Love of Neighbor During a Pandemic: Navigating the Competing Goods of Religious Gatherings and Physical Health

Tyler J. VanderWeele

doi:10.1007/s10943-020-01031-6

Abstract

In light of the present pandemic, many religious communities have been asked to suspend their services and meetings. From the perspective of these communities, this comes at considerable cost to the spiritual good that these religious services bring about. Empirical evidence also indicates that the suspension of these services will have costs concerning physical and mental health as well. However, in the case of a pandemic, because it is an infectious disease that is the concern, love of neighbor arguably does entail the suspension of services for the sake of the preservation of life for others. Religious communities and individuals can, and have, found ways to partially offset the losses from not being able to meet. These have included increased personal and family prayer and devotion, video-streaming of services, and online prayer and discussion meetings. While none of these fully compensates for the loss of in-person meetings, the sacrifice entailed may itself be seen as a means to greater love of God and love of neighbor.

Highlights

Many religious communities currently find themselves in a difficult position: their principal activity of meeting together in religious services is being severely limited by the present pandemic
Many have, that the spiritual goods that they seek are more important than physical health
The difficulty with such arguments in the case of the present pandemic is that it is one’s own physical health that one puts at risk, but potentially that of one’s community, and even one’s nation and the world

Summary

Introduction

Many religious communities currently find themselves in a difficult position: their principal activity of meeting together in religious services is being severely limited by the present pandemic. Rather the religious services constitute a critical means to what is considered the most important ultimate end of communion with God. Believers might well argue, and many have, that the spiritual goods that they seek are more important than physical health. Love of neighbor arguably entails the present foregoing, for some time, of communal religious gatherings.

Results

Conclusion