What It Takes to Tutor—A Preregistered Direct Replication of the Scaffolding Experimental Study by D. Wood et al. (1978)

Although the benefits of in-person religious service attendance are well-documented, the well-being and biopsychosocial effects of virtual worship—more frequent since the COVID-19 pandemic—remain largely unexplored. This study examinestheimpact of attendingvirtual versusin-person worship. In a preregistered experiment, 43 adult Christians attended both virtual and in-person church services in a randomized order. Participants wore Fitbits to measure heart rate and calories burned and completed postservice surveys assessing social, affective, and well-being outcomes. Virtual services resulted in lower transcendent experiences and emotions, shared identity with the congregation, and closeness with God compared with in person attendance. Physiologically, virtual worship led to lower heart rates and fewer calories burned, indicating reduced embodied engagement. However, well-being scores remained similar. Virtual worship may not fully replicate in-person experiences. Further research is needed to assess long-term well-being effects and implications for religious engagement.

Duke Scholars

Author Patty Van Cappellen Social Science Research Institute