The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes
The research undertaken in this article uses the Google Trends tool to study the degree of interest in prayer and general spirituality during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Europe. The authors assumed that for people interested in prayer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the In...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Religions |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/7/655 |
| _version_ | 1797433126273679360 |
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| author | Jacek Stańdo Gabriela Piechnik-Czyż Andrzej Adamski Żywilla Fechner |
| author_facet | Jacek Stańdo Gabriela Piechnik-Czyż Andrzej Adamski Żywilla Fechner |
| author_sort | Jacek Stańdo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The research undertaken in this article uses the Google Trends tool to study the degree of interest in prayer and general spirituality during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Europe. The authors assumed that for people interested in prayer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet served as a virtual prayer book. The main research questions addressed the frequency of typed queries, referring not only to the word “prayer” but also to specific types of prayer. In addition, interest in prayer was compared with interest in the word “prophecy” to explore the relationship between religiosity and interest in the supernatural sphere in its broadest sense. The analysis shows that there is distinct recurrence regarding the terms searched, with some of them noticeably intensifying with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also show that keywords related to prophecies were searched more frequently at significant moments in Polish history (2005—the death of John Paul II, 2010—the plane crash in which the President of Poland died) than in the months of 2020 when the pandemic struck and escalated. At that time, searches related to religion were more frequent. It can also be concluded that the outbreak of the pandemic contributed to an increase in the religious activity of Poles. The article is interdisciplinary in nature, referring primarily to Religion Studies and Mass Media and Communication Studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:12:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9cc6c68683c042b7993f08d0a8de46d9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:12:41Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-9cc6c68683c042b7993f08d0a8de46d92023-12-01T22:38:19ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-07-0113765510.3390/rel13070655The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion ProcessesJacek Stańdo0Gabriela Piechnik-Czyż1Andrzej Adamski2Żywilla Fechner3Centre of Mathematics and Physics, Lodz University of Technology, 90-924 Lodz, PolandCollege of Media and Social Communication, University of Information Technology and Management, 35-225 Rzeszow, PolandCollege of Media and Social Communication, University of Information Technology and Management, 35-225 Rzeszow, PolandInstitute of Mathematics, Lodz University of Technology, 90-924 Lodz, PolandThe research undertaken in this article uses the Google Trends tool to study the degree of interest in prayer and general spirituality during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland and Europe. The authors assumed that for people interested in prayer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Internet served as a virtual prayer book. The main research questions addressed the frequency of typed queries, referring not only to the word “prayer” but also to specific types of prayer. In addition, interest in prayer was compared with interest in the word “prophecy” to explore the relationship between religiosity and interest in the supernatural sphere in its broadest sense. The analysis shows that there is distinct recurrence regarding the terms searched, with some of them noticeably intensifying with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings also show that keywords related to prophecies were searched more frequently at significant moments in Polish history (2005—the death of John Paul II, 2010—the plane crash in which the President of Poland died) than in the months of 2020 when the pandemic struck and escalated. At that time, searches related to religion were more frequent. It can also be concluded that the outbreak of the pandemic contributed to an increase in the religious activity of Poles. The article is interdisciplinary in nature, referring primarily to Religion Studies and Mass Media and Communication Studies.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/7/655religiosity in PolandGoogle Trendsmass media studiesmediatisationInternetprayer |
| spellingShingle | Jacek Stańdo Gabriela Piechnik-Czyż Andrzej Adamski Żywilla Fechner The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes Religions religiosity in Poland Google Trends mass media studies mediatisation Internet prayer |
| title | The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes |
| title_full | The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes |
| title_fullStr | The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes |
| title_full_unstemmed | The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes |
| title_short | The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Interest in Prayer and Spirituality in Poland According to Google Trends Data in the CONTEXT of the Mediatisation of Religion Processes |
| title_sort | covid 19 pandemic and the interest in prayer and spirituality in poland according to google trends data in the context of the mediatisation of religion processes |
| topic | religiosity in Poland Google Trends mass media studies mediatisation Internet prayer |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/7/655 |
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