Religious Responses Research Articles

宋代 瘟神신앙의 형성과 전개 ― 疫鬼에서 瘟神으로 ―

The people of the Song dynasty responded to the frequent epidemics in two ways: medicine and religion. First of all, the government and intellectuals of the Song Dynasty actively promoted the dissemination of medical knowledge to relieve the people suffering from the plague disaster and to eradicate the customs of shamanic treatment in southern China. On the other hand, the religious response has also undergone a notable change since the Song Dynasty, and it has been deviated from the vague fear of plague-causing demons and the reliance on exorcism for them, assuming the existence of a deity who can control the demons. In particular, through the worship of the God of Pestilence (Wenshen), the general public was able to escape from the vague fear of infectious diseases and heal the psychological trauma of the past.BR This study aims to analyze from a new perspective the background of the seemingly contradictory phenomenon in which southern customs spread and became larger at the same time as the correction policy on the so-called southern customs was implemented extensively by the Song Dynasty and the ruling class. In particular, rather than concluding that the outbreak of infectious diseases and the rise of the worship of the God of Pestilence in the Song Dynasty are simply strong resistance to civilian customs, we would like to understand it in terms of balance and harmony between the official realm of the ruling class and the customary realm of the private sector.BR Entering the Song Dynasty, assuming a more neutral image of higher-ranking gods who control the demons, temples were built for them, and periodic sacrifices and worship became more common and large-scale. In particular, the belief in the God of Plague during the Song Dynasty was the most representative form for the general public to visually recognize infectious diseases. In the end, it can be understood that in responding to the fear of epidemics in the Song Dynasty, the two realms had a mutually confrontational and complementary relationship at the same time.

Analisis Kepatuhan Berobat Hipertensi ditinjau dari Fungsi Pemeliharaan Kesehatan Keluarga dan Respon Spiritual di desa Kadungrejo Baureno Bojonegoro

Unknowingly developing into a condition that can lead to major illnesses and have a big impact on everyone's health, hypertension (HT) is a degenerative disease that results from anomalies in blood vessel flow (Udjianti, 2012). This condition is brought on by living an unhealthy lifestyle, treating hypertension improperly or completely, and other co-morbidities that raise the state of hypertension. This study's goal was to examine how religious response and family health were maintained by adherence to hypertension therapy in Kadungrejo Baureno Village, Bojonegoro. This study's design employs cross sectional analysis utilizing observational data. 72 persons made up the study's total population, while 61 respondents made up the sample. According to the study's findings, adherence to treatment among hypertension patients is moderate, with 33 respondents (54.1%), the role of maintaining family health among hypertension patients is moderate, with 40 respondents (65.6%), and the spiritual response among hypertension patients is quite positive, with 36 respondents (59.0%). Based on the ordinal regression test's findings, the value was 0.000 (<0,05), has a wald score of 15,263 for the spiritual response and 133,754 for the family health maintenance function. According to the study's findings, there is a significant correlation between hypertension patients' adherence to treatment and their ability to preserve their family's health as well as their spiritual reactions in the hamlet of Kadungrejo Baureno Bojonegoro.

Sacrifice Zones

AbstractThis article provides a genealogy and analysis of the concept of a sacrifice zone. Drawing on archival and ethnographic research, the article traces the origins and transformation of sacrifice zones from (1) a livestock and land management concept into (2) a critical energy concept during the 1970s, (3) an Indigenous political ecology concept in the 1980s, and, finally, (4) an environmental justice concept in the 1990s and beyond. The article identifies the concept’s core content and argues in favor of calling sites of concentrated environmental injustice sacrifice zones, over alternatives such as “fenceline communities” or “dumping grounds,” in part because the concept of sacrifice, derived from the Latin “to make sacred,” is polysemous, signifying both violent victimization and sacred life. This explains why some activists have employed the sacrifice zone concept to generate a positive vision for transforming sacrifice zones into sacred zones. This analysis of the concept’s development through time, social friction, and geographic mobility advances efforts to broaden environmental justice theory from a focus on distributive justice to critical and constructive engagement with culture and religion. The article pursues one implication of this study by suggesting an amendment to the concept of “slow violence”: environmental injustice is better theorized as “slow sacrifice”—a political ecology of life and death, the goal of which is to concentrate death in some places so that other places might experience full, sustainable life. Such a theory makes visible a wider set of existing cultural and religious responses to environmental injustices.

We are (not) Different from the Others: Religious Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Slovakia and India.

Although the narrative of modernity has been rejected by numerous scientists, it remains a powerful paradigm. Several Western countries have, during the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessed renewed interest in some archaic practices and beliefs. Based mostly on media analysis, this paper provides an insight into religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia and India, two completely different cultural areas. Simultaneously, it challenges the self-identification of the West as the epicentre of rational thought, in contrast to the so-called non-Western world. The self-image of superiority adopted by the modern West in terms of religious relevance has proved to be distorted, as the tendency to turn to spiritual practices in times of crisis is not exclusively a feature of non-Western societies.

Religious Responses to Covid-19 in England: An Analysis of the Key Socio-Legal Themes

Religious responses to Covid-19 raised several far-reaching questions with a number of socio-legal implications. How does the historical tension between science, politics and religion manifest itself in global pandemics? What ethical and human rights issues are at play as a health crisis unfolds, and what is the role of the media in mitigating such issues? Finally, how significant is the pastoral role which is thrust upon religious leaders in times of crisis, and how should this role be understood in the materialistic and secular modern era? This article addresses such questions within the specific context of England. It builds upon previous research by the author on the responses of the British Muslim community to the Covid-19 pandemic, by expanding the analysis to explore the broader socio-legal themes that emerged within religious responses to Covid-19 in England.

“Ministering at the Altar of Slavery”: Religious slavery conflict and social movement repression

AbstractWhy did some American Protestant denominations experience slavery-related schism during the nineteenth century, while others appear to have been unaffected by slavery conflict? I conduct a comparative case study of four national Protestant denominations and find that slavery-related schism was not a consequence of a particular theological orientation, but instead occurred when denominational leaders lacked the capacity to repress abolitionism. In all four denominations, leaders attempted to stifle the abolition movement to avoid conflict. Their capacities to do so differed, however: in some denominations, diffusely distributed authority created openings for abolitionist mobilization, eventually leading to irreconcilable conflict and schism. In other denominations, concentrated authority enabled repression, leaders blocked abolitionist mobilization, and schism was avoided. This research shows that non-state targets of social movements can use “soft” forms of repression to undermine movement mobilization, but that their capacity to do so is constrained by organizational characteristics. It also demonstrates the critical role of organizational dynamics in shaping religious responses to contentious issues more broadly.

Rohingya Muslims in Indonesia: Interaction, Stigmatization and Religious Response

<span lang="EN-US">Studies on immigrant groups in Indonesia have been increasingly carried out by academics since the arrival of refugees from conflict areas to Indonesia as a transit point to a country that is responsive to immigrants. One of the issues of his study is the Rohingya Muslims. As refugees with Islamic religious identities, their existence is interesting to examine from the perspective of religious communities around the refuge. This study was conducted in the Aceh, Medan, and Makassar regions as the places most visited by Rohingya Muslim groups. This research uses a qualitative approach with case studies. This is intended to be able to map how the response of religious communities to the existence of Rohingya Muslims. The main finding is that the existence of Rohingya Muslims in the three regions has different responses given by various people around them. The cultural basis and religious relations are decisive. In Aceh, strong religious relations resulted in a different response for Rohingya Muslims compared to those in Medan and Makassar, whose backgrounds were more diverse. The location of the comparison is that in Aceh the response based on ukhuwah Islamiyah is more dominant, while in Medan and Makassar the humanitarian response and a firm line of state identity are important signs in responding to the existence of Rohingya Muslims. This response interaction results in acculturation as well as stigmatization</span>

SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND CULTURE

SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND CULTURE

코로나19 위기 상황에서의 종교 지도자 담화문 연구

This paper analyzes the contents of seven statements of religious leaders published in the COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of disaster humanities. The summary of the analysis are as follows. First, all statements recognized and defined COVID-19 as a disaster and crisis. Second, as a response to COVID-19 they prioritized cooperation with government policies and emphasized religious response methods, namely helping and praying for their neighbors. Third, in the message to believers and officials(priests, monks, pastors, and etc.), the request for religious life occupies the main content, and tried to give the belief that COVID-19 can be overcomed. Fourth, the attitudes toward the government are mostly positive, and only Protestant pastoral letters show a negative attitude towards strong preventive measures such as the closure of religious facilities. Each religious statement uses the vocabulary of the religion in greetings, titles, and year marks. The closing remarks of all the statements end with asking for prayers to overcome COVID-19. In the end, it can be said that the biggest content characteristic of religious discourse is that humans, who are weak beings, pray to the absolute being in the face of disaster.

The scourge of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and religious beliefs in Nigeria: matters arising

COVID-19 is the most recent deadly disease currently ravaging human lives, causing serious socio-economic hardship and generating different religious responses the world over. The various responses and interpretations given to COVID-19 by religious believers in Nigeria necessitate an appraisal of this subject-matter. Therefore, this essay examines the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and religious beliefs in Nigeria with a view to analyse the responses of religious believers to the outbreak of the disease. Data was obtained from existing literature, media reports and observations. Content, critical and constructive methods of analysis were used for data interpretation. The paper avers that Nigerian religious believers express both positive and negative responses with regards to the outbreak, containment and treatment of COVID-19. While some religious believers acknowledged the reality of corona virus and gave the government necessary assistance in tackling the menace, others denied its reality and formulate different conspiracy theories to fault government actions and scientific solutions regarding the containment and treatment of COVID-19. The paper submits that emerging evidences have shown that COVID-19 is real, as such; Nigerians should create a synergy between religion and science in finding lasting solution to the problems emanating from the outbreak of the disease.

Religieuse Kommunikasie

THIS article explores the possibilities of religious communication as a field of study In the science of communication. The author adopts the point of view that religious communication is experienced by a large number of people. They claim the existence of a sender, messages, media, receivers, feed back, Interaction and communicative relations. "Explanations" for this religious phenomenon are presented by the sciences of theology, philosophy, psychology and sociology. The communication science should take cognisance of these findings. The focus of the communication sciences should fall on the religious response or expression or feedback by Individuals and groups. Religious language is one field of study. Another field of study is the communication dynamics as experienced in religious cults, symbols, ceremonies and acts. The first priority should be to identify and define the specific field of the communication sciences within the religious phenomena. Then, themes for research can be explored. In this article attention is given to different psychological "explanations" for religious communication e.g. the theory of projection, Infantilism, numinous experiences, archetypes, the pursuit of value systems, etc. Exploratory formulations for the religious communication of these theories are presented in this article. The transcendental explanation, namely the pre-scientific premise that God exists, is also discussed. Here, the accent for the communication science falls on responses which are divided into religious sensitivity, directional and expression responses.

A Moral Duty to Uphold the Family Farm”: The Religious Response to the 1980s Farm Crisis

Abstract The 1980s Farm Crisis began receiving national attention in the middle of the decade in large part because of Hollywood films such as Country and the star-studded Farm Aid concert. However, religious leaders and organizations had already started to warn of an impending crisis as early as 1978. They were motivated by a scriptural belief in land stewardship as well as empathy for their struggling rural parishioners. Throughout a series of noteworthy conferences, position statements, and protest actions coordinated by religious organizations across the denominational spectrum, Midwest-based leaders increasingly attempted to raise awareness, influence public policy, and bear witness to the escalating crisis. This article documents these ecumenical efforts during a pivotal time in America's rural history and provides a new angle on the farm crisis of the 1980s.

Disease, Demon, and the Deity: Case of Corona Mātā and Coronāsur in India

As India faced multiple waves of the pandemic, religious responses arose to accommodate and make sense of the situation. In the face of uncertainty, disease and death, people turn not just towards the medical sciences but also religion. The emergence of a new Hindu goddess, Corona Mātā/Coronavirus Mardhinī encapsulates people’s fear, faith, and devotion. Although the goddess is new, the tradition of disease goddesses is ancient. The Indian Subcontinent has a long history of mother goddesses who have been protecting their devotees from diseases such as smallpox, fever, plague, etc. This paper attempts to examine the emergence of Corona Mātā in the historical context of these ‘protective mothers’. On one hand, historically, these goddesses have emerged as a result of interaction between Brahmanical religion and regional practices. On the other hand, these disease-centred goddesses can also be seen as the result of fear and faith. This paper will analyse the location of Corona Mātā in the ever-evolving pantheon of Hindu deities in the context of a 21st-century pandemic.

COVID-19 vaccination at a mosque with multilingual and religious considerations for ethnic minorities: A case study in Kanagawa, Japan

During a disaster, such as a pandemic, ethnic minorities tend to be left behind due to linguistic and religious differences. In the COVID-19 vaccination process, measures to include them are necessary, including the utilization of their resources and networks. The functions and challenges of such measures should be explored in real-world cases. We targeted a case in Ebina, Kanagawa, Japan, where a mosque, being a hub of foreign Muslims, was used as a vaccination site. This was the first, and the only, case in Japan with the involvement of the local government. We aimed to detail (1) the linguistic and religious responses at the mosque, (2) the perceptions of vaccine recipients regarding linguistic and religious issues and considerations, and (3) the problems that arose when using the mosque. We conducted an e-mail survey of the local government and a field survey—field observations and interviews with relevant stakeholders (e.g., mosque managers and female vaccinees). The surveys found various linguistic (e.g., interpretation by mosque-related volunteers) and religious (i.e., separating vaccination spaces based on gender) considerations provided at the mosque, which the vaccinees favorably accepted. The measure likely promoted vaccination by increasing the intention to vaccinate and closing the intention-behavior gap. If some identified problems (e.g., complaints from the Japanese) are mitigated, the function of the mosque as a vaccination site would be further enhanced. The results also support the significant potential of mosques in Muslim-minority societies to approach ethnic minorities in disasters, including pandemics.

Convulsed States: Earthquakes, Prophecy, and the Remaking of Early America by Jonathan Todd Hancock

Reviewed by: Convulsed States: Earthquakes, Prophecy, and the Remaking of Early America by Jonathan Todd Hancock Adam Jortner Convulsed States: Earthquakes, Prophecy, and the Remaking of Early America. By Jonathan Todd Hancock. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2021. 208 pages. Cloth, paper, ebook. By any measure, 1811 was a bad year. It had itinerant prophets predicting doom, comets in the sky, a theater fire, a November war in the Old Northwest, and the shattering New Madrid earthquakes in December that tossed the Mississippi River around the Missouri bootheel. No wonder one nineteenth-century commentator called it an “Annus Mirabilis” (12)—year of miracles. But 1811 has yet to receive the microscopic examination of other critical years; in popular and political histories, 1776, 1861, and 1968 still crowd out 1811. Jonathan Todd Hancock aims to change that with Convulsed States, a monograph that centers the quakes among associated contemporary disasters as a way of generating “a continental, cross-cultural perspective on prophecy and revivalism, state formations, and understandings of environmental change across Native American, African American, and Euro American societies” (3). How did the quakes, once drafted into religion, politics, and culture, he asks, change the peoples of the Americas? Did this bad year shift America from a Jeffersonian to a Jacksonian persuasion? And how did literally unstable land affect a metaphorically unstable U.S. land policy? Hancock tackles these big questions in a series of thematic chapters, beginning with an exploration of how different communities experienced the earthquakes and concluding with an examination of how the federal response to the quakes both initiated a flood of land speculation and shaped Indian policy. Hancock does not dwell on the many dramatic contemporary accounts of the earthquakes themselves. As the book points out, some of the most popular stories about the quakes were likely “fable and burlesque” (15); contemporaries (and historians) recognized that U.S. newspapers at the time did not diligently pursue accuracy but reprinted whatever they could get their hands on.1 The oft-repeated claim that the New Madrid quakes caused church bells to ring in Boston, Hancock notes, probably derives from a misreading of “Charlestown” (Massachusetts) for “Charleston” (South Carolina). As for the Mississippi River running backwards? It could have happened, Hancock notes, but only in certain places, not along the whole river. [End Page 662] The quakes unquestionably did desolate New Madrid, however, prompting a variety of governmental responses. In 1815, for the first time, Congress appropriated relief funds for Americans. These took the form of free public lands, which in turn initiated “decades of speculation, fraud, and legal wrangling” (111) that ultimately forced the Quapaw nation off their land in Arkansas. Hancock also points to the federal government’s conflicts with the region’s Native American prophets, some of whom, he suggests—especially the Red Stick prophets—drafted the earthquake into their preaching. Moreover, the Red Sticks’ defeat in 1814 led directly to Andrew Jackson’s mass appropriation of Creek land in Alabama. The fear and uncertainty provoked by the quakes, Hancock argues, resulted in the seizure of Indigenous land. In between describing the quakes and the land policy that followed them, Convulsed States takes readers through contemporary earthquake explanations and associated phenomena—the wonders that made 1811 the Annus Mirabilis. The perspectives on such phenomena articulated in the political and religious preaching of Native American prophets receive much attention. Along with the rise of the Red Sticks in Creek territory, Hancock devotes most of his attention to the Shawnee Prophet, Tenskwatawa, who received credit for predicting the earthquake, while noting that other Native American prophets may have adopted ideas about earthquakes as divine punishment. Christian evangelists also sought to make hay from the earthquakes. Convulsed States focuses on Nimrod Hughes and others who declared that the End Was Nigh, words that may have gained added urgency in the wake of New Madrid. From there, Hancock launches into a condensed overview of religious responses to a host of other troubles in the Annus Mirabilis—northern lights, comets, local intrigues, and rumors of war with Britain. The book allots a good amount of space to these religious upheavals, but it never quite identifies what (if...

Frequency of nurse-provided spiritual care: An international comparison.

To compare the frequency of nurse-provided spiritual care across diverse cultures. Given an ethical imperative to respect patient spirituality and religiosity, nurses are increasingly taught and expected to provide spiritual care. Although nurses report positive attitudes toward spiritual care, they typically self-report providing it infrequently. Evidence about the reported frequency of spiritual care is constrained by substantial variation in its measurement. This cross-sectional, descriptive study involved secondary analysis of data collected in multiple sites globally using one quantitative instrument. Data were collected from practicing nurses using the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale and analysed using descriptive statistics and a meta-analysis procedure with random-effect modelling. Datasets from 16 studies completed in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States contributed to a pooled sample (n=4062). STROBE guidelines for cross-sectional observational studies were observed. Spiritual care varied between countries and within countries. It was slightly more frequent within Islamic cultures compared with predominantly Christian cultures. Likewise, frequency of spiritual care differed between nurses in palliative care, predominantly hospital/inpatient settings, and skilled nursing homes. Overall, "Remaining present…" was the most frequent therapeutic, whereas documenting spiritual care and making arrangements for the patient's clergy or a chaplain to visit were among the most infrequent therapeutics. In widely varying degrees of frequency, nurses around the world provide care that is cognisant of the spiritual and religious responses to living with health challenges. Future research should be designed to adjust for the multiple factors that may contribute to nurses providing spiritual care. Findings offer a benchmark and begin to inform nurse leaders about what may be normative in practice. They also encourage nurses providing direct patient care that they are not alone and inform educators about what instruction future nurses require.

Review: Tabernacles of Clay: Sexuality and Gender in Modern Mormonism, by Taylor G. Petrey

Taylor G. Petrey’s book, Tabernacles of Clay, makes an original contribution to Mormon Studies and the study of sexuality and gender. His theoretical and interpretive framework, along with his meticulous movement through fundamental historical moments, doctrines, practices, and responses of the Church of Latter-day Saints to social movements impacting sexuality, race, and gender will be influential for years to come. He places Mormon attitudes, practices, and teaching about sexuality and race in historical context both in Mormonism and national politics and social life. Notably, he helps us see the consequences of the Mormon belief in continuous revelation.I salute Petrey's use of queer theory, which is unusual in Mormon Studies. I was intrigued as soon as he laid out his course of action and was pleased that rather than being an add-on, the theme of fluidity and malleability is woven deeply into the narrative he creates. He is deft in the way he pulls this off, pulling us along gently with a particularly effective reiteration of what he has accomplished at the end of each chapter.Tabernacles of Clay traces the series of national movements that impacted women’s rights, racial categories, gay individuals, and the Mormon response to them. Petrey’s thesis is that “church leaders pitted themselves against these movements by offering competing theories of the nature of sexuality and sexual difference” (1). Their response, which became embedded in official rhetoric communicated from the stand as well as through church publications, dictated and interpreted “sexual purity, gender roles, and marriage; the deployment of psychological approaches to ‘cure’ homosexuality; and political activism against equal rights for women and same-sex marriage” (1).As Petrey states, the value of this book is that it is “a profoundly useful example of a conservative religious response to shifting cultural values that can provide larger insight about religious engagement with change and the history of sexuality” (2). His principal goal is “to provide an explanation for Mormon accounts of the nature of gender, sexuality, and race” (15), relying on concepts that queer theory captures best. “Mormon leaders have often taught that the differences between male and female are malleable and contingent, and so they must be guarded with strict social, ecclesiastical, and legal norms and sanctions” (2).The example of the LDS fight against the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), and feminism more broadly, highlights the importance of this book. My own volume, Pedestals and Podiums: Utah Women, Religious Authority & Equal Rights (2016), argues that the church leadership’s opposition reflected internal debate over the meaning of the difference between men and women as preached in General Conference addresses, local meetings, and in official church directives. Petrey’s original twist points to a belief within the church that meaning and inherent differences were fluid, suggesting that this was at the heart of the opposition to the ERA, feminism, and the women’s movement. The belief that these movements could change the God-created difference and that they were fluid enough to be changed by opposing rhetoric was of great concern. A conviction that differences were not absolute, but rather somewhat fluid or changeable—even though God-given—justified mobilizing the church’s human power to wage war against the ERA.Petrey effectively, subtly, and impressively finds his way back to queer theory’s emphasis on fluidity, taking us through the history of the LDS Church’s response to social movements that have affected the understanding of sexuality and gender. He focuses on the body of ecclesiastical teachings and practices, the new institutions and the forces that inspired them, and the church’s “sociopolitical interventions,” including the fight against the ERA and the efforts to ban same-sex marriage. I found the section on the LDS Church’s efforts to strengthen patriarchal leadership particularly insightful and convincing, having observed firsthand the actions of a generation of women attempting to set things right in their own lives.Those who pay attention to historiography will remember what we considered breakout books—the first serious book to take on polygamy, or the ones that asked difficult questions about sacred doctrines or persons. Tabernacles of Clay is a breakout book, a very modern book in its attention to theory and to sociological approaches to the study of gender, race, and sexuality. But it also has subtle insider knowledge that brings life to the interpretation. More importantly, this book will undoubtedly encourage others to tackle the thorny issues it raises. Petrey models how to do it.

Aiding Marital Childlessness: Christian Religious Responses to Husband and Donor Insemination in Belgium and Britain, 1940–1980*

This article compares religious responses to artificial insemination in Belgium and Britain from circa 1940 to 1980. Belgium was predominantly Catholic, whereas Britain was religiously diverse, combining Anglicanism, Protestantism, and Catholicism as the main Christian denominations. Despite these differences, religious actors in both countries became more permissive towards artificial insemination in the period under study. This article reveals that religious actors were adapting their morals to medical and societal challenges of the time. In the 1940s, doctors and theologians argued that artificial insemination by husband was moral if masturbation was avoided, and in the 1970s, even artificial insemination by donor became a subject of open discussion in both contexts. By then, the supposedly harmonious relationship between infertility and adoption had crumbled due to the widespread use of the pill. Against a background of secularisation and faced with a growing visibility of involuntary childlessness, different roads to parenthood became acceptable.

Rebel Angels: Space and Sovereignty in Anglo-Saxon England

Rebel Angels: Space and Sovereignty in Anglo-Saxon England

Urban Dealing with Pandemic: Comparative Responses on Spanish Flu and the Covid-19 Era in Indonesia

This article compares how the Indonesian, specifically the urban people respond to the pandemic during the history. In 1918, Indonesia, formerly known as the Dutch East Indies, witnessed a pandemic of the Spanish Flu that killed thousands of lives. A century later, Indonesia is once again experienced with the lethal Covid-19 pandemic. The emphasized responses are specific on countermeasures and vaccination programs during the Spanish Flu 1918 and Covid-19 pandemics. The primary source of this research is the archive of annual reports (Kolonial Verslag) Dutch East Indies government 1920 and a report from the Dutch East Indies Civil Health Service (Burgerlijken Geneeskujdigen Dienst), as well as supported by newspapers such as: Sin Po, Oetoesan Hindia, Pewarta Soerabaia, Tjhoen Tjhioe,Bataviaasch Nieuwsblad, and Andalas. This article also aims at understanding how the Indonesian people are handling pandemics, both the Spanish Flu and the Covid-19 pandemics. The action taken by the government in tackling the Spanish flu and Covid-19 pandemic in Indonesia is to issue regulations to reduce activities in the public domain. This regulation has proven successful in reducing the spread of the Spanish flu pandemic in the past and Covid-19 in the present. This research found that Indonesian urban in the past and today have similar points of view, the irrational views and rational views, this is proofed from the emergence of unique, local-rational, and uncontrollable news and rumours because of the amplification of news about the outbreak. The difference is that in the past, religious responses were expressly confronted with the news but in the present, it is more moderate and open to cooperating with programs from the government. The spectrum from the news of the past outbreaks is not as large as that of the present. Mass media with information technology to social media are further expanding the spectrum from outbreak news to produce more powerful amplifications. It also affects the polarization of the masses that respond rationally and irrationally to the outbreak.