Religious Responses to Pandemics and Crises

Sravana Borkataky-Varma is an Instructional Assistant Professor at the University of Houston, Texas, and a Research Fellow at CSWR, Harvard University. Christian A. Eberhart is a Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Houston, Texas, USA. Marianne Bjelland Kartzow is a Professor of New Testament Studies at the University of Oslo, Norway.

1. Introduction Sravana Borkataky-Varma, Christian A. Eberhart, Marianne Bjelland Kartzow Part 1: Strategies and Theologies Facing Pandemics 2. Pandemic Pūjā: Corona Devi, Coronasur, and how a Viral Twitter Campaign Affirms Analog Ritual Power Dheepa Sundaram 3. Sitting on a Grave: Female Agency and Resistance During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Chiga Village, Kenya Loreen Maseno 4. ‘He has filled the hungry with good things’ (Luke 1:53): Theologizing on the Pandemic, Pagpupuri, and Pantries Ma. Maricel S. Ibita and Ma. Marilou S. Ibita Part 2: Rituals in Times of Trouble 5. Diseased Rites: Magic Tantras and Inflicted Illness Aaron Michael Ullrey 6. "Can a virus destroy the sacred?" The Latvian Experience of Holy Communion During COVID-19 Ilze Ūdre, Dace Balode, and Linards Rozentāls 7. Ritual Reinvention and the Celebration of the Eucharist in Times of Crises: Biblical and Contemporary Perspectives Korinna Zamfir 8. Isolation, Community, and Religious Identification: The Ritual World of Early Christian Imprisonment Letters Soham Al-Suadi Part 3: Plagues, Infections, and Witchcraft 9. Plagues, Withdrawal, and Wayfaring in the Hebrew Bible Elisa Uusimäki 10. The Leper as Transcestor: Queens in Exile Audrey Gale Hall 11. Constructing the Sacred Self: 21st Century Paganism, Self-Care, and Ascetic Witchcraft MiloRhys K. Teplin di Padilla 12. Pedagogy of Death in the Era of #Coronachaos Keith E. McNeal. Index