LibGuides: Covid-19: Impact and Response: Religion &amp; Faith

This section will focus on how people’s religion and faith may have changed spiritually since the lockdown, as well as how worship and what is expected from it has had to adapt in more practical ways. Because many aspects of all religions are based on tradition, like collective worship in specific buildings, the lockdown has had a great impact. This collection of resources includes podcasts, articles, and first-hand accounts from both laypeople and clergymen.

Resources

COVID-19 In Singapore: How Religious Believers Keep The Faith During Isolation
A short video of Singaporeans observing religion festivals throughout the pandemic
Keeping the faith: religion in the UK amid coronavirus (The Guardian, 3 July 2020)
A detailed and hopeful account of the ways that religious officials and laypeople across many faiths have adapted to the closure of their places of worship, and created solutions to the issue of socially distanced worship and community togetherness
Response of Religions to Coronavirus (BBC Radio – Sunday, 22 March 2020)
In this 44 minute episode, BBC Radio Sunday discusses how a number of religions have responded to the drastic changes in worship since the COVID-19 pandemic, including a first-hand account of a Zoom church service, finished with a interpretation of the importance of Mothering Sunday even during a pandemic.
Pandemic prompts surge in interest in prayer, Google data shows (The Telegraph, 22 May 2020)
A short article showcasing some of the statistics about Google searches relating to prayer, church services, and worship since the COVID-19 pandemic. Quick answers from a range of academics and clergyman about what the increase in interest around religion may say about people’s responses to the pandemic.
How the pandemic invigorated religion (Financial Times, 22 May 2020)
Beginning with examples of religion in the time of COVID-19 in both Britain and the United States, this article moves on to cover the objective and intricate advantages and disadvantages of online worship, as well as what it can mean for the ongoing faith of the individual and the community

First Hand Accounts

First-hand account, 25 August 2020
A parish priest in the Scottish borders outlines the changes he has made to the worshipping process, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of such
First-hand account, 13 August 2020
A short first-hand account from a lay worshipper describing how her rural parish in North Yorkshire has adapted its worshipping during lockdown

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