Religious Communities under COVID-19: the first pandemic of the postsecular age?

Contributor(s): Professor Azza M. Karam, Elizabeth Oldfield, Dr James Walters | Faith communities have been prominent in public discourse since the beginning of the pandemic. Religious gatherings have been identified as a major sites of transmission raising tensions in many countries between believers and the secular authorities seeking to regulate them. But many people are also searching for meaning and faith groups have adapted to online worship and support to meet the need for hope and connection in the face of suffering and isolation. The pandemic seems to be fanning the flames of some existing religious tensions. But there are also new opportunities for a positive role for faith in the public sphere. How will COVID-19 reshape the religious landscape in the future?
Azza M. Karam (@Mansoura1968) is Secretary General of Religions for Peace International; Professor of religion and development at the Vrije Universiteit, and lead facilitator for the United Nations’ Strategic Learning Ex