The accomplishment of spirituality in the everyday pandemic life of religion-practicing Filipinos

Abstract

ABSTRACT Amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken lives, devastated economies, and restricted in-person sociality, this paper interrogates spirituality as capital and accomplishment in the everyday life of ordinary Filipinos. It characterizes spirituality in general and in the pandemic context and examines its effects. It employs social capital theories and ethnomethodology to characterize spirituality as an accomplishment in everyday life with investments and returns. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with Filipino Muslims and Christians. Findings show that spirituality is accomplished through a daily life of prayer, self-transformation, and good works in new technological formats and a socially distanced manner. Constant prayer as a medium for transcendental connection is the investment and self-conversion and good works are the expressive and instrumental returns, which are desirable resources for individuals and the social structure. The findings have implications for the resilience against crises of a spiritually inclined population. The paper contributes to existing conceptualizations and accounting of spirituality within the context of religion and as social capital.