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COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHT
#162
Religious Bodies vs. Governments; Faith vs. the Pandemic

The pandemic has led to rising tensions between different religious organizations and governmental organizations. The issues raised stem from physical distancing regulations which prove particularly difficult in communal contexts where many faiths thrive. In South Africa, religious leaders from both Muslim and Christian faiths have raised concerns that the religious sector is being singled out by the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) as it enforces COVID-19 protocols. There was also the concern that police enforcement of lockdown measures at religious gatherings were heavy-handed while similar contraventions at political gatherings were left unpunished.
 
In response to these complaints, COGTA Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma observed: “The decisions that are taken are taken with regard to real scientific data, reduction in infections, or increase in infections, views expressed by relevant Cabinet ministers, views expressed by the advisory committee that advises the minister of health. So, all those things are taken into account.” She refuted claims that religious organizations were singled out and said the Cabinet was also very aware and appreciative of faith-based organizations that have cooperated well with the government.
 
In India, Om Gaur, the national editor of Dainik Bhaskar, a leading Hindi-language newspaper, presents evidence that the Indian government under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk turned politician, has mishandled the pandemic. Adityanath is a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, which has led India since March 2017. The key piece of evidence provided in Gaur’s New York Times report are bodies buried by the Ganges which are now seen floating on it as rains swelled the river, tossing corpses up to the river’s surface and onto its shores. Over 2,000 bodies were sighted on May 12 and 13 alone, bodies of people whose kin could not afford wood for cremation and so they had to make do with burial beside the holy Ganges.
 
On a more positive note, African American churches in the United States are working closely with the government to amplify vaccination efforts and provide comfort for Black communities. Every Sunday at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, the Rev. Joseph Jackson Jr. encourages the congregation to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We want to continue to encourage our people to get out, get your shots. I got both of mine,” Jackson said to applause at the church in Milwaukee on a recent Sunday. As a result of his efforts and that of others such as Debra Fraser-Howze, the founder of Choose Healthy Life, there has been an increase in health care solutions for the African American community. Choose Healthy Life, which is a national initiative involving Black clergy, United Way of New York City, and others, has been awarded a $9.9 million U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant to expand vaccinations. The initiative has so far been responsible for over 30,000 vaccinations in its first three months in 50 churches in New York; Newark, New Jersey; Detroit; Washington, DC; and Atlanta.
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