From Pews to Pixels: A Pandemic’s Digital Paradox of Modest Corporate Church Engagement in a Predominantly Online Postmodern UK Society

Abstract

This thesis investigates how local churches in the UK navigated the shift into digital spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic, examining community life, ritual practices and leadership approaches within a media-driven society. Set against a backdrop of declining church attendance, growing secularism and widespread digital adoption, the research employs a practical theological methodology using Richard Osmer’s pastoral cycle, enabling critical and constructive engagement with real-world complexities across pre-pandemic, mid-pandemic and post-pandemic contexts.

A literature review identifies existing waves of scholarly inquiry in digital ecclesiology, with this thesis extending the framework to include two additional waves that capture the rapid shifts in scholarship and church practice during and after the pandemic. Qualitative fieldwork conducted across 2021 to 2023 in a mixed-denominational context explores the interplay between online and offline practices, providing insight into how faith communities adapted rituals and maintained connection while navigating technological, theological and cultural tensions in a forced context.

Key findings suggest that a post-pandemic ecclesiology requires faith communities to develop an adaptive hybrid approach that incorporates digital and in-person practices, fosters embodied and sensory-rich rituals, and shifts leadership towards decentralised, relational and whole-person-centred models. The study demonstrates that theology extends beyond the “why” to engage deeply with the “how” and “what” of church practice, offering practical strategies for faith communities seeking to respond effectively within a rapidly evolving digital and cultural landscape. This project contributes to practical theology and digital ecclesiology and sits within the sixth wave of scholarly enquiry identified within this thesis, by offering insights that support faith communities in building resilient, missionally engaged practices for a post-pandemic, postdigital world.