(In Milan, churches sit empty as the faithful follow Mass on television. And with five months to go before Islam’s most sacred pilgrimage, it’s unclear if Saudi Arabia will reopen holy sites to millions of foreign Muslims. Able-bodied believers are required to make the 10-day hajj, set for late July and August, once in their lives. Visas for the umrah, a shorter pilgrimage that can be made throughout the year, have been suspended.
Religion asks people not only to gather together, but often to touch and share food. Now everyday rites and traditions are being interrupted. Some synagogues in the U.S. have discouraged hugging or kissing to greet one another—one in New Jersey suggests a slight bow at the hips or a friendly wave when saying “Shabbat shalom.” In Hong Kong, some churches took away hymnals to minimize contact with possibly contaminated surfaces. Others stopped singing, to limit the expelling of droplets. Some Catholic dioceses in the U.S. told parishes to suspend offering wine for communion.
A religious group in South Korea was linked to a spike in cases there. Some churches were also identified as coronavirus clusters in Singapore, where many congregations have now moved activities online. Employees go online to fulfill pastoral care and administrative duties. Bible studies, sermons, and some group meetings have moved to platforms such as Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Live. Employees at the Hindu temple Akshardham in New Delhi have been asked to wash their hands six to eight times a day. The temple receives as many as 10,000 visitors a day.
Juliana Lee, whose husband and two young sons attend Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Hong Kong, says the suspension of Sunday classes for kids and Masses are prudent measures. “You’re packed like sardines in a church,” she says. “You’re sitting and kneeling, holding hands, going up to take the host, and dipping it in wine. It doesn’t feel comfortable right now to be in an enclosed space with lots of worshippers.” Her sons are doing Bible lessons sent to them by email instead, and the family plans on catching Mass online.
Religions have more experience than any other institutions in the world in dealing with epidemics and surviving them. But the economic cost limiting the spread of the coronavirus in places of worship and devotion is significant. The hajj and umrah pilgrimages contribute an estimated $12 billion a year—or 7%—to Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product. In Hong Kong, one church in a district popular with expatriates is in dire straits. St. Anne’s has seen a decline in members, some of whom relocated after the city was gripped by months of protests. That, plus suspended services, has caused a sharp fall in income from donations at Mass, says parish priest Paulus Waris Santoso. “If we do nothing, we’ll collapse,” he says.
Community Church Hong Kong has seen attendance drop by more than half, says its pastor, Steve Gaultney. The majority of donations to it come as electronic payments, and the church is working to expand such options, and to use technology to keep people connected. “All churches will be impacted by the coronavirus,” Gaultney says. —With Kari Lindberg, K. Oanh Ha, Daniele Lepido, Natnicha Chuwiruch, Ragini Saxena, Vivian Nereim, and Felice Maranz
To contact the author of this story: Faris Mokhtar in Singapore at fmokhtar1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Pat Regnier
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