Hospitality and COVID-19 Responses Could Inform Future Trends

Religious people traveled quite a bit even as the pandemic raged years back, and looking into why could help professionals make a more targeted set of pleas if a similar situation arises in the years to come.

A great deal of money changes hands in the United States tied to religion each year. Giving USA estimates $128.2 million went into religious organizations in 2019, and a wide swath of the country sits in a region many Americans refer to as the Bible Belt. In some ways, it’s baked into the culture of the country in some relatively unique ways.

In the same way that businesses find themselves at conferences, clergy and other religious folks find themselves at similar functions each calendar year. Members of the Church of God in Christ, a traditionally Pentecostal Christian denomination, gather in Memphis each year. Seventh Day Adventists come from all over the country each year to meet in Silver Spring, and Mormons come to Salt Lake City.

Many use the events as a way to share ideas and resources, and the reunion allows them to reestablish connections with clergy members and laypeople alike. The embattled Southern Baptist Convention met in Anaheim this calendar year to discuss their institutional response to sexual assault, and will meet in New Orleans during 2023.

United Pentecostal Church International members have their conference plans solidified through 2027, and they anticipate gathering in a new state each year. Given the unprecedented nature of how the pandemic impacted travel during that time, it may be appropriate to examine the reason why their travel happened even as much of the world shut down.

Perceived invincibility

Bad hermeneutics, general ignorance of the Bible and rampant abuses of other religious texts meant that many felt as if the COVID-19 virus could not end their lives. They traveled freely as a result, and to some extent they did so to their own detriment. A retreat in Ohio.

Separate church conferences in Delaware. Gatherings ended up as superspreader events partly because many supposed Christians saw fit to meet sans masks even as the virus pounded many parts of the nation and the world. COGIC, the largest Black Pentecostal organization in the country, saw many leaders pass from the virus in 2020 as a result, per the Washington Post.

Varying responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Because of the varying responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, some cities hosted conferences and other events tied to religious gathering.

While some cities and states closed themselves off to large gatherings because of pandemic concerns, their counterparts in other parts of the country gladly hosted them. Once the gates were open, the visitors made their way over. Though doing so stressed hospital systems, travelers saw their treks and an exercise in their freedom.

Anti-government sentiment

Americans largely do not trust their governmental institutions for a bevy of reasons that are beyond the scope of this article. Many citizens saw fit to ignore the aims of their local, state, and federal government personnel and traveled to fulfill their own whims as a way to show their own disdain for how bureaucrats were handling the pandemic.

Many did not perceive the situation to be a public health emergency, spurred on by celebrities and other public figures who cast doubt not only on the motive of these governmental responses, but also on the potency of the virus itself. The combination of those factors made for a populace that ignored pleas from public health professionals and undermined their efforts as other accused them of carrying water for hospital lobbyists and other special interests.