Journal of Iranian Social Studies

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the reciprocal relationship between religion and social problems. The relationship between religion and Covid-19 is not purely a one-way relationship but an interaction exist between both. To investigate the effect of virus prevalence on the doctrinal dimension of religiosity, the secondary analysis was performed on the results of existed surveys. To assess the impact of disease on the ritual and consequential dimension, a descriptive-analytical method was used. findings of the research in the doctrinal dimension show that although the prevalence of this disease has made some people doubt their religious beliefs, but it hflas strengthened the beliefs of more people. In the ritual dimension, although mass rituals have been shut down, new information technologies have made virtual communities possible and created novel enchanting forms of serremonies. It is concluded that  beliefs of individuals whose religion are reflected in the doctrinal dimension, has been strengthened after the pandemic and the institutional religion, which is seen in the collective rites, has been weakened.

Abstract Mourning and lamentation as part of the literature, culture, customs, and traditions of all ethnic groups, have long been common among different nations of the world. In Iran, due to the existence of religious and traditional values, mourning ceremonies are collective and deeply present in people's social life. Covid 19 pandemic has caused shocking situations globally that affected many people’s lives. The spread of the new virus has changed mournings and has changed the way people deal with the phenomenon of death so that no one except close relatives and family members could attend the death related ceremonies. Restrictions to hold seremonies for friends and acquaintances, has toughened conditions in the  performing rituals of mourning.
Using a phenomenological approach, this article analyzes the life experiences of people who lost their loved ones due to the Coronavirus and were unable to perform the rituals properly. 15 participants were selected using purposive sampling method and interviewed via in-depth interviews. Five main categories were extracted from the data analysis. Visiting in the virtual suspended space, death without farewell, quarantine and dual feelings of fear and grief, virtualization of mourning, marginalization of rituals and traditions in burial.

Abstract The present paper is a report of an experimental study that examines the attitude towards the Corona pandemic and observes religious attitudes from the perspective of the sociology of evil and the sociology of religion. An online survey was conducted to interview the sample consisted of 273 Iranians. The aims of this descriptive study are: 1) Measuring attitude towards the dichotomy of divine/natural essence of Coronavirus, 2) Measuring attitude towards the dichotomy of good/evil essence of Coronavirus, and 3) Examining the correlation of attitudes in both cases with the components of faith in Allah. The first finding is that a new multiplex dichotomy of divine/natural and good/evil is formed based on the results. The second and most important finding is that the study of the correlations between the components of faith in God, on the one hand, with views toward the dichotomies of divine/natural and good/evil, on the other hand, illustrates the existence of two various types of religiosity in confrontation with Coronavirus: thoughtful religiosity and imaginative religiosity. Thoughtful religiosity is shaped around the natural-evil pole of the dichotomy, and imaginative religiosity around its divine-good pole.

Abstract Emotions play a valuable role in the activities and shaping the living of individuals and families. Religious feelings during illnesses such as the Covid 19 pandemic help people to cope better with disease by creating positive attitudes. This study aims to use a qualitative approach and descriptive phenomenology to understand the religious and emotional life experiences of families to adjust to the Coronavirus crisis in the context of Sistan and Baluchestan province. In this study, 40 males and females were interviewed using in-depth interviews and purposive sampling. The criterion determining the sample size was to reach the theoretical saturation. Using Colaizzi's method of analysis, data were classified into eight sub-themes and 45 primary themes. The core theme of the emotional transcendence of the family regarding the divine source consists of five sub-themes: “facilitating family life with the power of divine faith in Coronavirus conditions, Divine support for eliminating the fear of death in corona conditions, religious family and improving the family mood, positive religious feelings in the family, and Divine assistance in transition from corona danger”. The final core theme  indicates that the construction of dimensions of the transcendence of religious feeling, the pattern of religious feeling regulation, emotional connection with the divine source, and religious feelings, in general, are the reasons for the adjustment of families in Sistan and Baluchestan during the Coronapandemic.