Streaming Religion:

Online Resources

and the Pandemic

A project of the Religious Studies Program at Western Illinois University

"Rev. Craig Williams, of the Greater St. Stephen United Church of God in Brooklyn, recalled telling his 85-year-old father -- the church's founder, Bishop Marvin D. Williams -- about how they were going to try to pull off traditional pre-Easter services amid the pandemic.

"I explained we can do it by Zoom and do the feed to YouTube and Facebook and he said 'it's a whole new world,'" said Craig Williams to ABC News on Tuesday. "In that moment it was like a passing of the torch. As he understood it, he served his people of his age, now his son [I] will serve the people of his age."

Christina Carrega and Lakeia Brown, “'Sorrowful': Black clergy members and churches reeling from COVID-19 losses.

Streaming Religion

This is a developing website of the Religious Studies Program at Western Illinois University. Created during the surge in online religious activities related to the coronavirus pandemic, the site contains information about religious institutions in the regions of WIU's Macomb and Quad Cities campuses, as well as in surrounding areas (Organizations and services). It also contains links to articles and other websites that discuss online religious activities (Links). Representatives of religious institutions may ask to add or correct their information by filling out a form on the Feedback page.

The Religious Studies Program is housed within WIU's Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Links on the page are informational only; neither the Program nor WIU endorses any of this material.

African American Religions online

This includes a bibliography of articles related African American religious responses to COVID-19, as well as two other sections, still under development: a list of online services provided by predominantly black churches in West Central Illinois, St. Louis, and Chicago; and projects by students in the Spring 2020 course, AAS/REL 494, Religion in African American Culture.

“The temporary cessation of Sunday morning worship along with in-person gatherings strikes at the heart of our culture, tradition, and faith. The absence of the 'Black Church' is keenly felt in our lives…. Traditional funerals cannot be held, short-circuiting the process of grief. All these concerns and more combined with the likely prospect of Christians not being able to gather at Easter makes one wonder, ‘How do we sing the songs of Zion in this strange and socially distanced land?’

The future is here now, and virtual worship is a necessary lifeline to maintain the spiritual health of your congregation.”

John Thomas III, “The Future is Here: the AME Church during COVID-19 and Beyond