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COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHT
#205
Eid Celebrations after Two Years of COVID-19 Restrictions; Faith and Gender-based Violence

Last week marked the end of Ramadan, which was celebrated by Muslims around the world after two years of COVID-19-related restrictions. In Indonesia, the most populous majority-Muslim country worldwide, people were finally able to celebrate Eid al-Fitr with their families. Despite rising food and fuel prices, an estimated 85 million Indonesians traveled across the archipelago to join their loved ones, a sharp increase even compared to the years preceding the pandemic. 

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, the World Faiths Development Dialogue, and BRAC University’s Centre for Peace and Justice have published “Addressing Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Bangladesh: What Roles for Faith-Inspired Actors?,” a report that includes an in-depth review of the existing literature, as well as findings from original research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the authors’ analysis, the report suggests specific action points for different stakeholders - secular, religious, governmental, international, and media - to address GBV issues in ways that acknowledge both the positive and the negative roles that faith-inspired actors play in influencing GBV-related behavior in Bangladeshi society and that fosters collaborations, where possible.

A study has found that, in Brazil, health care workers resorted to spirituality as a protective factor when experiencing anxiety symptoms during the pandemic. The study identified three dimensions of spirituality: peace, meaning, and faith. Of these, peace spirituality was found to correlate with acute and chronic anxiety, while faith was particularly linked with acute anxiety developing during the public health crisis.  

As reported by the Washington Post, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis released an email exchange which indicates that White House officials during the Trump administration altered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance on religious gatherings during the pandemic. For example, Trump officials criticized CDC’s recommendation to offer virtual religious services, which had been previously included but was removed from the guidance after the email exchange. A recent report from the Government Accountability Office quoted in the Washington Post article concluded that “to maintain public trust and credibility, these agencies need to ensure that these decisions are evidence-based and free from political interference.”

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202-687-5119berkleycenter@georgetown.edu

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