Religion and Spirituality in a Pandemic Era

An Evaluation of the Role of the Church during Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The fact that the Covid-19 pandemic, since its outbreak, has brought about changes in lifestyle and ways of relating with others is no understatement. Every facet of life has been touched by the unrelenting onslaught of this horrifying pandemic. Religion and spirituality have been no exceptions to this problem. While religious institutions, like most institutions, were taken unawares by the pandemic, the lessons to take home from the ugly phenomenon cannot be overemphasized. Employing the discursive analysis method, this paper evaluates the role of religion and faith during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study discovers that the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated unambiguously that the issue of physical health which, sometimes, is not considered central to the teaching of the Church, is not tangential to the mission of the Church. Today, the Church realizes that medical issues can determine and define its pastoral and liturgical life. Therefore, among the core doctrines of the Church should be its healing ministry, especially medical ministry. The Church can no longer afford a dualistic concept of health which prioritizes spiritual healing to the neglect of physical healing. It is in this holistic attention to the sick and the suffering that the Church will remain true to its mission. Consequently, policymakers should not relegate the ministers of the Church and the services of the Church in a pandemic era as not belonging to the category of essential workers and services respectively.