Live-Streamed Faith: Diffusion of Live Streaming in the Protestant Church

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home advisories issued by many states encouraged many houses of worship to begin live streaming or to improve existing capabilities. Even as restrictions on gathering loosened, many people continued to avoid large gatherings out of an abundance of caution, causing many religious institutions to have split congregations: part in person and part virtual. This study examined the motivations and decisions made by U.S.-based Protestant churches of various sizes regarding starting, improving, and continuing live streaming in the face of sudden changes in their ability to reach their congregations. The diffusion of innovations theory was used as a framework to understand how live streaming spread through the Protestant church and how the crisis of the pandemic accelerated that diffusion.