COVID-19 is spreading quickly in Bangladesh. An outbreak in the refugee camps that house some 1 million Rohingya Muslims in cramped, unsanitary quarters would be calamitous.
Doctors face difficult choices about rationing medical care. A scholar who studies discrimination argues that those with chronic illnesses and disabilities will be hit the hardest.
If anyone can convince the Maduro government and the Venezuelan opposition to come together to fight COVID-19, it’s the Pope. But the Church’s power to negotiate an emergency deal is limited.
Churches have moved online. But to be able to properly connect with people, they need to find a way to build community, says a scholar who studies digital religion.
In the 1790s, penal reformers rebuilt America’s squalid jails as airy, hygienic places meant to keep residents – and by extension society – healthy. Now they’re hotbeds of COVID-19. What went wrong?
Some people are comparing current times with the apocalypse. In ancient texts, apocalyptic messages cultivated endurance and encouragement through dire circumstances.
As people everywhere don face masks, scarves and bandanas to protect against coronavirus, Muslim women who wear the niqab, or Islamic veil, are feeling a lot less conspicuous.
Criminal gangs, insurgents and terrorist groups seek to protect the people in the areas they govern, when a central government’s power is weak or nonexistent.
All major sports events have been canceled at this time. Two sports philosophers remind people how sports help us bond as a community and why we miss them.
Some of the Passover Seder traditions are occurring through Zoom this year. A historian of the Bible explains how ancient Israelites changed the ways of their worship.
Doctors are being forced to make difficult choices regarding who gets ventilators in this pandemic. An expert argues why this has parallels with choices soldiers have to make during wartime.
Gratitude has a strong connection to well-being, but more than that, two psychologists say, it could have a powerful effect on others. So, don’t hold back when it comes to expressing it.
Buddhist monks have been chanting sutras to provide spiritual relief during the coronavirus crisis. A scholar of Buddhism translates some Buddhist teachings into ways we can deal with uncertain times.
In the late second century, some Christian groups in Rome began directing financial aid toward people living in another city, who were going through a crisis. That act of giving has lessons for today.
Rebecca Tippett, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The 2020 census will now count some groups differently than it has in the past. That could make a difference in the final count – affecting which states receive funding and congressional seats.
The routine of life has been disrupted for most people as they stay at home to slow down the further spread of the coronavirus. A scholar who studies boredom offers some helpful tips.
As the coronavirus spreads and life comes to a standstill, people are coming up with a host of rituals to maintain a sense of order and human connection.
Faith communities are changing many traditional practices to deal with coronavirus restrictions. A historian of the Bible argues how innovation has long been part of religious practice.