On the Verge of a New Epoch: Religion and COVID-19

Abstract

The paper analyses the changes in the religious life of people caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes take place in the situation when the governments of a number of states search for a balance between ensuring the right to freedom of religion and securing the health of the population. The study demonstrates how different religions address the quarantine challenges: interpreting the meaning of the pandemic, determining the responsibilities of believers, and conducting religious ceremonies. Particular attention is paid to the ways of rethinking traditional forms of sacred and ritual activities in different denominations. It is claimed that the pandemic highlighted such features of the phenomenon of religion: adaptability, integrativeness, decultization, declerization, digitization, interfaithness. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges and prospects of believers’ long-term isolation, as well as the preconditions for the formation of a renewed religious consciousness in public discourse.