Worship and the virus in Hindu India: Contested innovation, polarization, uneven digital acceleration
The religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hindu India were manifold and, at times, publicly contested, which raises the question of which societal differences became visible and were augmented as the pandemic unfolded. Based on observations mainly from the first coronavirus wave in 2020, t...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2021
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| In: |
Approaching religion
Year: 2021, Volume: 11, Issue: 2, Pages: 5-22 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
India
/ Hinduism
/ COVID-19 (Disease)
/ Pandemic
/ Ritual
/ Innovation
/ Polarization
/ Digitalization
/ History 2020-2021
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism KBM Asia TK Recent history ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Corona jihad
B Kali B Polarization B Hindu Nationalism B Ramayana B Lockdown B Coronasur B pandemic curfew B Covid-19 B ritual innovation B Digital Religion B Corona Devi |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | The religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hindu India were manifold and, at times, publicly contested, which raises the question of which societal differences became visible and were augmented as the pandemic unfolded. Based on observations mainly from the first coronavirus wave in 2020, this article argues that the limited religious innovation that ensued gave rise to a lively public debate that revealed marked differences within the Hindu community, that the pandemic offered new possibilities for affirming Hindu identities while othering Muslims, and that it accelerated the transition to online religious services in prominent temples while pausing the activities in others, thus augmenting a marked digital divide that may well outlast the pandemic. Pandemic religious changes notwithstanding, the article concludes that most of the changes were ephemeral and produced minor jolts rather than major transformations. |
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| ISSN: | 1799-3121 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Approaching religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.30664/ar.107671 |