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Abstract
Religious responses to Covid-19 raised several far-reaching questions with a number of socio-legal implications. How does the historical tension between science, politics and religion manifest itself in global pandemics? What ethical and human rights issues are at play as a health crisis unfolds, and what is the role of the media in mitigating such issues? Finally, how significant is the pastoral role which is thrust upon religious leaders in times of crisis, and how should this role be understood in the materialistic and secular modern era? This article addresses such questions within the specific context of England. It builds upon previous research by the author on the responses of the British Muslim community to the Covid-19 pandemic, by expanding the analysis to explore the broader socio-legal themes that emerged within religious responses to Covid-19 in England.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Amin Al-Astewani
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References
Al-Astewani, A. (2020). To open or close? Covid-19, mosques and the role of religious authority within the British Muslim community: A socio-legal analysis. Religions, 12(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12010011
Barmania, S., & Reiss, M. J. (2021). Health promotion perspectives on the Covid-19 pandemic: The importance of religion. Global Health Promotion, 28(1), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975920972992
Bryson, J. R., Andres, L., & Davies, A. (2020). Covid‐19, virtual church services and a new temporary geography of home. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie, 111(3), 360–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12436
Buse, K., Mays, N., & Walt, G. (2012). Making health policy (Second edition). McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Coleman, J. A. S. J. (2001). Public religion and religion in public. Wake Forest Law Review, 36, 279. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/wflr36&id=291&div=&collection=
Cranmer, F., & Pocklington, D. (2020). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the exercise of religion in the united kingdom. Revista General de Derecho Canónico y Derecho Eclesiástico Del Estado, 54, 1–36. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=7712798
Dong, L., & Bouey, J. (2020). Public mental health crisis during Covid-19 pandemic, China. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(7), 1616–1618. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200407
Fardin, M. A. (2020). Covid-19 epidemic and spirituality: A review of the benefits of religion in times of crisis. Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care, 9(2), e104260. https://doi.org/10.5812/jjcdc.104260
Francis, L. J., & Village, A. (2021). Assessing the impact of Covid-19 on Christianity in the UK: Opportunity or challenge? Challenging Religious Issues, 18, 35–43.
Freathy, R. J. K. (2007). Ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved Christian and traditional forms of education for citizenship in English schools, 1934–1944. Oxford Review of Education, 33(3), 367–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980701324636
Goodwin, R., Hou, W. K., Sun, S., & Ben-Ezra, M. (2021). Psychological and behavioural responses to Covid-19: A China–Britain comparison. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(2), 189–192. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214453
Harris, P. (2015). An introduction to law (8th edition). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139192453
Hoang, V.-T., Gautret, P., Memish, Z. A., & Al-Tawfiq, J. A. (2020). Hajj and Umrah mass gatherings and Covid-19 infection. Current Tropical Medicine Reports, 7(4), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-020-00218-x
Huang, Y., Aune, K., & Guest, M. (2021). Covid-19 and the Chinese Christian Community in Britain: Changing patterns of belonging and division. Studies in World Christianity, 27(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.3366/swc.2021.0323
Lee, M., Lim, H., Xavier, M. S., & Lee, E.-Y. (2022). “A divine infection”: A systematic review on the roles of religious communities during the early stage of Covid-19. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(1), 866–919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01364-w
Linders, E. (2021). Spiritual pathfinders: Identity and transformation in contemporary alternatives to institutionalised religion [Doctoral dissertation, Liverpool John Moores University]. https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15822/
Mubarak, N., & Zin, C. S. (2020). Religious tourism and mass religious gatherings—The potential link in the spread of COVID-19. Current perspective and future implications. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 36, 101786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101786
Mueller, P. S., Plevak, D. J., & Rummans, T. A. (2001). Religious involvement, spirituality, and medicine: Implications for clinical practice. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 76(12), 1225–1235. https://doi.org/10.4065/76.12.1225
Mylan, S., & Hardman, C. (2021). Covid-19, cults, and the anti-vax movement. The Lancet, 397(10280), 1181. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00443-8
Nielsen, J. S., & Otterbeck, J. (2016). Muslims in western Europe (4th edition). Edinburgh University press.
Osei-Tutu, A., Kenin, A., Affram, A. A., Kusi, A. A., Adams, G., & Dzokoto, V. A. (2021). Ban of religious gatherings during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Impact on Christian Church leaders’ well-being in Ghana. Pastoral Psychology, 70(4), 335–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-021-00954-5
Parish, H. (2020). The absence of presence and the presence of absence: Social distancing, sacraments, and the virtual religious community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Religions, 11(6), 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11060276
Patiro, S. P. S., Budiyanti, H., Hendarto, K. A., & Hendrian, H. (2022). Panic-buying behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia: A social cognitive theoretical model. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 24(1), 25–55. https://doi.org/10.22146/gamaijb.64578
Petersen, K. (Ed.). (2013). Socio-legality: An odyssey of ideas and context (1st edition). Federation Press.
Quadri, S. A. (2020). COVID-19 and religious congregations: Implications for spread of novel pathogens. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 96, 219–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.007
R (on the application of Hodkin and another) (Appellants) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Respondent), [2013] UKSC 77 (The Supreme Court UK December 11, 2013). https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2013-0030.html
Rahmadhanitya, M. A. D., & Jatmika, S. (2021). The impact of Covid-19 on Indonesian Muslim pilgrimage. Millah, 21(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol21.iss1.art1
Robinson, K. (2020, March 19). How are major religions responding to the coronavirus? [HTML]. Council on Foreign Relations - In Briefs. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/how-are-major-religions-responding-coronavirus
Sandberg, R. (2011). Law and religion. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511976865
Sandberg, R. (2014). Defining the divine. Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 16(2), 198–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956618X1400009X
Shukla, S., Khan, R., Ahmed, Y., & Memish, Z. A. (2021). Conducting mass gathering events during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Kumbh Mela 2021 as a potential ‘super spreader event.’ Journal of Travel Medicine, 28(8), taab160. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taab160
Snook, D. W., Williams, M. J., & Horgan, J. G. (2019). Issues in the sociology and psychology of religious conversion. Pastoral Psychology, 68(2), 223–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-018-0841-1
Spencer, N. (2019). Science and religion: The perils of misperception. Theos. https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2019/06/18/science-and-religion-the-perils-of-misperception
Sperry, L. (2013). Distinctive approaches to religion and spirituality: Pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. In K. I. Pargament, A. Mahoney, & E. P. Shafranske (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 2): An applied psychology of religion and spirituality. (pp. 223–238). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14046-011
Tolmie, F., & Venter, R. (2021). Making sense of the Covid-19 pandemic from the Bible – Some perspectives. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 77(4), a6493. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6493
Tyagi, P., Singh, U., & Sharma, R. (2020). Panic shopping in Covid 19 pandemic: A comparative study of eastern and western culture. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 8(8), 44–49. https://ijcrt.org/viewfulltext.php?&p_id=IJCRT2008007
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2021). Wellbeing and perceptions of receiving support among Church of England clergy during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 24(5), 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2021.1906214
Wildman, W. J., Bulbulia, J., Sosis, R., & Schjoedt, U. (2020). Religion and the Covid-19 pandemic. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2), 115–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2020.1749339
References
Al-Astewani, A. (2020). To open or close? Covid-19, mosques and the role of religious authority within the British Muslim community: A socio-legal analysis. Religions, 12(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12010011
Barmania, S., & Reiss, M. J. (2021). Health promotion perspectives on the Covid-19 pandemic: The importance of religion. Global Health Promotion, 28(1), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975920972992
Bryson, J. R., Andres, L., & Davies, A. (2020). Covid‐19, virtual church services and a new temporary geography of home. Tijdschrift Voor Economische En Sociale Geografie, 111(3), 360–372. https://doi.org/10.1111/tesg.12436
Buse, K., Mays, N., & Walt, G. (2012). Making health policy (Second edition). McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Coleman, J. A. S. J. (2001). Public religion and religion in public. Wake Forest Law Review, 36, 279. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.journals/wflr36&id=291&div=&collection=
Cranmer, F., & Pocklington, D. (2020). The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the exercise of religion in the united kingdom. Revista General de Derecho Canónico y Derecho Eclesiástico Del Estado, 54, 1–36. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=7712798
Dong, L., & Bouey, J. (2020). Public mental health crisis during Covid-19 pandemic, China. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 26(7), 1616–1618. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2607.200407
Fardin, M. A. (2020). Covid-19 epidemic and spirituality: A review of the benefits of religion in times of crisis. Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care, 9(2), e104260. https://doi.org/10.5812/jjcdc.104260
Francis, L. J., & Village, A. (2021). Assessing the impact of Covid-19 on Christianity in the UK: Opportunity or challenge? Challenging Religious Issues, 18, 35–43.
Freathy, R. J. K. (2007). Ecclesiastical and religious factors which preserved Christian and traditional forms of education for citizenship in English schools, 1934–1944. Oxford Review of Education, 33(3), 367–377. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980701324636
Goodwin, R., Hou, W. K., Sun, S., & Ben-Ezra, M. (2021). Psychological and behavioural responses to Covid-19: A China–Britain comparison. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(2), 189–192. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2020-214453
Harris, P. (2015). An introduction to law (8th edition). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139192453
Hoang, V.-T., Gautret, P., Memish, Z. A., & Al-Tawfiq, J. A. (2020). Hajj and Umrah mass gatherings and Covid-19 infection. Current Tropical Medicine Reports, 7(4), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40475-020-00218-x
Huang, Y., Aune, K., & Guest, M. (2021). Covid-19 and the Chinese Christian Community in Britain: Changing patterns of belonging and division. Studies in World Christianity, 27(1), 7–25. https://doi.org/10.3366/swc.2021.0323
Lee, M., Lim, H., Xavier, M. S., & Lee, E.-Y. (2022). “A divine infection”: A systematic review on the roles of religious communities during the early stage of Covid-19. Journal of Religion and Health, 61(1), 866–919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01364-w
Linders, E. (2021). Spiritual pathfinders: Identity and transformation in contemporary alternatives to institutionalised religion [Doctoral dissertation, Liverpool John Moores University]. https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15822/
Mubarak, N., & Zin, C. S. (2020). Religious tourism and mass religious gatherings—The potential link in the spread of COVID-19. Current perspective and future implications. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 36, 101786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmaid.2020.101786
Mueller, P. S., Plevak, D. J., & Rummans, T. A. (2001). Religious involvement, spirituality, and medicine: Implications for clinical practice. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 76(12), 1225–1235. https://doi.org/10.4065/76.12.1225
Mylan, S., & Hardman, C. (2021). Covid-19, cults, and the anti-vax movement. The Lancet, 397(10280), 1181. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00443-8
Nielsen, J. S., & Otterbeck, J. (2016). Muslims in western Europe (4th edition). Edinburgh University press.
Osei-Tutu, A., Kenin, A., Affram, A. A., Kusi, A. A., Adams, G., & Dzokoto, V. A. (2021). Ban of religious gatherings during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Impact on Christian Church leaders’ well-being in Ghana. Pastoral Psychology, 70(4), 335–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-021-00954-5
Parish, H. (2020). The absence of presence and the presence of absence: Social distancing, sacraments, and the virtual religious community during the Covid-19 pandemic. Religions, 11(6), 276. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11060276
Patiro, S. P. S., Budiyanti, H., Hendarto, K. A., & Hendrian, H. (2022). Panic-buying behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia: A social cognitive theoretical model. Gadjah Mada International Journal of Business, 24(1), 25–55. https://doi.org/10.22146/gamaijb.64578
Petersen, K. (Ed.). (2013). Socio-legality: An odyssey of ideas and context (1st edition). Federation Press.
Quadri, S. A. (2020). COVID-19 and religious congregations: Implications for spread of novel pathogens. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 96, 219–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.05.007
R (on the application of Hodkin and another) (Appellants) v Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Respondent), [2013] UKSC 77 (The Supreme Court UK December 11, 2013). https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2013-0030.html
Rahmadhanitya, M. A. D., & Jatmika, S. (2021). The impact of Covid-19 on Indonesian Muslim pilgrimage. Millah, 21(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.20885/millah.vol21.iss1.art1
Robinson, K. (2020, March 19). How are major religions responding to the coronavirus? [HTML]. Council on Foreign Relations - In Briefs. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/how-are-major-religions-responding-coronavirus
Sandberg, R. (2011). Law and religion. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511976865
Sandberg, R. (2014). Defining the divine. Ecclesiastical Law Journal, 16(2), 198–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956618X1400009X
Shukla, S., Khan, R., Ahmed, Y., & Memish, Z. A. (2021). Conducting mass gathering events during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Kumbh Mela 2021 as a potential ‘super spreader event.’ Journal of Travel Medicine, 28(8), taab160. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taab160
Snook, D. W., Williams, M. J., & Horgan, J. G. (2019). Issues in the sociology and psychology of religious conversion. Pastoral Psychology, 68(2), 223–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-018-0841-1
Spencer, N. (2019). Science and religion: The perils of misperception. Theos. https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2019/06/18/science-and-religion-the-perils-of-misperception
Sperry, L. (2013). Distinctive approaches to religion and spirituality: Pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, and spiritually integrated psychotherapy. In K. I. Pargament, A. Mahoney, & E. P. Shafranske (Eds.), APA handbook of psychology, religion, and spirituality (Vol 2): An applied psychology of religion and spirituality. (pp. 223–238). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14046-011
Tolmie, F., & Venter, R. (2021). Making sense of the Covid-19 pandemic from the Bible – Some perspectives. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 77(4), a6493. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6493
Tyagi, P., Singh, U., & Sharma, R. (2020). Panic shopping in Covid 19 pandemic: A comparative study of eastern and western culture. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, 8(8), 44–49. https://ijcrt.org/viewfulltext.php?&p_id=IJCRT2008007
Village, A., & Francis, L. J. (2021). Wellbeing and perceptions of receiving support among Church of England clergy during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 24(5), 463–477. https://doi.org/10.1080/13674676.2021.1906214
Wildman, W. J., Bulbulia, J., Sosis, R., & Schjoedt, U. (2020). Religion and the Covid-19 pandemic. Religion, Brain & Behavior, 10(2), 115–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2020.1749339
