The Relationship between Religion and Society in the COVID-19 Era: The Case of Protestantism in South Korea

The relationship between Korean Protestantism and society at large can be divided into three parts in terms of the religion’s participation in society following the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule: (1) conservative social non-participation, (2) far-right social participation, and (3) progressive social participation. In the COVID-19 era, conservative Protestants reluctantly followed the government’s quarantine guidelines but remained wary of state control over religion. Far-right Protestants placed a greater emphasis on religious values than on public safety and maintained face-to-face worship services against the government’s ban on religious and other largescale gatherings. Progressive Protestants participated in social movements to benefit the public good and were willing to forgo religious gatherings to that end. Overcoming COVID-19 requires many things, particularly material support for the marginalized, an establishment of an intimacy network beyond church-centered communities, ethics of respect for life, and the promotion of ecological justice, and with this in mind, the progressive Protestants’ participation in society can be considered an appropriate model.

Descriptive empirical perspectives on participants’ attitudes on virtual worship services kindle an ineluctable revisiting of ecclesial assumptions in a post-pandemic world

When it comes to debating the background of this article, the matter of participants’ attitudes in virtual worship in a post-pandemic world is the central theme. One should always acknowledge that participants in the liturgy and faith communities have to cope with the effects of the pandemic. The physical attendance of worship services is an essential pillar in faith communities understanding of corporeal worship. Because of the lockdown measures and with the insistence on staying away from social gatherings, most people were obliged to adapt to new ways of engaging in virtual worship services. People hope that the previous normal will return whilst participating in virtual liturgy or limited groups of 50 people within church buildings. This article wants to embark on descriptive empirical perspectives to determine whether the virtual environment has not resulted in an inevitable revisiting of ecclesial assumptions regarding people’s understanding of worship. Many complex questions about how worship services will realise when the lockdown measures have been lifted remain unanswered. This article offers a descriptive section on what are the currently concerning aspects related to a topic like this. Secondly, a Likert scale with numerous statements was provided to 60 respondents from three denominations in the Potchefstroom area. The request to respondents was to indicate what their attitudes about certain statements are. This investigation will be conducted from a reformational paradigm and is interested in debating the responses of participants that is related to attitudes on virtual worship services in a post-pandemic world.Contribution: The article concludes with some practical theological perspectives that could lead to a follow-up article on how this matter could be revisited in the light of more clarity on people’s attitudes.

Either Sent by God or Used by God: Impact of COVID-19 on the Religious Lives of Black Families With Dementia

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored systemic disparities and laid its effects on the Black community. Often overlooked is how health disparities heighten stress and affect the emotional well-being of Black American caregivers. The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of COVID-19 on church engagement for Black families affected by dementia. A qualitative design was employed to collect data from current caregivers, faith/church leaders, and persons with cognitive impairment. Participants (n = 17) were predominantly female, all identified as Black. During semi-structured interviews, participants were asked how COVID-19 has impacted their participation in faith practices. The following themes emerged: (a) ability to continue faith practices, (b) increased church engagement, (c) new normal, (d) importance of fellowship, and (e) role of technology. Participants believed COVID-19 did not impact their faith practice partly due to the ability to continue with faith traditions in a virtual format. Online worship services enabled more families affected by dementia to participate. Many church leaders expressed the intent of continuing to provide online worship services post-pandemic. Families highlighted their need to have fellowship with other parishioners. Technology was perceived as a double-edged sword that serves as both a motivator and a barrier to religious engagement. These findings will support faith leaders and churches in understanding the needs of their congregation during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, it will allow families living with dementia to continue engaging in religious activity and living in meaningful ways.

Worship Experiences of Black Families at Dementia-Friendly Churches: A Multiple-Case Study Design

Literature supports the significance of religiosity as a protective factor to promote well-being for Black families facing dementia; However, minimum reports exist on the worship experiences of these families. The purpose of this multiple-case study was to report the experiences of Black families facing dementia who attended worship services at dementia-friendly churches. Data were collected through participant observations of family caregivers (n = 4) and persons living with dementia ( n = 4) during worship services and semi-structured interviews with the family caregivers over six months. Data were analyzed case by case followed by a cross-case analysis. Four overarching themes emerged: welcoming church culture, the significance of support with differences in perceived and actual support, engagement during worship service, and connectedness between the caregiver and their family member living with dementia. Family caregivers reported that their family member with dementia was attentive and expressed moments of clarity during and immediately after worship services. Religious worship can play an essential role in the quality of life among Black families affected by dementia. Health practitioners are encouraged to acknowledge the influences of religion among dementia families and integrate religious practices within interdisciplinary care plans and programs.

Join the Holy Spirit on Zoom

The COVID-19 global pandemic impacted all social relations, including the way religious communities engage in worship services. Due to strict social distancing protocols, the only viable solution for many congregations was online worship. This article investigates how platforms in cyberspace, such as Zoom, can provide a substitute for the core religious practices found in physical worship services, particularly for African Pentecostal believers who rely heavily on the aesthetic and sensory experience of their religious environment. Drawing on the theoretical concept of affordance, it is argued that digital affordances such as the chat box and emojis are used by believers to communicate affective moments arising from the sensory experience of worship. Members of the congregation become ‘digital spiritual hype people’ who render support to leaders in order to create and regenerate an affective environment where the presence of the Holy Spirit can be felt. The Holy Spirit, a fundamental pillar for Evangelical Christians, is understood as an embedded presence within the digital infrastructure. The internet connection, the phone and computers and screens are all re-appropriated as spiritual tools through which miraculous healing can be dispensed to believers in need. This research stands at a critical juncture between what might be termed the ‘pre-COVID era’ and the ‘post-COVID era’. As vaccination plans continue to roll out and social distancing measures are slowly being lifted, a ‘post-COVID era’ for African Pentecostals means negotiating the boundaries between online and offline spaces to fulfil core religious practices.

Religion and Public Conflict in the Post-COVID Era: The Case of Protestant Churches in South Korea

Governments have attempted to contain the COVID-19 outbreak with a variety of regulations, including social distancing, facemask mandates, or limits on gatherings. South Korea was concerned by the “supercluster” case of a sectarian religious organization in February 2020. Since then, some Protestant churches have periodically caused cluster infections showing antagonism against health authorities. First, we traced all 2020 cluster cases and identified their denominational characteristics. We then utilized the 2020 CISJD data and conducted a series of multivariate regressions to answer the research question, “What causes differences among denominations in attitudes toward public disease control and in-person service attendance?” Results indicated that Protestants affiliated with liberal churches were more likely to follow public disease control guidelines and less likely to attend in-person religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic as compared with individuals from other denominations. Protestants affiliated with moderate, conservative, and fundamentalist churches tended to share antagonism toward public disease control, while cherishing in-person community rituals. This research highlights social implications of public conflict in Korea, where many Protestant churches have emphasized the significance of traditional worship services, claiming the constitutional right of religious freedom, while the majority of citizens, religious and non-religious, disagree with such exclusive claims against public safety.

RELIGION AND FAITH IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 IN INDIA

India is a country of faith and has followers of various religions. Religion has always served the mankind and played a significant role of ointment for the soul and has demonstrated to be positively associated with better emotional health. Along with all other aspects of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected faith, religion and spirituality in different ways. Due to fast spread of virus, numerous restrictions on religious activities have been implemented. The same has impacted religion in various ways, including the cancellation of the worship services of various faiths, as well as the cancellation of pilgrimages, ceremonies and festivals etc. In this brief review, we have studied the relief works and role of religious institutions, congregations, and individuals in this pandemic. Present study also studied the strategically and innovative approaches for revealing ongoing changes to religion, along with the changes in people mindset towards ways of worship, God, religion, humanity and physical gathering etc. The outcomes of this study revealed that pandemic made most people shocked and physical gathering in worship places is restricted. Presently, all over the world, worship is offering through online /livestream, by churches, synagogues, mosques, gurudwara, and temples on virtual platform. In this period, a great collaboration was seen among government, non-governmental organizations, wealthy persons, and common public in relief work. Though, this pandemic has put drastic loss in term of life, health, economy etc but optimistic are seeing grace of God here too.

Worship for People with Cognitive Challenges in the Pandemic Era: A Korean Presbyterian Perspective

During COVID-19, many people in the world experienced tremendous suffering. Because of its strong infection rate, people avoided gathering. In these circumstances, public worship, which is the heartbeat of the church, has declined. The decline in participation is especially true among one group of marginalized people: the people who are cognitively challenged. Traditionally, the Korean Church has not had much concern about the matter of public worship and the sacraments for those who are cognitively challenged, except for a few churches which have special departments for ministries to special populations. During the COVID-19 situation, these ministries have slowed, which means that those who benefited have had few opportunities to join worship services or participate in religious education. Going forward, there is a high possibility of another pandemic. Therefore, it is time to prepare for the future. Some churches have utilized online worship and Zoom meetings, showing that the cognitively challenged can effectively participate in online worship and religious education if family members can help them. Churches should invest in new platforms which harmonize onsite worship and online worship and expand resources to create new software for Christian education.

Celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion during COVID-19: A Methodist perspective

This article forms part of the change agents special collection. It investigates the way the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) has engaged the question of practicing Holy Communion in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown. Mainly using communiques by the Office of the Presiding Bishop and contributions made by clergy and laity on the practice of online worship services, and Holy Communion in particular, the article not only describes points of contention but also matters for consideration in balancing church polity whilst being contextually present and relevant. The article then celebrates the work of the Doctrine, Ethics and Worship Commission (DEWCOM) of the MCSA in potentially providing a way forward for the denomination that holds polity and relevance together in meaningful tension.Contribution: This research contributes to the ongoing dialogue within the Methodist Church of Southern Africa on how the sacrament of Holy Communion should be practiced in the context of a social lockdown as precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pola Manajemen Dakwah Mesjid Al Munawwaroh Sayati, Margahayu Kab. Bandung

Management patterns in an organization are very important in carrying out a plan. The mosque management pattern is very important as an effort to improve the mosque from within the form of strengthening the existence of the mosque as a place of worship for Muslims. AL Munawwaroh Mosque is one of the mosques built in Sayati village, Bandung district. The existence of this mosque has been known by several outside congregations and in the implementation of its management there have been many developments from time to time, especially in the aspect of Islamic da'wah activities. The author examines how the Management Pattern of the AL Munawwaroh Mosque in increasing Islamic da'wah activities. The purpose of this study was to determine the management pattern of the al Munawwaroh mosque in increasing its preaching activities. The benefit of this research is to enrich the scientific treasures of management and sran for the improvement of other mosques. Research conducted by the author is a case study researcher with a qualitative approach, in order to provide clarity on the problem or event under study. Thus the population of this research is the management of the Al Munawwaroh Mosque, the congregation, and community leaders. This study uses interview data collection techniques, observation, and documentation. Interviews were conducted with mosque administrators who were directly involved with the applied management of the mosque. The results of the study found that first, the management pattern carried out by the management of the AL Munawwaroh Mosque was the planning, organizing, implementing, and monitoring patterns. Where all the patterns above are carried out together by the board, the congregation. Second, Islamic da'wah activities carried out by the Al Munawwaroh mosque are in accordance with what has been planned in the management pattern. Third, the management of the Al Munawwaroh mosque from the start of construction, finance, and daily worship services is quite good. Abstrak. Pola manajemen dalam sebuah organisasi sangatlah penting dalam menjalankan sebuah perencanaan. Adapun pola manajemen masjid sangat penting sebagai suatu upaya perbaikan masjid dari dalam berupa penguatan eksistensi masjid sebagai tempat peribadahan umat islam. Masjid AL Munawwaroh merupakan salah satu masjid yang dibangun di desa sayati kab bandung. Keberadaan masjid ini sudah dikenal oleh beberapa Jemaah luar dan dalam pelaksanaan manajemennya sudah banyak perkembangan dari masa ke masa, khusunya pada aspek aktivitas dakwah islam. Penulis meneliti bagaimana Pola Manajemen Masjid AL Munawwaroh dalam meningkatkan aktivitas dakwah islam. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pola manajemen yang dilakukan masjid al Munawwaroh dalam meningkatkan aktivitas dakwahnya. Manfaat penelitian ini untuk memperkaya khazanah keilmuan manajemen dan sran bagi perbaikan masjid lainnya. Penelitian yang dilakukan oleh penulis merupakan penelitia studi kasus dengan pendekatan kualitatif, guna memberikan kejelasan terhadap masalah atau peristiwa yang diteliti. Demikian yang menjadi populasi peneliti ini adalah pengurus Mesjid Al Munawwaroh, Jemaah, dan tokoh masyarakat. Penelitian ini menggunakan teknik pengumpulan data wawancara, observasi, dan dokumentasi. Wawancara yang dilakukan kepada pengurus masjid yang terlibat langsung dengan manajemen masjid yang diterapkan. Hasil penelitian menemukan, bahwa yang pertama, pola manajemen yang dilakukan oleh pengurus Mesjid AL Munawwaroh ialah dengan Pola Perencanaan, pengorganisasian, Pelaksanaan, dan pengawasan. Dimana semua pola diatas dilakukan bersama oleh pengurus, Jemaah. Kedua, aktivitas dakwah islam yang dijalankan oleh masjid Al Munawwaroh sesuai dengan apa yang telah direncanakan pada pola manajemen. Ketiga, pengelollan masjid Al Munawwaroh dari mulai pembangunan, keuangan, sera ibadah harian sudah cukup baik dilaksanakan.