Research Report: Publications by religious organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic hit religious organisations as strong as other societal actors. In secularizing societies, such as Germany, religious organisations had to not only adapt their religious practices and organisational ways to the circumstances of the pandemic, but also communicate their positions to the public and maintain their political and societal status. In this report, the analysis of the publications of four religious organisations (the Roman Catholic Church, the German Protestant Church, Muslim Communities and the Anthroposophical Society) with regard to three areas is described: 1. How do religious organisations discuss illness, health and science? 2. How do the religious organisations position themselves with regard to government and policymakers? 3. How did religious organisations use digital innovations in the pandemic?

The report covers data from the first step of a three-year, multi-disciplinary research project analysing the role of religion in societies emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic. RECOV-19 compares the changing role of religions in four secularising global north contexts: Canada, Germany, the Republic of Ireland/Northern Ireland, and Poland.

This report is a result of the project "The Changing Role of Religion in Societies Emerging from Covid-19" (ReCov-19) (2022 - 2025) funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Grant Number 495586629).