Pub Date : 2021-05-01DOI: 10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.24
Innocent Simphwe. Nojiyeza, S. Khumalo, N. Gama
When it comes to dealing with the spread of the coronavirus, there is a consensus on the approaches adopted by religious leaders regardless of whether they are Protestant, Pentecostal, or African indigenous churches. There is generally compliance with WHO regulations and lockdown regulations stipulated by various governments across the globe, including the government of South Africa. The knowledge on COVID 19, social distancing, health and hygiene promotion and resilience are some of the matters which religious leaders are contending with. From a qualitative study conducted amongst religious leaders in Northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, it is clear that knowledge on COVID 19 is drawn from sources which include government and the media, and social distancing and social intimacy remains contested. Religious leaders in South Africa are to a large extent complying with COVID 19 regulations and play a pivotal role as agents of social change, whilst in other parts of the world, there is massive resistance directed at governments who are perceived to be authoritarian. There is evidence that religious leaders actively participate in structures established by government to combat the spread of COVID 19, but there is an increasing need for various levels of government in South Africa to support religious organisations in the fight against coronavirus.
{"title":"Protestants, Pentecostal and African Indigenous religious perspectives on COVID 19","authors":"Innocent Simphwe. Nojiyeza, S. Khumalo, N. Gama","doi":"10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.24","url":null,"abstract":"When it comes to dealing with the spread of the coronavirus, there is a consensus on the approaches adopted by religious leaders regardless of whether they are Protestant,\u0000Pentecostal, or African indigenous churches. There is generally compliance with WHO\u0000regulations and lockdown regulations stipulated by various governments across the globe, including the government of South Africa. The knowledge on COVID 19, social distancing, health and hygiene promotion and resilience are some of the matters which religious leaders are contending with. From a qualitative study conducted amongst religious leaders in Northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, it is clear that knowledge on COVID 19 is drawn from sources which include government and the media, and social distancing and social intimacy remains contested. Religious leaders in South Africa are to a large extent complying with COVID 19 regulations and play a pivotal role as agents of social change, whilst in other parts of the world, there is massive resistance directed at governments who are perceived to be authoritarian. There is evidence that religious leaders actively participate in structures established by government to combat the spread of COVID 19, but there is an increasing need for various levels of government in South Africa to support religious organisations in the fight against coronavirus.","PeriodicalId":306005,"journal":{"name":"Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127252188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-01DOI: 10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.26
Z. Buthelezi, Thandiwe Nonkululeko Ngema
This study sought to investigate the role of the church in handling issues of widowhood amid the rampant Covid-19 pandemic using Christian teachings and Ubuntu in selected parishes in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Widowhood is a social phenomenon caused by a transition from married status to being a widow or widower due to the death of a spouse. Although a huge chunk of literature enumerates different ways in which widows have been ill-treated and treated as second citizens by communities over the years, this article argues that men grieve too and have also been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is undoubtedly little state of balance between men and women in societies, but the reality is that men can also feel physical and emotional pain due to the loss of a spouse and they too need support in order to be able to move forward after experiencing a loss. They therefore cannot be divorced from being part of an intertwined church figuration where the concern is in ‘process’, not ‘state’ (Elias, 1978). This study is gender inclusive in that it focusses not only on women but also a range of experiences of widowers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Using figurational sociology by Elias (1978), this qualitative study adopted an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to interrogate the role of the church in the lives of the widowed during the pandemic. Selecting ten widowed congregants from different African churches in northern KZN as part of figurations, the study sought to explore what role the church has played to support the widowed when death occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. By using figurational sociology, widowhood research problems are perceived in processual terms with shifting asymmetrical power balances. Data was collected through praxis essays and semi-structured interviews of 5 widows and 5 widowers, with all participants purposively selected. Findings reveal that the church has struggled to provide care and support because of regulations such as social distancing and government prescribed alert levels which restricted movement in society. Even though the widowed understood Covid-19 regulations, they have felt alienated and marginalised during their period of bereavement. The perceived lack of support ruptured loyalty and fractured interpersonal relationships during and after the time of mourning. The study recommends new ways of pastoral care and advocates for a figurational care model as an arsenal to support people, mending relationships and restoring dignity.
{"title":"A figurational analysis of the role of the church in handling issues of widowhood amid Covid-19 in northern KwaZuluNatal, South Africa","authors":"Z. Buthelezi, Thandiwe Nonkululeko Ngema","doi":"10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.26","url":null,"abstract":"This study sought to investigate the role of the church in handling issues of widowhood amid the rampant Covid-19 pandemic using Christian teachings and Ubuntu in selected parishes in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Widowhood is a social phenomenon caused by a transition from married status to being a widow or widower due to the death of a spouse. Although a huge chunk of literature enumerates different ways in which widows have been ill-treated and treated as second citizens by communities over the years, this article argues that men grieve too and have also been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. There is undoubtedly little state of balance between men and women in societies, but the reality is that men can also feel physical and\u0000emotional pain due to the loss of a spouse and they too need support in order to be able to move forward after experiencing a loss. They therefore cannot be divorced from being part of an intertwined church figuration where the concern is in ‘process’, not ‘state’ (Elias, 1978). This study is gender inclusive in that it focusses not only on women but also a range of experiences of widowers during the Covid-19 pandemic. \u0000\u0000Using figurational sociology by Elias (1978), this qualitative study adopted an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to interrogate the role of the church in the lives of the widowed during the pandemic. Selecting ten widowed congregants from different African churches in northern KZN as part of figurations, the study sought to explore what role the church has played to support the widowed when death occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. By using figurational sociology, widowhood research problems are perceived in processual terms with shifting asymmetrical power balances. Data was collected through praxis essays and semi-structured interviews of 5 widows and 5 widowers, with all participants purposively selected. Findings reveal that the church has struggled to provide care and support because of regulations such as social\u0000distancing and government prescribed alert levels which restricted movement in society. Even though the widowed understood Covid-19 regulations, they have felt alienated and marginalised during their period of bereavement. The perceived lack of support ruptured loyalty and fractured interpersonal relationships during and after the time of mourning. The study recommends new ways of pastoral care and advocates for a figurational care model as an arsenal to support people, mending relationships and restoring dignity.","PeriodicalId":306005,"journal":{"name":"Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116064069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-01DOI: 10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.212
Mammusa. Lekoa, S. L. Ntuli
This paper provides accounts on the impact that COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown(s) had on the Church and its leaders in the South African context. The study explores challenges that the leaders faced and how they dealt with them to remain standing despite their fears. The context is COVID-19 pandemic, which brought mass deaths, fear, confusion and frustration to congregations globally. Church leaders faced a challenge to show resilience amid fear because they too were directly affected. Governments introduced regulations that imposed lockdowns to control the spread of the virus. Limiting contact by restricting distance amongst citizens. The church was one sector that could not operate. Although some sectors were never declared essential services like churches, this left vulnerable communities without support in the face of fear. Spiritual leaders had to demonstrate resilience to support the congregants. The key question the researchers seek to understand is to what extent did the church remain resilient during COVID-19 pandemic? And how did the church leaders deal with fear despite anointing and expectations from the congregants and communities? A qualitative approach was used in this study. COVID-19 has shown that Church leaders are humans and they are also fearful, however their faith in God has assisted them to show resilience even at this difficult time. The study also asserts that governments should consult different groupings of faith-based organisations, not only those that are under organised bodies before embarking on restrictions for pandemic control. Communities encompass many churches and leaders require support to assist them from church members.
{"title":"An attack on the Cross: Spiritual leaders’ accounts of fear and resilience during COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Mammusa. Lekoa, S. L. Ntuli","doi":"10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.212","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.212","url":null,"abstract":"This paper provides accounts on the impact that COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown(s) had on the Church and its leaders in the South African context. The study explores challenges that the leaders faced and how they dealt with them to remain standing despite their fears. The context is COVID-19 pandemic, which brought mass deaths, fear, confusion and frustration to congregations globally. Church leaders faced a challenge to show resilience amid fear because they too were directly affected. Governments introduced regulations that imposed lockdowns to control the spread of the virus. Limiting contact by restricting distance amongst citizens. The church was one sector that could not operate. Although some sectors were never declared essential services like churches, this left vulnerable communities without support in the face of fear. Spiritual leaders had to demonstrate resilience to support the congregants. The key question the researchers seek to understand is to what extent did the\u0000church remain resilient during COVID-19 pandemic? And how did the church leaders deal with fear despite anointing and expectations from the congregants and communities? A qualitative approach was used in this study. COVID-19 has shown that Church leaders are humans and they are also fearful, however their faith in God has assisted them to show resilience even at this difficult time. The study also asserts that governments should consult different groupings of faith-based organisations, not only those that are under organised bodies before embarking on restrictions for pandemic control. Communities encompass many churches and leaders require support to assist them from church members.","PeriodicalId":306005,"journal":{"name":"Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"110 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127825683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-01DOI: 10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.210
G. Naidoo, Connie Israel, Magdalene Kevisha Naidoo
This paper examines how pastors engaged an online presence to preach the Word of God and address the needs of their congregations, during the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa. This is set against the Biblical instruction of Jesus Christ to Peter, to “feed my sheep” in John 21: 17, as it is the very same instruction that holds for pastors in churches today. However, the normal operations of the ministry have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Christian church, a close-knit group of believers to whom social and physical distancing are foreign concepts, has had to adapt. Worship sites have been abandoned, and the absence of worshipers has become the norm. Pastoral ministries have been disrupted and call for pastors to embrace new technology to ensure that they have a digital presence with their congregation through social media. This paper argues that these circumstances give the church of God a unique opportunity to rethink how to continue ministry without physical contact. It adopted a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach, using an online questionnaire and telephonic surveys to engage pastors. The paper utilises the Two-way Communication Model (TCM) and the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT). It concluded that pastoral care and spiritual counselling are essential in crises, that pastors have embraced social media in their mission, and that there is support for digital technology. The article recommendations that there should be a balanced communication strategy for Pastor’s ministries, and that government partners with faith-based organisations in different ways in a joint effort to combat the virus, while encouraging and supporting congregants.
{"title":"The COVID-19 Pandemic: How Pastors Communicate Faith and Hope to Virtual Congregations","authors":"G. Naidoo, Connie Israel, Magdalene Kevisha Naidoo","doi":"10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.210","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines how pastors engaged an online presence to preach the Word of God and address the needs of their congregations, during the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in South Africa. This is set against the Biblical instruction of Jesus Christ to Peter, to “feed my sheep” in John 21: 17, as it is the very same instruction that holds for pastors in churches today. However, the normal operations of the ministry have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Christian church, a close-knit group of believers to whom social and physical distancing are foreign concepts, has had to adapt. Worship sites have been abandoned, and the absence of worshipers has become the norm. Pastoral ministries have been disrupted and call for pastors to embrace\u0000new technology to ensure that they have a digital presence with their congregation through social media. This paper argues that these circumstances give the church of God a unique opportunity to rethink how to continue ministry without physical contact. It adopted a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach, using an online questionnaire and telephonic surveys to engage pastors. The paper utilises the Two-way Communication Model (TCM) and the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT). It concluded that pastoral care and spiritual counselling are essential in crises, that pastors have embraced social media in their mission, and that there is support for digital technology. The article recommendations that there should be a balanced communication\u0000strategy for Pastor’s ministries, and that government partners with faith-based organisations in different ways in a joint effort to combat the virus, while encouraging and supporting congregants.","PeriodicalId":306005,"journal":{"name":"Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129646035","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-01DOI: 10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.27
Thandiwe Nonkululeko Ngema, Z. Buthelezi, D. Mncube
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world in extra-ordinarily negative ways. Its impact has been felt in government circles, families, communities and churches globally. Spiritual leadership together with church members or congregants has also suffered a great deal. The pandemic has successfully disorganized societies and religious communities. Its spiritual impact has been felt by church leaders and congregants alike. This study investigated the spiritual impact COVID-19 has imposed on church leadership and congregants. It also explores how some church leaders performed their pastoral ministry under COVID-19 conditions. To achieve the set objective, a qualitative methodology and interpretive paradigm were adopted. In-depth individual interviews with church leaders and church members from Christian churches were used to inform the study. Ten churches that operate within the Esikhaleni raternity, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, under uMhlathuze municipality participated in the data generation process. The study comprised a sample size of four church leaders and eight church members from ten churches. A total number of 12 twelve heterogeneous individual participants were purposively selected. Findings revealed that the prevalence of COVID-19 led to lockdown restrictions and as such, church house closure impacted the church family positively as well as negatively. The study recommends that church leaders be proactive in accommodating change and equip their congregants accordingly. Secondly, churches should adapt to multi-staff ministry where lay people are actively involved in educating congregants about pandemics in general and how to cope spiritually. Third, it is argued church leadership should embrace virtual and internet ministry so as to continue to offer spiritual support to congregants.
{"title":"Understanding the impact of COVID-19 in the spiritual life of the Church community","authors":"Thandiwe Nonkululeko Ngema, Z. Buthelezi, D. Mncube","doi":"10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.27","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.27","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the world in extra-ordinarily negative ways. Its impact has been felt in government circles, families, communities and churches globally. Spiritual leadership together with church members or congregants has also suffered a great deal. The pandemic has successfully disorganized societies and religious communities. Its spiritual impact has been felt by church leaders and congregants alike. This study investigated the spiritual impact COVID-19 has imposed on church leadership and congregants. It also explores how some church leaders performed their pastoral ministry under COVID-19 conditions. To achieve the set objective, a qualitative methodology and interpretive paradigm were adopted. In-depth individual interviews with church leaders and church members from Christian churches were used to inform the study. Ten churches that operate within the Esikhaleni raternity, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, under uMhlathuze municipality participated in the data generation process.\u0000\u0000The study comprised a sample size of four church leaders and eight church members from ten churches. A total number of 12 twelve heterogeneous individual participants were purposively selected. Findings revealed that the prevalence of COVID-19 led to lockdown restrictions and as such, church house closure impacted the church family positively as well as negatively. The study\u0000recommends that church leaders be proactive in accommodating change and equip their congregants accordingly. Secondly, churches should adapt to multi-staff ministry where lay people are actively involved in educating congregants about pandemics in general and how to cope spiritually. Third, it is argued church leadership should embrace virtual and internet ministry so as to continue to offer spiritual support to congregants.","PeriodicalId":306005,"journal":{"name":"Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"171 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134637120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-05-01DOI: 10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.211
Isaac Mhute, Hugh Mangeya, Ernest Jakaza
The human species is in great danger of extinction due to the novel coronavirus that was first detected in China around December 2019. By March 2021, the world had witnessed over 116million cases, of which 36,223 are Zimbabwean. The disease that the coronavirus stimulates is quite fatal and has seen 2.57million lives succumbing to it, of which 1483 are Zimbabwean, by the same date. No cure has been discovered for it yet, though scientific researchers have already discovered several vaccines with varying efficacies. Employing a socio-pragmatic approach, the chapter explores the impact of fake covid-19 social media communications on efforts to minimize infections and fatalities in Zimbabwe, an already endangered country. It accomplishes this by qualitatively analyzing purposively sampled fake communications in circulation on social media as well as some of the utterances and behaviors people make in response to them. The chapter demonstrates the negative impact of the communications on international mitigating efforts and emphasizes the need for the government, media practitioners and social workers to always be watchful for such misleading communications and in every case to quickly counter their impact by availing correct information to the people.
{"title":"Endangering the Endangered: Impact of fake Covid-19 Social Media Communications in Zimbabwe","authors":"Isaac Mhute, Hugh Mangeya, Ernest Jakaza","doi":"10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.46222/PHAROSJOT.102.211","url":null,"abstract":"The human species is in great danger of extinction due to the novel coronavirus that was first detected in China around December 2019. By March 2021, the world had witnessed over 116million cases, of which 36,223 are Zimbabwean. The disease that the coronavirus stimulates is quite fatal and has seen 2.57million lives succumbing to it, of which 1483 are Zimbabwean, by the same date. No cure has been discovered for it yet, though scientific researchers have already discovered several vaccines with varying efficacies. Employing a socio-pragmatic approach, the chapter explores the impact of fake covid-19 social media communications on efforts to minimize infections and fatalities in Zimbabwe, an already endangered country. It accomplishes this by qualitatively analyzing purposively sampled fake communications in circulation on social media as well as some of the utterances and behaviors people make in response to them. The chapter demonstrates the negative impact of the communications on international mitigating efforts and emphasizes the need for the government, media practitioners and social workers to always be watchful for such misleading\u0000communications and in every case to quickly counter their impact by availing correct\u0000information to the people.","PeriodicalId":306005,"journal":{"name":"Religion, ethics and communication in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"110 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123124007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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