Racializing the Religious during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In this article, we propose more research attention to an important dimension of social life that bears considerably on the racial patterns of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic: religion. Drawing from recent insights into the complex relationship between religious affiliation and other intersecting social identities (namely race, gender and class), we argue that understanding the racial inequities of COVID-19 requires consideration of the religious beliefs, participation and the collective resources of racial minorities. We suggest that religion can simultaneously offer a salve for vulnerable communities during this outbreak and can exacerbate the spread of the disease without solving the problem of insufficient access to care. We describe how religion helps and hurts during these turbulent times.

Keywords

• pandemic
• race
• religion
• Black churches
• health disparities
• health inequity