We’re all in the same boat: stories of adaption and resilience from Australia’s religious communities in the time of COVID-19

Six months ago, no one had heard of the coronavirus. Now, several months into the pandemic, much of our daily lives have been transformed by its spread. In Australia, religious communities were one part of society expressly impacted by the ‘lockdown’ directives introduced to stem the spread of the virus. This essay describes the ramifications of the closure for some of Australia’s religious communities and considers what might be the long-term impact of the lockdown and our new social reality on the way these communities contribute to social cohesion in Australia.

 

In Australia, religious communities were one part of society expressly impacted by the ‘lockdown’ directives introduced to stem the spread of the virus. On 29 March all places of religious worship were effectively closed by the restrictions that limited non-essential indoor gatherings to two people. Stories are now beginning to emerge about what it was like for these communities to lose their places of worship – for many, the centre of their social and spiritual lives. This essay describes the ramifications of the closure for some of Australia’s religious communities and considers what might be the long-term impact of the lockdown and our new social reality on the way these communities contribute to social cohesion in Australia.

Read other related stories

Auburn Gallipoli Mosque

Baha’i House of Worship, Sydney

Heathmont Baptist Church, Melbourne

St Kilda Hebrew Congregation

The Ark Centre

Download the Essay with all of the stories.

How has COVID-19 and the closing of your place of worship impacted your religious community?

The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute is building a picture of how religious communities have adapted to having their places of worship closed and the new regulations that will govern their activities once they reopen.

We know every community is unique and we need your stories to help complete the picture.
You may visit the Scanlon Foundation website and fill in the survey form about how your community coped with closures brought on with Covid-19

The author
Trish Prentice is a researcher with a particular interest in social cohesion and religious communities. She has worked in Australia and overseas in the government, academic and not-for profit sectors, including in Cairo, Egypt, working for an organisation specialising in Arab-West Understanding and in Geneva, Switzerland for a human rights advocacy group. Trish has managed research projects in Indonesia, Singapore and Pakistan and written on various topics, including Islamophobia and Australian values from an Islamic perspective. Trish joined the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute in 2020.