Contagious crowds: religious gatherings in the age of coronavirus

Governments have used considerable power to restrict the freedom of their citizens as they try to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the temporary closure of places of worship and restrictions on social gatherings have imposed secular authority on public, communal religious life. Michal Kravel-Tovi (Tel Aviv University) and Esra Özyürek (LSE) consider the tensions inherent in this collision of the secular and religious realms, from the vilification of religious groups as irresponsible and dangerous to a future digital reordering of religious hierarchy and community.