The Covid Pandemic and the Worlds Religions: Challenges and Responses

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Description

Believers from a variety of faith communities were asked to assess how the Covid pandemic has affected their faith. The anthology collects their responses to key questions, such as: How does your faith explain why such events occur How has it affected your religious practices What changes has it necessitated What differences might we expect once the pandemic is over What have we learned from it Two exponents of each major religion and a number of minority faiths comment on these issues, combined with a concluding essay by the editors assessing the overall impact of the pandemic on religion worldwide. Faiths explored include Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Shinto, Sikh Bahai, Jain, African Traditional Religion, Zoroastrian, Unitarian, Jehovahs Witnesses and Christian Science.

Reviews

For religions of all kinds, the imperative to remember is of great importance. As we tentatively move into a post-Covid society, it is easy to forget the impact the pandemic had on our understanding and practice of faith and spirituality. This remarkable collection of reflections from a very wide range of traditions should serve as a multi-faceted reminder to the deep religious and ethical issues which Covid created, uncovered and amplified. * Michael Ipgrave OBE, Bishop of Lichfield, UK *
By sharing experiences of the Covid Pandemic, people of different countries and beliefs will be better prepared to act together in the event of future global threats to peace and prosperity. * Marcus Braybrooke, Former President of the World Congress of Faiths, UK *
George D. Chryssides and Dan Cohn-Sherbok have assembled an informed collection of contributors who provide a comparative window into how adherents of a wide variety of religious traditions responded to the global pandemic. Readers will learn not only how differently the religions understood and responded to the traumatic events, but also how united the human species is in drawing upon religion in times of need. * John W. Morehead, Director, Evangelical Chapter of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy/Multifaith Matters, USA *
A collection of insightful responses and reflections from a wide variety of religious voices that are valuable in themselves and, as Rowan Williams says in the foreword, They suggest that the process of distilling what is to be learned from the pandemic will need spiritual insight, not just a superficial optimism about doing better next time." * David Steers, Editor of Faith and Freedom, UK *

Author Bio

George D. Chryssides is Honorary Research Fellow at York St John University, UK and was formerly Head of Religious Studies at the University of Wolverhampton, UK. Dan Cohn-Sherbok is Emeritus Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, UK.