Coronavirus and faith: Some still deny that infection is possible during group prayer

Most of the leaders of major religions around the world supported the efforts of states in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by limiting gatherings, but some of the faithful, both in religious and secular institutions, did not.

The president of Tanzania thus claimed that the coronavirus "cannot sit in the body of Christ", and the Israeli health minister rejected the introduction of a "curfew", saying that "the Messiah will come and save us".

Some have insisted that attending group worship should be continued because of the relief it provides.

Others have suggested that faith is an authority above science, that faith itself can reverse - the infection.

The struggle to adapt religious behavior to a pandemic that does not distinguish between creeds or national and other borders was particularly urgent in the early weeks, before many countries went into complete lockdown.

As more and more officials determine that religious gatherings are hotbeds of the virus, calls to the devout to first protect their physical well-being are louder.

Most religions emphasize caring for the most vulnerable in the community, saving other people's lives, said Gregory Jones, dean of the Faculty of Religion at Duke University in the United States.

But for some believers—especially where churches, synagogues, and mosques are important community centers—that focus seems to be at odds with the very fabric of their lives.

In majority-Christian Tanzania, President John Magufuli told a church council last month that he was "not afraid to come" to the mass of believers because "faith can overcome the virus."

Israel's Health Minister Yakov Litzman insisted that synagogues and other religious institutions be exempted from restrictions on public gatherings, but he too was struck down by the virus this month, apparently because he did not follow other precautions he had publicly preached.

Today, Licman is widely regarded as a symbol of the lax attitudes that have led to a disproportionately large number of patients in the ultra-orthodox Jewish community to which he belongs, which makes up slightly more than 10 percent of Israel's population.

Although the minister dismissed the possibility of a "curfew" for Passover last month, Israel eventually declared just that.

In India, the Tabligh Jamaat Muslim missionary movement has come under fire for releasing an audio recording, said to be the work of its chief Molana Saad, calling on worshipers to gather in mosques.

"They say that contagion will spread if you gather in a mosque, but that is a lie," Saad told followers. "If you die from coming to the mosque, then it is the best place to die".

Jamaat spokesman Majeeb ur Rehman said the video was "taken out of context" and that its leader "during the same sermon, asked followers to follow government guidelines to fight the spread of the virus" as many Muslim clerics and religious authorities around the world were doing.

The Pakistani government, accused of being too slow to restrict gatherings, has refused to order mosques closed. Instead, it limited gatherings to five people.

Still, some radical believers rejected staying at home even after the Council for Islamic Ideology recommended it.

Maulana Abdul Aziz, a cleric at Islamabad's Red Mosque, called on worshipers to reject the restrictions, arguing that keeping mosques empty is a sin.

In India, authorities said they linked hundreds of infections to Tabligh Jamaat activities and accused the movement's leadership of negligence. The news ignited inter-religious tension and sparked hatred towards the Muslim minority.

The spokesman for that movement, Rehman, admitted that "the Jamaat was careless, but the Government is also to blame: First they failed to stop the disease, and now they are turning the pandemic into a social issue."

Most religious services in the US have been suspended or are online as the federal government discourages gatherings to help contain the virus. But several religious leaders and congregations in America, where religious freedom is already a political minefield, have rebelled against the restrictions and claim their rights are being violated.

Others have taken less aggressive steps to affirm the power of communal worship, pointing out that the ability to believe heals the spiritual pain of the pandemic.

Retired Catholic theologian, specializing in morals, Janet Smith, is among those in her faith who call on bishops to support changing the procedure for giving the holy sacraments, so that they will be given to the faithful personally, individually and in a way that respects sanitary orders.

Smith suggested that the faithful meet with the priests outside or that they receive the sacraments from the car, because, as she said, "we believe that God is there."

Susan Heschel, professor of Jewish studies at Dartmouth College, pointed out that some believe that "we somehow control God, and if we pray in large numbers in a church or a mosque or a synagogue, that will end the epidemic."​

Seeking solace in spirituality or relying on religious rituals for "soul relief" and protection, some believers around the world continue to deny the risk of the coronavirus while praying.

Last month in Iraq, some broke a "curfew" on the anniversary of the death of the revered Shiite imam Musa al-Qadima. One of the visitors to the gold-domed shrine of that imam, Ayub al-Musawi, said that there have been greater dangers in Iraq over the years.

"There were always things - from shells to bombs, but God protected us," al-Musawi said. "This time save us from the corona virus pandemic".

He said he still takes precautions -- wearing masks when in crowds and sanitizing his hands.

He complained, however, that there were fewer pilgrims this year, and many marked the anniversary of the imam's death from the roofs of their houses, he said.

Al-Musawi is a supporter of the Iraqi Muslim Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who appealed to visitors to a Shia shrine "not to linger and to respect order and medical and health rules so as not to be a source of infection for others."

Some Iraqis, also Shiites, criticized al-Sadr for this, admitting that he had not discouraged the faithful from visiting holy sites.

On the other hand, Al-Sadr rejected claims that he underestimated the efforts in the fight against the pandemic by explaining the spread of the corona virus - by legalizing same-sex marriages. His "tweet" about it was read by a million of his followers.