Short Abstract:

This roundtable brings together sociological and legal perspectives from four select European countries to advance understanding of how Covid-19 impacted religion. The case study countries are supplemented by data from 16 other countries.

Long Abstract:

How can the impact of Covid-19 on religion in Europe be understood? This roundtable seeks to describe and explain how the pandemic influenced religion in European countries. Based on 4 in-depth country case studies combining sociological and legal analyses and reflecting diverse aspects of the European religious landscape, this roundtable draws on insights from the sociology of social movements and the sociology of religion to detail how religion has both helped and hindered societies as they sought to respond to a sudden global pandemic. In so doing, it proposes to frame this response in terms different relationships of religious groups to scientific authority operating in different societies. More broadly, this roundtable reveals the importance of religion-science interactions and the politicisation of religion in understanding religion and society in the modern world.