faithful’s commitment. The data also predicts a significant increase in the level of engagement in 10 online religious activities post-pandemic. This indicates that the post-pandemic Church must be a hybrid Church operating both in-person and virtually in a continuum.