“It’s Not Doctrine, This Is Just How It Is Happening!”: Religious Creativity in the Time of COVID-19

Abstract

Drawing on thirty in-depth interviews with faith leaders in the UK (including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Sikhism), we examine the diverse ways religious groups reorient religious life during COVID-19. Analysing the shift to virtual and home-based worship, we show the creative ways religious communities altered their customs, rituals, and practices to fit a new virtual reality amidst rigid social distancing guidelines. This study offers a distinctive comparative perspective into religious creativity amidst acute social change, allowing us to showcase notable differences, especially in terms of the possibility to fully perform worship online. We found that whilst all faith communities faced the same challenge of ministering and supporting their communities online, some were able to deliver services and perform worship online but others, for theological reasons, could not offer communal prayer. These differences existed within each religion rather than across religious boundaries, representing intra-faith divergence at the same time as cross-faith convergence. This analysis allows us to go beyond common socio-religious categories of religion, while showcasing the diverse forms of religious life amidst COVID-19. This study also offers a diverse case study of the relationship between religions as well as between religion, state, and society amidst COVID-19.

Religious worship online: A qualitative study of two Sunday virtual services

“…Rather little research on online worship has been conducted in non-Christian contexts In terms of different faith traditions Taragin-Zeller and Kessler (2021) examine the issues arising from online worship among Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs through interviews with faith leaders in the United Kingdom. Religious communities were very creative in how they modified customs rituals and practices to fit in with virtual reality and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic.…”

“…What are the implications of these findings for faith groups globally? During the Covid-19 pandemic religious worship in diverse faith groups globally has moved from its live performance to online platforms (Taragin-Zeller and Kessler, 2021). This is of significant interest to scholars of ritual who question how the online and offline versions of religious worship differ both in their internal dimensions like structure, communication and performance, and in their phenomenology, and more specifically whether the online version is as 'effective' as its live counterpart.…”

Religious diversity and public health: Lessons from COVID-19

“…Within the emerging field of inclusive science communication, faith leaders are often portrayed as "trusted voices" within their communities who serve as sources of support, information and credibility [39][40][41]. Religious leaders can also identify ways to overcome particular community-based challenges, bridging understanding about the diverse ways health, healing and risk are conceived, especially in situations where health regulations can be perceived as undermining group-based priorities [see: [42][43][44][45].…”