It's Not Doctrine, This Is Just How It Is Happening

Religious Creativity in the Time of Covid-19

Bibliographic Data

ID3432243
AuthorsLea Taragin-Zeller (0000-0002-1886-4080, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding author), Edward Kessler (University of Cambridge, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume12
Issue9
Pages747
Publication date2021-09-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12090747
OpenAlexW3200492460
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited44

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

Buddhism · Christianity · Doctrine · Epistemology · Faith · Hinduism · Islam · Judaism · Political science · Prayer · Social distance · Sociology · Theology · Worship · Law · Media, Religion, Digital Communication · Philosophy · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Religious studies · Religious Tourism and Spaces

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