#111
COVID-19, Soul-searching, and Honest Conversations

The COVID-19 crisis has stripped off masks hiding uncomfortable topics, the harsh realities of inequalities and inadequacies of social protection among them. The crisis forces robust conversations on such topics, offering hope that deeper and more open dialogue can prompt real change.
 
One analysis from Ghana points to benefits that come with open discussions about bad practices in religious circles, topics that were essentially taboo before the COVID-19 crisis. Most religious leaders are playing important roles, providing practical examples and leadership in difficult times. Many comply with public health regulations and, equally important, lead the way with efforts to support those who suffer the most. But some clearly do not, and their false prophecy schemes are being exposed and openly discussed now.
 
Analysts point especially to Pentecostal Christians, in Africa as well as other continents, who portray the coronavirus as a “spiritual force of evil” rather than as a biomedical disease, presenting the COVID-19 crisis as a battleground between God and the agents of Satan. They claim that those who “fight for Jesus” can rely on prayer rather than hospitals. What is described are practices and individuals who reduce the natural and the supernatural to “spectacles of illusory healing and false prophecies,” seeking money even from those who are hard-hit by restrictions. Sexual favors and extortion are rare but real problems. 
 
False religious words can cause harm but also detract from the good done by the majority. Religious communities overall suffer from bad press about irresponsible leaders.
 
As the failures of false prophets in times of COVID-19 are exposed, more productive dialogue between responsible religious leaders and the rest of society can open up. Honest discussion can lead to better understanding between state, science, and religion. Working together for a better society in the present, earthly realm makes more sense than “illusory escapades in the supernatural in the name of ‘spiritual warfare,’” says Joseph Oduro-Frimpong, director of the Centre for African Popular Culture at Ashesi University in Ghana.
 
The hope, bolstered by some experience, suggests that COVID-19 may open the way to a better understanding and faith in the power of truth.

(Based on: April 4, 2020, Guardian article; April 30, 2020, Conversation article; June 27, 2020, Corona Times article.)