Nche George C, Agbo Uchechukwu M, Okwueze Malachy I
Department of Religion Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Department of Religion and Cultural Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
J Relig Health. 2024 Feb;63(1):741-764. doi: 10.1007/s10943-023-01947-9. Epub 2023 Nov 14.
The need for governments across the globe to collaborate with religious leaders in the fight against COVID-19 has been emphasized by international organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO). However, there has not been much discernible scholarly effort to know what religious leaders think of COVID-19. The present study, therefore, explored the interpretations church leaders have about COVID-19 in Nigeria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eighteen leaders from Catholic, Anglican and Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. Using a thematic analytical approach, the study found that only few church leaders interpreted COVID-19 as a medical problem in line with science (33%). The rest interpreted the virus as a tool of conspiracies/political manoeuvrings (27%) and as a spiritual event (39%). The study discussed the implications of the findings for policy and research as well as how to address some of the harmful interpretations.
包括世界卫生组织（WHO）在内的国际组织强调，全球各国政府有必要与宗教领袖合作抗击新冠疫情。然而，目前还没有多少显著的学术研究来了解宗教领袖对新冠疫情的看法。因此，本研究探讨了尼日利亚教会领袖对新冠疫情的解读。研究人员对尼日利亚天主教、圣公会和五旬节派教会的18位领袖进行了半结构化访谈。通过主题分析方法，研究发现只有少数教会领袖（33%）按照科学将新冠疫情解读为医学问题。其余的人则将该病毒解读为阴谋/政治操纵的工具（27%）以及精神事件（39%）。该研究讨论了这些发现对政策和研究的影响，以及如何应对一些有害的解读。
