Disembodied Congregations: Covid-19 and the Rising Phenomenon of Internet Churches among Pentecostal Churches in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

One could argue that smartphones and computers are an intrinsic part of our daily lives. However, the sudden boom of online fellowships is a recent event in the history of Nigerian Pentecostalism. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Nigerian government issued several bans on large gatherings and public religious worship. For example, many Pentecostal churches suspended physical meetings and at first only posted sermons online before turning to Zoom to hold services and, much later, small-group meetings through online applications to serve as the “synagogues”. Therefore, many Pentecostal churches in Nigeria were confronted with new problems of organising, ministering and catering for the spiritual needs of their members. This article addresses these challenges by drawing data from a combination of community observation and interviews with mostly Pentecostal church members. To understand the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on religious gathering in Lagos State, 15 semi-structured interviews were carried out through voice-note messages due to lockdown and physical distancing rules.