Abstract
The chapter examines the outbreak of COVID-19 and its effect on communal religious practices, public perceptions of the disease and attitudes of believers across Africa to the containment measures. The physical distancing rule to contain the virus was at variance with the communal practices of close contact in fellowship, shaking of hands and large gatherings for joint worship. The outbreak also coincided with two important events in the Christian and Islamic calendars: the Lent and Ramadan respectively, both periods dedicated to fasting and communal prayers, thus raising tension between science and religious beliefs, and between scientists, public administrators, religious leaders and believers. The containment measures again brought to the fore the relationship between religion and public health; religion, science and society; debates about the cultural authority of science and epistemological claims as to a conflict. Initial resistance by leaders and followers soon gave way to compliance as the need to follow scientific advice became more urgent and important. Accommodation psychology provides plausible explanations for the relationship between science and religion during this outbreak as religious leaders and followers adopted scientific findings rather than its rejection or blanket adoption.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adekanye, M. (2020). Nigerians remind T.B. Joshua of his prophesy on coronavirus. Published March 26, 2020. Available from: https://guardian.ng/life/nigerians-reminds-t-b-joshua-of-his-prophesy-on-coronavirus/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Ae-Ngibise, K., Cooper, S., Adiibokah, E., Akpalu, B., Lund, C., Doku, V., & Mhapp Research Programme Consortium. (2010). ‘Whether you like it or not people with mental problems are going to go to them’: A qualitative exploration into the widespread use of traditional and faith healers in the provision of mental health care in Ghana. International Review of Psychiatry, 22(6), 558–567.
AFP. (2020). Church coronavirus restrictions hit African faithful. Published March 22, 2020. Available from: https://www.france24.com/en/20200322-church-coronavirus-restrictions-hit-african-faithful. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Agbakwuru, J. (2020). COVID-19: Economy ‘ll go into recession—FG. Published May 21, 2020. Available from: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/05/covid-19-economyll-go-into-recession-fg/. Accessed July 15, 2020.
Aikins, A. D. G. (2005). Healer shopping in Africa: New evidence from rural–urban qualitative study of Ghanaian diabetes experiences. BMJ, 331(7519), 737.
Bauer, M., Pansegrau, P., & Shukla, R. (2019). The cultural authority of science—Comparing across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society New York & London, Routledge.
Beck, A. (1960). Issues in the anti-vaccination movement in England. Medical History, 4(4), 310–321.
Beck, M. (2007). Illness, disease and sin: The connection between genetics and spirituality. Christian Bioethics, 13(1), 67–89.
Catto, R., & Kaden, T. (Eds.). (2019). Science, belief and society: International perspectives on religion, modernity and the public understanding of science. Policy Press.
Chatters, L. M. (2000). Religion and health: Public health research and practice. Annual Review of Public Health, 21(1), 335–367.
Colgrove, J. (2005). “Science in a democracy”: The contested status of vaccination in the progressive era and the 1920’s. The History of Science Society, 96, 167–191.
Cook, C. T. (2009). Sangomas: Problem or solution for South Africa’s health care system. Journal of the National Medical Association, 101(3), 261–265.
Evans, J. H., & Evans, M. S. (2008). Religion and science: Beyond the epistemological conflict narrative. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 87–105.
Eyoboka, S. (2020a). COVID-19 won’t end till world goes on compulsory holiday—Adeboye. Published May 13, 2020. Available at https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/covid-19-wont-end-till-world-goes-on-compulsory-holiday-%E2%80%95-adeboye/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Eyoboka, S. (2020b). COVID-19: Adeboye, Oyedepo donate medical supplies to Lagos, Ogun. Published April 1, 2020. Available at https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/04/covid-19-adeboye-oyedepo-donate-medical-supplies-to-lagos-ogun/. Accessed May 15, 2020.
Falade, B. A. (2014). Vaccination resistance, religion and attitudes to science in Nigeria. PhD thesis London School of Economics and Political Science. Available at http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/911/. Accessed May 15, 2020.
Falade, B. A. (2019). Vaccines, polio and Ebola: Religion and traditions compete with scientific authority in West Africa. In M. Bauer, P. Pansegrau & R. Shukla (Eds.), The cultural authority of science—Comparing across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society, Routledge.
Falade, B. A., & Bauer, M. W. (2018). ‘I have faith in science and in God’: Common sense, cognitive polyphasia and attitudes to science in Nigeria. Public Understanding of Science, 27(1), 29–46. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28194998.
Falade, B. A., & Coultas C. J. (2017). Scientific and non-scientific information in the uptake of health information: The case of Ebola. South Africa Journal of Science, 113(7/8), Art. #2016–0359, 8. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2017/20160359.
Falade, B. A., & Guenther, L. (2020). Dissonance and polyphasia as strategies for resolving the potential conflict between science and religion among South Africans. Minerva Online. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-020-09403-8
Feldman-Savelsberg, P., Ndonko, F., & Schmidt-Ehry, B. (2000). Sterilizing vaccines or the politics of the womb: Retrospective study of a rumour in Cameroon. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 14(2), 159–179.
Inglehart, R. C., Haerpfer, A., Moreno, C., Welzel, K., Kizilova, J., Diez-Medrano, M. et al. (2014). Editors world values survey: Round six—Country-pooled datafile version. http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSDocumentationWV6.jsp. JD Systems Institute.
Ishola, Y. (2020). COVID-19: Kwara Monarch Lauds Oyedepo, others over relief package. Published May 5, 2020. Available at https://nnn.com.ng/covid-19-kwara-monarch-lauds-oyedepo-others-over-relief-package/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Jovchelovitch, S., & Priego-Hernandez, J. (2015). 11 cognitive polyphasia, knowledge encounters and public spheres. In The Cambridge Handbook of Social Representations (p. 163).
Kindzeka, M. E. (2020). Cameroonian Muslims defy coronavirus prayer restrictions. Published March 28, 2020. Available at https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/cameroonian-muslims-defy-coronavirus-prayer-restrictions. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Kroll, J., & Bachrach, B. (1984). Sin and mental illness in the middle ages. Psychological Medicine, 14(3), 507–514.
LeFever, L. E. (2005). Religious exemptions from school immunization: A sincere belief or a legal loophole. Penn State Law Review, 110, 1047.
Li, Y. Y., & Tsai, C. Y. (2019). The science, the paranormal, cohorts and cognitive polyphasia: The authority of science in Taiwan. In The Cultural Authority of Science (pp. 190–209). Routledge.
Moscovici, S. (1961/1976/2008). Psychoanalysis: Its image and its public. Polity.
Mugabi, I. (2020). COVID-19 Restricts Africa’s Ramadan routine. Published May 8, 2020. Available from: https://p.dw.com/p/3bwZJ. Accessed May 15, 2020.
Muvunyi, F. (2020). COVID-19: South Africa’s social divide and economic woes exposed. Published June 9, 2020. Available from: https://www.dw.com/en/covid-19-south-africas-social-divide-and-economic-woes-exposed/a-53739914. Accessed July 15, 2020.
Obiezu, T. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: Nigerian Muslims adapt to new Ramadan in age of coronavirus. Published April 23, 2020. Available from: https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/nigerian-muslims-adapt-new-ramadan-age-coronavirus. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Ogundipe, S. (2020). Coronavirus: Oyedepo holds service, vows to keep winners chapel open. Published March 23, 2020. Available at https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/383340-coronavirus-oyedepo-holds-service-vows-to-keep-winners-chapel-open.html. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Olowolagba, F. (2020a). Pastor Poju counters Oyedepo’s position on closure of churches over COVID-19. Published May 8, 2020. Available at https://dailypost.ng/2020/05/08/pastor-poju-counters-oyedepos-position-on-closure-of-churches-over-covid-19/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Olowolagba, F. (2020b). COVID-19: Oyedepo reveals what God told him about closure of churches. Published May 6, 2020. Available from: https://dailypost.ng/2020/05/06/covid-19-oyedepo-reveals-what-god-told-him-about-closure-of-churches/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Oyero, K. (2020). Bakare donates two church buildings as isolation centres. Published May 11, 2020. Available from: https://punchng.com/bakare-donates-two-church-buildings-as-isolation-centres/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Pelčić, G., Karačić, S., Mikirtichan, G. L., Kubar, O. I., Leavitt, F. J., Tai, M. C. T., & Tomašević, L. (2016). Religious exception for vaccination or religious excuses for avoiding vaccination. Croatian Medical Journal, 57(5), 516.
Perring, R. (2020). Coronavirus: Historic moment as Kaaba CLOSED—Emergency deep-clean at Islam’s holy site. Express Newspaper Online. Available at https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1251324/coronavirus-news-Kaaba-closed-mecca-Saudi-arabia-coronavirus-latest-updates-great-mosque. Accessed May 6, 2020.
Priego Hernández, J. (2011). Sexual and reproductive health among indigenous Mexican adolescents: A socio-representational perspective. Doctoral dissertation, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Ramon, O. (2020). Sin, disobedience to god responsible for COVID-19—CAN president. Published March 23, 2020. Available at https://punchng.com/sin-disobedience-to-god-responsible-for-covid-19-can-president/. Accessed May 13, 2020.
Reuters, (2020). Public masses in Italy to resume May 18, ending bitter church-state rift. Published May 07, 2020. Available at https://www.jpost.com/international/public-masses-in-italy-to-resume-may-18-ending-bitter-church-state-rift-627260. Accessed May 14, 2020.
Sandstrom, A. (2019). Amid measles outbreak, New York closes religious exemption for vaccinations—But most states retain it. Available at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/28/nearly-all-states-allow-religious-exemptions-for-vaccinations/. Accessed May 15, 2020.
Scheitle, C. P. (2011). US college students’ perception of religion and science: Conflict, collaboration, or independence? A research note. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 50(1), 175–186.
Shange, N. (2020). Evangelist Angus Buchan tests positive for COVID-19 after attending Bloem church event. Published March 26, 2020. Available from: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2020-03-26-evangalist-angus-buchan-tests-positive-for-covid-19-after-attending-bloem-church-event/. Accessed May 17, 2020.
Sheehan, W., & Kroll, J. (1990). Psychiatric patients’ belief in general health factors and sin as causes of illness. The American Journal of Psychiatry., 147(1), 112–113.
Tondo, L. (2020). Pope’s blessing in empty St Peter’s square watched by 11m on TV. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/28/popes-blessing-in-empty-st-peters-square-watched-by-11m-on-tv. Accessed May 12, 2020.
Vigdor, N. (2020). Pastor who defied social distancing dies after contracting COVID-19. Church Says. Published April 14, 2020. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/bishop-gerald-glenn-coronavirus.html. Accessed May 17, 2020.
WHO. (2020a). WHO advice for international travel and trade in relation to the outbreak of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus in China. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/articles-detail/who-advice-for-international-travel-and-trade-in-relation-to-the-outbreak-of-pneumonia-caused-by-a-new-coronavirus-in-china/. Accessed May 12, 2020.
WHO. (2020b). WHO director-general’s opening remarks at the media briefing on COVID-19. Published March 11, 2020. Available at https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020. Accessed May 12, 2020.
WHO. (2020c). COVID-19 cases top 10 000 in Africa. Available at https://www.afro.who.int/news/covid-19-cases-top-10-000-africa. Accessed May 12, 2020.
Wilson, T. (2019). Ebola case confirmed in Congolese city of Goma for first time. Available at https://www.ft.com/content/78c954f4-a6c9-11e9-984c-fac8325aaa04. Accessed May 15, 2020.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Falade, B. (2021). COVID-19, Religious Institutions and the Accommodation of Science. In: Falade, B., Murire, M. (eds) Health Communication and Disease in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2546-6_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2546-6_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-2545-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-2546-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)