When the Waves Roll High

Religious Coping among the Amish and Mennonites during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Bibliographic Data

ID3223335
AuthorsBernard D Digregorio (0009-0005-3085-3789, West Virginia University, corresponding author), Katie E Corcoran (0000-0002-7948-5877, West Virginia University), Corey J Colyer (0000-0001-9223-5445, West Virginia University), Rachel E Stein (0000-0003-1221-5490, West Virginia University)
Year2021
Volume12
Issue9
Pages678
Publication date2021-08-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12090678
OpenAlexW3194466565
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited79

Religious beliefs, practices, and social support facilitate coping with psychologically distressful events and circumstances. However, COVID-19 and governmental mandates for social distancing and isolation make in-person communal forms of religious coping difficult. While some congregations began holding virtual rituals, this was not an option for Amish and conservative Mennonite groups that restrict communication and media technologies as a religious sacrament. Governmental mandates placed a disproportionate burden on these groups whose members could not conduct rituals or interact virtually with other members and family. What religious coping strategies did the Amish and Mennonites use to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic given their restricted ability to participate in in-person rituals? We collected data from The Budget and The Diary, two Amish and Mennonite correspondence newspapers, which provide information on the experiences of community members. We content analyzed all entries from March 2020 to April 2020 and identified several themes related to religious coping focused on the positive benefits of the pandemic, specifically how it helps and reminds the Amish and Mennonites to refocus on the simple and important things in life, including God, spirituality, family, tradition, gardening, and other at-home hobbies, all of which reflect their religious commitment to a slower pace of life

Distancing · Pandemic · Political science · Psychotherapist · Religious organization · Social distance · Sociology · Spirituality · Agriculture and Farm Safety · Gender Studies · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology · Suicide and Self-Harm Studies