International | Praying across the divide

Old religious quarrels return as covid-19 lockdowns ease

The pandemic has exacerbated tension between church and state, and between religious figures, in many places

Editor’s note: Some of our covid-19 coverage is free for readers of The Economist Today, our daily newsletter. For more stories and our pandemic tracker, see our hub

FROM DEAGU in South Korea to Qom in Iran, Mulhouse in France and Sacramento in California, places of collective worship have often been accelerators of coronavirus contagion. Months later, with lockdowns starting to ease in the rich world, some religious groups have been loudly demanding a return to normality, and complaining that their needs have been forgotten.

More from International

Beware, global jihadists are back on the march

They are using the war in Gaza to radicalise a new generation

The tech wars are about to enter a fiery new phase

America, China and the battle for supremacy


Would you really die for your country?

Military conscription is on the agenda in the rich world