Wellbeing and perceptions of receiving support among Church of England clergy during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic

The present study draws on the responses of 1,496 Church of England clergy who participated in the Coronavirus, Church & You online survey between 8 May and 23 July 2020 to explore the impact of the lockdown on clergy wellbeing and perceptions of receiving support from their household, the parish, the diocese, and the national church. The data distinguished between five aspects of wellbeing: fatigue, disengagement, positivity, closeness to people, and closeness to God. As a result of lockdown clergy perceived large increases not only in fatigue and disengagement, but also in positivity. While as a consequence of the lockdown clergy felt less close to people, they felt closer to God. The data also showed that, although the perception of being supported by the national church was highly effective in reducing disengagement, this perception was shared by less than a quarter of the clergy.