Religious live-streaming in response to coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in South Africa’
Loading...
Authors
Kgatle, Mookgo Solomon
Issue Date
2020-12-15
Type
Article
Language
en
Keywords
coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19; lockdown; social media; religion; Churches; World Health Organization; live-streaming.
Alternative Title
Abstract
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a virus that firstly struck in Wuhan, China,
but its impact is felt by the whole world. The spread of the virus in South Africa caused
President Cyril Ramaphosa to announce a national state of disaster in the country on 15 March
2020. Subsequently, on 23 March 2020, the President announced a total shutdown of the
economy, which is also known as lockdown, effective from 26 March 2020. The restrictions of
the lockdown affected different churches regardless of the denomination name. Churches
were not allowed to congregate during this period for the safety of their followers and the
citizens. This article reflects on the use of live-streaming via social media platforms such as
zoom, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other apps by many churches in South Africa as a
response or a way of coping with the lockdown. The argument is that although these various
platforms proved to be effective on the one hand, they also raised other challenges on the other
hand. The article will look at the ways of mediating the challenges of live-streaming and make
recommendations.
Description
Citation
Kgatle, M.S., 2020, ‘Religious live-streaming in response to coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in South Africa’, Verbum et Ecclesia 41(1), a2120. https://doi.org/10.4102/ ve.v41i1.2120
Publisher
AOSIS publishing