Pandemic Response and Religion in the United States represents an initial archiving of online materials related to religion and the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. Materials are organized by thematic category and can be searched by keywords. This database will encourage further research into religion and pandemic response. We hope that such research will in turn serve to guide policy decisions by religious organizations and governments. It will also serve as a foundation for teaching about religion and health, disaster response, and other key issues at the high school and college levels. This project was made possible by a WMU Meader Presidential Endowment Covid19 Response Grant. The project’s principle investigator (PI) is Dr. Stephen Covell and the co-PI is Dr. Diane Riggs. Data was collected by the following graduate students in the Department of Comparative Religion: Cameron Borg, Gerald Brooks, Jarrett Stalinger and Emily Warren.

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Submissions from 2020

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Racism, Intolerance, and the Coronavirus, Engy Abdelkader

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COVID-19 and Islamic Burial Laws: Safeguarding dignity of the dead, Ahmed Al-Dawoody and Oran Finegan

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Amid Coronavirus, Governor Whitmer Must Close Dangerous House of Worship Loophole, American Atheists

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Americans United For Separation of Church and State Letter to Governor Whitmer, Americans United

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Ohio Churches, Houses of Worship Begin to Reopen After Trump Declared Them Essential Services, Natasha Anderson

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A Joint Statement: Gender, faith, and COVID-19, Anglican Communion, ACT Alliance, Islamic Relief Worldwide, World Council of Churches, Side By Side, act, The Girls Brigade, We Will Speak Out, Christian Aid, United Society Partners in the Gospel, DCA, and Presbyterian Women Aotearoa New Zealand

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Anglican Communion Calls for COVID-19 Responses to Tackle Gender Inequalities, Anglican Communion and Episcopal News Service

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Where is Justice? Islam, Equality, and COVID-19, Hossein Askari and Berkley Center-Georgetown University

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Aftermath and Flourishing? The Role of Religion in a Post-Pandemic Public Square, Chris Baker and Berkley Center-Georgetown University

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Berkley Center-Content related to economics, Berkley Center-Georgetown University

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Religion and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social welfare, Berkley Center-Georgetown University

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Seeing Ourselves in the Face of Others: Environmental Racism and COVID-19 | Faith in Place, Elena Bettis

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Playing God: Pandemic Brings Moral Dilemmas to US Hospitals, Kara Bettis

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Revelations from the Outbreak of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, Shan Ci

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It Won’t Be That Hard to Get People to Accept the Mark of the Beast, David W. Daniels

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On Religion: Will the church survive COVID-19?, Dane Davis and Daily Press

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The Pandemic and the Will of God, Ross Douthat

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It’s Hard to Close Black Churches amid COVID-19, Elaine Howard Ecklund and Deidra Carroll Coleman

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The Kano COVID-19 Deaths: Forced relocations and disinformation creates widespread confusion (Part II), Nwachukwu Egbunike and Global Voices

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The Kano COVID-19 Deaths: Stories untold (Part I), Nwachukwu Egbunike and Global Voices

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Two Sikh Doctors Shaved Their Beards, a Pillar of Their Religion, to Treat Covid-19 Patients. But Community Groups Say There are Alternatives, Alaa Elassar

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Here’s What the Science Says About the Links Between Religion and Health, Erica Evans

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WMU Researchers Creating National Database of Religious Response to COVID-19, Erin Flynn

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Beyond Catastrophe, Jay Garfield and The Institute of Art and Ideas

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In India, Coronavirus Fans Religious Hatred, Jeffery Gettleman, Kai Schultz, and Suhasini Raj

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Religion During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Islamic bioethical perspectives, Mohammed Ghaly and The Hastings Institute

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NIH Director Tells Churches To Do The 'Altruistic, Loving Thing' And Stay Closed, Tom Gjelten

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Faith in a Time of Crisis, Bryan Goodman

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The Right to Worship: Church and state clash over religious services in the coronavirus era, Laura Hancock

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WMU Team Creates National Database to Document How Religious Groups are Handling COVID-19, Tarvarious Haywood

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: Religious Leaders Must Not Be Tempted to Jump on the Reopening Bandwagon, H A. Hellyer

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A ‘Breakdown of Trust’: Pandemic Corrodes Church-State Ties in Russia, Andrew Higgins

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The Dalai Lama on the Coronavirus, Donald Trump, and "Old Thinking" in America, Ramy Inocencio

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Russian Orthodox Church Defrocks Coronavirus-Denying Monk, Vladimir Isachenkov and Time

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On the Pandemic: A Buddhist approach to pandemic grocery shopping, Christine Ji

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North Suburban Mosques Observe Ramadan Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, Jennifer Johnson, Steve Schering, and Chicago Tribune

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Is it Safe for Patients With COVID-19 to Fast in Ramadan?, Asli Kalin, Ammad Mahmood, Salman Waqar, Asim Yusuf, Nazim Ghouri, Naveed Sattar, and Tahseen Chowdhury

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Muslim Groups Join Forces to Raise $500,000 for Coronavirus Relief Grants, Aysha Khan

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Did the Quran Mention COVID-19 Pandemic? Medical and Sanitary Prophylaxis of this Disease, T. Khenenou, S. Laabed, O. Laabed, and Journal of Medical Biomedical and Applied Sciences

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The right to worship: Church and state clash over religious services in the coronavirus era, Mansee Khurana

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The Bodhisattva Response to Coronavirus, Jack Kornfield

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Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich Urges 'a New Sense of Solidarity' in face of COVID-19 pandemic, Alan Krashesky and Ross Weidner

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Addressing fears in the COVID-19 crisis, David J.B. Krishef and The Rapidian

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Ethics and Religion Talk: Addressing fears in the COVID-19, crisis, part 2, David J.B. Krishef and The Rapidian

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Mass to Resume Wednesday at Wichita Catholic Churches, with Coronavirus Precautions, Dion Lefler

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Religion and Mental Health in the Age of COVID-19, Jeff Levin and Berkley Center- Georgetown University

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Forced Closing of Houses of Worship During the Coronavirus: Both legal and right, Sanford V. Levison, Eric J. Segall, and American Constitution Society

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Plague and Punishment: When religion sided with science as a lesson for enduring COVID-19, Phillip I. Lieberman, Milwaukee Independent, and The Conversation

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London Coronavirus: Why the city's busiest mosque is still open for prayers, Danielle Manning

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Beating Coronavirus Requires Faith Leaders to Bridge Gap Between Religion and Science, Katherine Marshall and The Conversation

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Jentezen Franklin, Trump Adviser and Prominent Georgia Pastor, Tests Positive for COVID-19, Emily McFarlan Miller

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Buddhist Responses to COVID-19 in Japan, Levi McLaughlin and The Jivaka Project

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With a Worsening Pandemic, California Bans Singing in Places of Worship, Alexandra Meeks

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Some of the Most Visible Christians in America Are Failing the Coronavirus Test, Johnathan Merritt

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Mid America Dharma Responds to COVID-19, Mid America Dharma

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Drive-Thru Communion? Remote Consecration? COVID-19 Sparks Eucharistic Experimentation – And theological debate, Egan Millard and David Paulsen

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Priests Defeated in Lawsuit to Delay Executions During Covid-19, Megan Mineiro

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Religion as a Health Promoter During the 2019/2020 COVID Outbreak: View from Detroit, Stephen M. Modell and Sharon L.R. Kardia

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God Doesn’t Want Us to Sacrifice the Old, Russell Moore and The New York Times

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Saudi Arabia Must Suspend the Hajj: The presence of millions of pilgrims in Mecca and Medina will have lethal consequences., Ebrahim Moosa

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Wisconsin Interfaith Leaders Encourage Social, Not Spiritual Distancing During COVID-19 Pandemic, Audrey Nowakowski

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The Indigenous Communities that Predicted COVID-19: For hundreds of years, indigenous groups have warned that destroying the environment leads to disease and adversely affects lives and culture. Is the world now ready to listen?, Rachel Nuwer

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Nearly A Fifth Of Religious Americans Say They Are Still Attending Services, Despite The Coronavirus Pandemic: Seventeen percent of respondents to a recent poll said they were still attending worship services in person., Ema O'Connor

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'A Dangerous Environment': As churches reopen, outbreaks sprout and some keep doors shut, Jorge L. Ortiz

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Traditions, Interrupted, Dan Peterson and Anchor FM

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Toward a Religious Ethic of Social Equity Through Maximum Productivity in a Post-Pandemic Era, Carl Raschke and Berkley Center-Georgetown University

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Distributive Justice, Reconstructing Judaism

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For Churchgoers During the Covid-19 Pandemic, a Deadly Lesson From the 1918 Flu, Kristen Rogers

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What can we Learn about Religion and COVID-19 from the Epidemic of 1616? An Interview with Matthew Rowley, Matthew Rowley

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It’s Okay to be Doing Okay During the Pandemic, Sigal Samuel

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Religious Discrimination is Hindering the Covid-19 Response, Sonia Sarkar

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Japan vs. Epidemics, Yamamoto Satomi and Japanology Plus- NHK World-Japan

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Poll: Most in U.S. back curbing in-person worship amid coronavirus, Elana Schor, Emily Swanson, and The Denver Post

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Area Megachurch Holds Sunday Services Despite Coronavirus Concerns, Eric Schwartzberg

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How Coronavirus is Leading to a Religious Revival, Sebastian Shehadi and Miriam Partington

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17 FAQs for Houses of Worship Considering Reopening Amid the Coronavirus Crisis, Maggie Siddiqi, Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Maura Calsyn, Thomas Waldrop, and Samantha Behar

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Impact of Covid-19 on Religion and Beyond, Rajkumar Singh and The Geopolitics

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Congregations, Other Faith Groups Receive Millions in Federal Aid, Peter Smith

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Buddhist Teachings, Wisdom, and Practices for the Coronavirus Era, Lion's Roar Staff

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Reasonable Restrictions do not Resemble Religious Persecution, The Rhode Island Catholic

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We Joined a Ramadan Celebration in Animal Crossing, Dexter Thomas

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Closing Mosques – Islamic Justifications for Coronavirus Lockdowns, Sajid Umar and Islam 21C

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Vatican OKs Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines, Even If Research Involved Fetal Tissue, Laurel Wamsley

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Vatican Cardinal in Row Over Claim that Virus Hurts Religion, Nicole Winfield

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Pamela Winfield: A meditation on Buddhism in the time of pandemic, Pamela D. Winfield

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Church tied to Oregon's largest coronavirus outbreak, superspreading, Aylin Woodward

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Religious Anti-Masker Commands ‘Demon’ to Leave Store Aisle ‘In Jesus Christ’s Name’, Meaghan Wray

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Religion Can Help Tackle Covid, Meeting Told, Tim Wyatt