Religion Politics Culture and COVID-19

One Caribbean Nation.

As the region continues to grapple with what will be a long fight against the COVID-19, the enforcement of  some restrictions surrounding  church and worship and the movement toward such new approaches as  virtual funeral services, have brought into focus , the convergence of : religion , culture, politics and the COVID-19. The region has devoted followers of all the major religions. However, Christianity is the most dominant because of the numerical strength of the Afro Caribbean populations.

Politicians are always cautious when social and economic issues become of critical concern to religious leaders. In some regional countries where other faiths such as Muslim and Hindu are numerically high and politically active, the balancing act becomes more pronounced.  Holidays and cultural customs, representing different races and cultural groups, have been given equal prominence on the national calendar, in order to avoid charges of discrimination. The result has been a quiet co- existence.

Therefore, when funeral directors are forced to comply with government restrictions in relation to the numbers of mourners allowed at a funeral, the Christian community reacts with some concern. Funerals and weddings are more than religious events. They are massive cultural celebrations and a gathering to both rejoice and be sad in almost equal measure.  It follows that restricting the number of mourners at a funeral, is as socially horrifying as declaring there can be no carnival, mass or jumping to pulsating calypso/ soca rhythms in the street, at our various festivals.

The entire region is therefore for the first time, in a century, experiencing a curtailment of cultural and religious activity that it never saw coming. Tremendous political skill is needed to turn this cultural energy into a discipline such as social distancing. Indeed, many social scientists are of the opinion, that resentment and panic among the populace to these new and sudden restrictions are more a cultural than economic challenge.

We can conclude that while, in some, or is it many instances, the swiftness is not at the levels required, the message is getting through. We need to see the “new normal” in a very broad sociological context.