By Bryan Dryden, Canadian Catholic News
[Ottawa – CCN] – Canadians of faith are turning towards God to help them get through the uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic is causing across the country, where houses of worship have been shut down to adhere to public health regulations.
“With the COVID-19 outbreak threatening the health and financial wellbeing of residents from coast to coast, it is perhaps unsurprising that many Canadians have turned to a higher power a little more often than they normally would,” according to a new survey released just before Easter by the Angus Reid Institute.
“In times of crisis, frustration and trial, many Canadians turn to faith for comfort or support,” the survey, which was done in conjunction with the religious think tank Cardus, said.
The survey indicated that 22 per cent of Canadians are turning to prayer more often than they normally would for spiritual and emotional sustenance during these trying times.
Faith resources during COVID-19: LINK
Online live-streaming of Mass and other devotions in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon: SaskatoonMass.com
According to the survey, “among Canadians who pray (59% of the population overall), more than one-in-five say they are turning to prayer more since the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the country” and “for those more steeped in faith – prayer has been an important source of relief and comfort in dealing with feelings of isolation, depression and uncertainty.”
“Whether they’re praying more, or the same amount, those who have a deep religious faith are near unanimous in saying that this discipline has helped them overcome COVID-19 driven fear and anxiety,” the Angus Reid survey released on April 10 said.
That is true for both deeply religious Canadians who are intimately connected to their places of worship, whether that be a church, synagogue or mosque, and are classified in the survey as “religiously committed” and those who are classified as the “privately faithful”, who say that faith plays an important role in their lives but do not necessarily attend religious services and instead practice their faith in a private manner.
The survey also found that almost 20 percent of Canadians say that they or members of their families have been helped by their religious communities during these unprecedented times when all Canadians are being asked not to get together physically with people who do not live in their own household as a means of stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus that has killed more than 120,000 people around the globe.
The fact that Canadians of faith are turning to their faith for spiritual and emotional support and have also benefited from direct support from their religious communities during the world-wide COVID-19 pandemic is not surprising to the executive vice-president of Cardus.
“I’m not surprised that almost one out of five Canadians report being assisted by the hands of faith groups in their communities over the last four weeks,” said Cardus’ Ray Pennings.
“Throughout history, faith groups have been among the first to mobilize to assist in a time of crisis,” he said. “During a pandemic, there are numerous opportunities to fulfill their mandate for love of neighbour.”
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