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Accepted Paper:
Online Spiritual gatherings and their help to get hope during Covid-19 Pandemic
Merve Cetinkaya
(University College London)
The paper investigates the factors and reasons individuals participate in religious/spiritual practices and how the broader social, religious, and mental contexts impinge upon their experience. Qualitative data collected during the Pandemic from London Sufis have been used to investigate this.
Paper long abstract:
This paper aims to present the role of weekly religious/spiritual practices in the well-being of regular members of Sufi gatherings in London. It is framed by the secularisation thesis and the distinction between spirituality and religion alongside the well-being effects of the practice/rituals. This is used to examine the role of well-being in online gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper investigates the factors and reasons individuals participate in online gatherings and investigate the difference between in-person and online gathering on the individual’s well-being, especially during the lockdown that affects human interaction and leads the individual to isolation. The paper investigates the factors and reasons individuals participate in religious/spiritual practices and how the broader social, religious, and mental contexts impinge upon their experiences. Qualitative interviewing has been used to collect data from the individuals’ experiences. Qualitative data identified two main domains, ‘dealing with uncertainty’ and ‘having social support’ helped the participants during the Covid19 Pandemic. The religious/ spiritual gathering positively impacts the individuals’ general well-being, especially during the uncertainty of life and the pandemic.