University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines

Philosophy of Religion (Philo 700)

The Role and Status of Religion in Public Health Emergency

Kenneth Onwusaka
Rationale

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the world, places of worship are banned

from public gatherings. In this quagmire, the challenge facing religious institutions are to prove

its relevance in the society. This challenge is based on a perceived idea of essential and non-

essential duties. Unfortunately, public religious practices are considered non-essential; hence,

shops and supermarkets are allowed to operate, while places of worship remain closed.

As a philosophy of religion, this study broaches the question of the relevance or role of

religion during the pandemic. Raising such sensitive issue is meant to enhance the understanding

of religion. And such interrogation increases understanding, and true knowledge emerges

through the questioning. In this connection, “what is really essential is shown by philosophical

investigation, since essence is a philosophical concept; it is the chief task of philosophy of

religion to formulate that essence.”1 An explanation in this regard according to Bruce

Reichenbach is to fulfill the “epistemic requirement.” 2 It is right therefore to say that truth, if it is

rightly truth, should not be afraid of scrutiny. If something is true, why should it be shielded or

afraid of honest interrogation? If religion is relevant in medical health emergency, why should

there be any fear in questioning its relevance?

It is the aim of this research to address the fundamental questions of the essentiality of

religion in emergency health crisis. This research is motivated to find the basis for the

1
W. Brede Kristensen, “The Phenomenology of Religion,” in Joseph Bettis, ed. Phenomenology of
Religion: Eight Modern Descriptions of the Essence of Religion (London: SCM Press, 1969), 44.

2
Bruce Reichenbach, “Explanation and the Cosmological Argument,” in Michael Peterson and Raymond
Vanarragon, eds. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion (U.S.A: Blackwell Publishers, 2004), 99.

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classification of essential and non-essential duties. Should the relevance of religion be based on

physical evidences or something more? What are the criteria upon which this classification can

be quantified? Apart from hospitals, where the sick people are treated, which other essential

duties take up to 800-1000 people at the same time? Why does it seem that shops are open and

Churches are closed? Although religious practices are forbidden in the public, it still goes on.

Does it mean that religion has a different form of duty which the other “non-essential duties” do

not have? These and similar questions are the guide to this study. Although the state and religion

are separate in some places, in other places they intertwined.

The Role of Religious Experiences to Medical Practices

Despite the presence of secularism in the society, there are religious experiences. In the

context of this study, religious or mystical experience is understood as experiences of a personal

God, an “evidences for God’s existence and for other truths about him.” 3 Religious experience

takes a variety of forms; the fact that it relates to an object, in which one directly confronts

divine being. It also refers to a quality of experience, a summit of experience in which one feels

actualized and becomes aware of one’s highest ideals and aspirations. 4 These two understandings

relate to the experience of the patients themselves and that of the medical practitioners, who also

need some form of mystical experience.

For some, faith in God proceeds from a personal relationship, and it is so compelling that

despite any sickness or pandemic, the patient recalls his experiences of God. The experience of

God is the impetus for the integration of the religious aid in health sciences. But how is God

known or claimed to be known? It is because the person, who claims to know, must have
3
Evan Fales, “Do Mystics See God?” in Michael Peterson and Raymond Vanarragon, eds. Contemporary
Debates in Philosophy of Religion, 145.

4
Peter Angeles, Dictionary of Philosophy (New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1981), 246.

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possessed an “awareness of God.” This study argues that such experiences cannot be denied, as

in the experience of cancer survivors as well as corona virus survivors. Such experiences inspire

others towards their trust in God and the power to cope with sicknesses.

Certain truths about God according to Thomas Aquinas are accepted as revealed, and this

acceptance being a voluntary act is motivated by external evidences such as prophecies and

miracles. This idea is elaborated in the conception of faith as “willed belief,” in William James’s

essay, The Will to Believe. In this connection, Paschal Blaise in the Wager passage invites

everyone to “weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is, and estimate the two chances.

By gaining, gains all, and by losing, loses noting. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”5

The Relevance of Religion to Medical Health Practices

This pandemic is marked with uncertainty and has been a time for sober reflections on

the meaning of life and the destiny of man. The avenue for this reflection is better provided for in

the teaching of different religions. This reflection often sets new directions for the existential life,

and may also affect religious commitment itself either positively or negatively. The role of

religion to medical health practice is a spiritual one. It is the role of religion to accompany

medical researches and practices with prayers. This can be understood in the Oratio Imperata, a

prayer for guidance for scientist and medical experts. Another mission is giving spiritual comfort

and hope to patients. With the global rise on the search for meaning, the role of religion has

become more compelling.

Religious practices such as prayers, confessions, counseling etc., helps to focus the

patient’s attention to God, and allows them to cope with the uncertainties of life. Apart from this

role, there is a general belief and consciousness that sicknesses can be healed through divine
5
Blaise Paschal, “Paschal’s Wager,” in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager

3
intervention. For the Greeks, sicknesses are attributed to divine interventions, since the gods

could grant healing again if people made the appropriate sacrifices.6

Apart from the Greeks, this idea has some traces, before the development of modern

medicine, where it was believed that sickness was due to supernatural causes. Thus, “influenza”

is understood as a malign influence from the stars. Unfortunately, diseases like HIV are ascribed

with God’s punishment. Hence, many people believe that sick people can be cured with the help

of the supernatural.7

Religion is felt to have essential values that enhance life. These values motivate them to

assume responsibility for the public health emergency, a duty to contribute to the management of

health crisis, a sense of transcendence, spirituality and a moral compass which assists medical

personnel in the work of healing. These values include: management skills, solidarity,

generosity, assistance with food, drugs and other needs, empathy, commitment, discipline and

patience. They also have the duty to teach values such as optimism, resilience, flexibility to

change paradigms, and teachings within cultural context.

The natural explanations for sickness and health, in the philosophy of the founder of

Greek medicine, Hippocrates of Cos (450-380 BCE), is by “understanding the patient’s

health….and the need for harmony between the individual, social and natural environment.” This

idea was a shift in understanding of the principles of medicine, “a transition from a holistic

balance to a more physically-focused practice.”8 Since health is a natural condition, it implies

that sickness is a loss of nature, thereby results to physical imbalance. The most essential road to
6
Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy, Pauline Moller, trans, (Great
Britain: Phoenix House, 1995), 46.

7
Ibid.

8
Christos Kleisiaris, Chrisanthos Stakianakis, and Ionna Papathanasiou, “Health Care Practices in Ancient
Greece: The Hippocratic Ideal,” Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine 7(2014): 1.

4
a healthy life in this regard is moderation, harmony, and a sound mind in a sound body (Mens

sana in corpore sano).9 In this sense, there are some recommended exercises fit for patients.

What gives protection against sicknesses and diseases, is moderation and a healthy

lifestyle, highly recommended by the Hippocratic tradition. The teaching about moderation is

contained in most religion, and in fact some would recommend abstinence as a higher form of

discipline. The duty of the physician is to restore health to the sick, and to abide by certain rules

in the practice of medicine and diagnosing of ailments. Medical ethics shuns all clandestine

practices, but requires maintaining a professional secrecy, which entails keeping all information

regarding the patient secret. This ideal is reflected in the oath which Hippocrates required his

pupils to take, in order to maintain courtesy and decency in the medical profession:

I will follow that system or regimen which, according to my ability and judgment,
I consider to be for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is
deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked
nor suggest any such counsel, and in like manner I will not give to a woman the
means to produce an abortion. Whenever I go into a house, I will go for the
benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and
corruption, and further, from the seduction of females or males, whether freemen
or slaves. Whatever, in connection with my professional practice, I see or hear
which ought not to be spoken abroad, I will keep secret. So long as I continue to
carry out this oath without violation, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the
practice of the art, respected by all men in all times, but should I violate this oath,
may the reverse be my lot.10

This oath can be summarized as “do no harm,” an injunction which presupposes ethics in

medicine. Thus, the practitioners are guided with the objective principles. The implication of this

oath is seen at the level of call. Medical practice although it is a career or profession is also a

vocation. Medical practitioners are the recipients of God’s call for healing, and it involves a

9
Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy, 47.

10
Ibid.

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moral redirection. Thus, the necessity of an oath ratifies their credibility and gives reason for its

prominence. By so doing, it contributes to the “transformation” of the recipient towards “God’s

character of true love.”11 Religion is equally important, since it can benefit the health

management, standing at the middle ground, and offering spiritual needs, as a source of

inspiration and hope, both to the patients and to the medical personnel involved.

Many doctors could afford to work over time, even at the point of losing their own lives,

because although they are paid for their services, they anticipate extraordinary blessings and

God’s reward. They believe that, “what measure they give to others will be measured out to

them” (Lk. 6:38). Medical ethics is drawn from metaphysical and transcendental principles, and

offers the insight on the proper decorum, on the part of the health practitioners.

In a study on Why Medical Students Should Learn about Religion, Perry West argues for

the need for physicians to consider the patient’s spirituality and religion while handling their

health cases. Such questions are not only essential but form the preliminary part of the medical

check-ups, since it helps in the understanding of the patient very well. 12 Now, what informs these

underpinnings? And what is the role of religion to emergency health problems? According to

Perry West, about 90 percent of Americans are considered religious while about 53 percent agree

that religion plays an important role in their lives. Thus, he surmises that “religious commitment

is intrinsically connected to cultural, mental, spiritual, and societal aspects of wellness.”

Therefore, in order to fully handle a health care, it is recommended that a religious commitment

11
Paul K. Moser, “Divine Hiddenness Does not Justify Atheism,” in Michael Peterson and Raymond
Vanarragon, eds. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion, 49.

12
Perry West, “Why Medical Students should learn about Religion.” Catholic News Agency, May 25, 2020
in https//angelusnews.com

6
should be involved.13 This involvement however, is to be understood in a case to case basis

depending on each context of religions and cultural underpinnings.

Another reason for such questions is to decipher the religious affiliation of the patient,

and how she may be helped. What is underscored in Teaching Religion and Spirituality in

Medicine is the relevance of “assessing a patient’s religious belief,” an important step geared

towards a better understanding of the patient.14 The significance of this “relevance” may be

because of the medical interventions that may counter or go against the religious confession of a

patient. Blood transfusion is an example, because it is antithetical to the belief of Seventh Day

Adventists.

Religious Institutions as Partners with the Government in Emergency Health Crisis

Leadership is important in an emergency health crisis. Unfortunately, world leadership is

considered inefficient, and in some places, leaders are perceived to be battling with anti-science

biases-an apparent lack of believe on science and its authority. It is not the focus of this study to

go into the politics of this ideology, but to reiterate the fact that religion has a stake in the health

management programs, and this is by partnering with the government in different ways, specially

to create awareness and understanding to the public, about the situation and possible cautions

that are needed to observe.

This partnership between religious institutions and the state is understood in a deeper

level as complementarity, mutuality, and solidarity which offers every kind of assistance to

people during the crisis. Religion has a “social function” for two reasons: It has an intrinsic
13
Ibid.

14
Kristin Colleir, Cornelius James, Sanjay Saint and Joel Howell. “Is it Time to More Fully Address
Teaching Religion and Spirituality in Medicine?” Annals of Internal Medicine, Volume 172 (12), 19th May, 2020 in
https://doi.org/10.7326/M20-0446

7
nature which is “social reality” and secondly, it helps to keep the society stable and intact. 15 In as

much this argument is coming from the point of view of social level, it should be recalled that

religion has a spiritual and mystical role, a dimension which has been earlier discussed. Religion

assists the government in managing health crisis with facilities such as housing for health care

workers, quarantine centers, feeding of front-liners-medical personnel and the police, caring for

their families and other spiritual nourishment they need.

The partnership of the state and religion is regarded as benevolence and propriety, an

understanding described as The Benevolence that saves the World. It is a teaching about

maintaining proper balance between the state and religious institutions. To have a religious or

pious thought would aid the government in ruling, while the government has the duty to protect

religion. The duty of the government is to regulate the conducts of the society, while religion

remedies the mind. The two operate side by side, and should not contradict one another. They

supplement each other, and are aptly called “patriotism as a presupposition.” 16 This patriotic

benevolence is first of all to trust science and to help in convincing the leaders, on the need to

listen to what the medical experts and scientists are saying. It is also for the religious leaders to

trust science as reliable partners with the goal for the human welfare.

In some places, the Hindus, Moslems and Christians alike, perceive the closure of

mosques, temples and Churches as a conspiracy. For them, it was an imposition and persecution

for their religious practices. The duty of religious leaders in this regard is to address such biases,

and to enlighten the people on the need to abide by the protocols, such as sanitizing themselves

and to refrain from public gatherings, as stipulated by the World Health Organization. The
15
Bronislaw Malinowiski, “Religion as a Social Function,” in Joseph Bettis, ed. Phenomenology of Religion,
179.

16
Darui Long, “Humanistic Buddhism from Venerable Tai Xu to Grand Master Hsing Yun,” Hsi Lai
Journal of Humanistic Buddhism 1 (2000): 60.

8
second point concerns the need to enlighten them on the need to stay at home, to avoid

infections. The government has stake at providing palliatives to the citizens, while religious

institutions have a duty to console, to teach and strengthen the people’s faith, hope and to share

with one another out of solidarity.

Another problem concerns the issues regarding wearing of masks. Recently, there are

controversies and divisions over compulsory wearing of masks, which has been connected to an

anti-science ideology. If wearing of masks is ruled out as a national mandate, simply because one

thinks face masks are not necessary for preventing infections; such idea would be a great

betrayal on the part of the government in question. While social distancing is important, face

masks reduces the risk of passing the virus to others. Thus, wearing masks is an act of patriotism

and concern for others. Face masks are really essential for preventing the surge of the virus.

In some places, the people are urged to wear masks, but there seems to be a resistance

towards the move to making it mandatory.17 The idea of not mandating mask in the public seems

to be a failure and a betrayal of leadership. According to medical experts, there are up to 17

percent chances of not contacting virus with face masks and only 3 percent chances of

contracting the virus without facemask. If facemask protects both the one wearing it and others,

why not make it mandatory, as it would be considered a great act of solicitude and respect for

others?

Evaluation and Conclusion

This study concerns the prospect of religion and its role in the public health emergency.

Questions regarding the role and status of religion to public health emergency were addressed. It

17
Aljazeera Television News, July 18, 2020, in www.aljazeeranews.com

9
argued that religion is essential but not based upon utilitarian purposes. Whereas medical

attention benefits the physical body, religious attention benefits the soul. Religion has a spiritual

role, which benefits not only the patients but informs the diverse operations of medical practices

on their spiritual needs. Basically, the spiritual role can be considered with the concept of “divine

love.”

Divine love has the attributes of a mother; “unsurpassable love and care.” 18 Because of

“human predicaments,” there seems to be a failure in the “manifestation of God’s all-loving

character.”19 Irrespective of any risk, attempts must be made to help the patients. An

understanding of “divine love” is important as antidote to selfishness. 20 It is important where

religious inclinations and ideologies differ. Divine love can lead to altruism, the love that goes

beyond boundaries, to the needy, “who call to God in conditions of great suffering and pain.”21

Another important notion is “divine resourcefulness;” the “provisional” and providential

impulse of God, which manifests God’s intentions through the transformation of human

conditions. Human imitation of divine resourcefulness implies man’s creative solution towards

healing and controlling of sicknesses.22 Divine resourcefulness involves “caring, closeness,

compassion and empathy.”23 It elevates the heart to take responsibility for others. These

attributes resonate with the sacrifices by the medical front-liners, who put their lives on the line

to save other people, and in the process, often risking the lives of their families. There is a
18
J. L. Schellenberg, “Divine Hiddenness Justifies Atheism,” in Michael Peterson and Raymond
Vanarragon, eds. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion, 33.

19
Paul K. Moser, “Divine Hiddenness Does not Justify Atheism,” 47.

20
Ibid.

21
Schellenberg, “Divine Hiddenness Justifies Atheism,” 33.

22
Ibid., 34.

23
Ibid., 35.

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reward for every act, whether good or bad. In a life of selflessness and total dedication, the

medical front-liners anticipate the glorious promise of eternal life. As Moser would argue, it is

the will of God that people would “appreciate,” and be “transformed” by divine love. 24 Openness

leads to transformation towards God’s character, if not; it is possible to be “blinded by

counterfeit intelligence and wisdom.”25

Religion is essential in emergency health crisis, as a source of hope, meaning, comfort,

strength, peace, and love. Religion is an “active commitment to a morally transforming personal

relationship rather than a mere subjective state or disposition.” 26 This can be understood as a

relationship with God which transforms the beholder into a person of charity. There is a religious

need in the practice of medicine, since religion serves as aid to coping with the uncertainty of

life. This study therefore recommends “education towards sacrificial love and reconciliation.”27

Religion is essential to emergency health crisis in a different status and role not

performed by other areas of the societal endeavors. This role which goes beyond physical-

pragmatic sense, is a spiritual role, and therefore belongs to the invisible realms of experiences;

it constitutes part of the healing process. As St. Paul would confirm; “we look not at what can be

seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is

eternal.”28

One common characteristic among sick people especially those affected with viruses is

fear and depression. With spiritual nourishment provided by religion, such patients are consoled,

24
Paul K. Moser, “Divine Hiddenness Does not Justify Atheism,” 53.

25
Ibid., 47.

26
Ibid., 48.

27
Ibid. 46.
28
Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:18. (The New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition).

11
and the process of healing goes on. In this instance, doctors and nurses make recourse to a

spiritual help. A recent cliché has it that; “We heal as one: We pray as one.” This cliché seems to

suggest an interconnection between medical practice and religious involvement.

In some instances, there is need for counseling and it is better accompanied with

sacramental healing, such as anointing and reconciliation. These sacraments help the patients to

trust God’s mercy and grace. Thus, in the presence of human predicaments, what is required is “a

humble filial dependence on God” and “openness to transformation towards God’s will.” 29 This

dependence will help in the “spiritual response to suffering.” 30 Religion ought to be the

“sacrament of the presence of God” and a pointer to God’s love for the suffering humanity. 31 By

sacrament is meant moments of encounter with God, the visible signs of invisible reality, in

which is contained the sources of healing during emergency health crisis.

The pandemic is an experience that no one can easily forget. It is according to Pope

Francis “an unwanted cross no one loves to bear….a Lenten penance nobody would choose.” But

it shows human vulnerability, especially when “schedules, projects, habits, and priorities are

surrounded with false hopes and convictions.” He invites everyone to rediscover core values

such as human dignity, centrality of the human person, solidarity, and fraternity. 32 It is

understood by many as a time of refreshing, for building faith and hope, an extra-ordinary time

that requires creativity, discovering new ways of doing things. What closed churches, mosques

29
Paul K. Moser, “Divine Hiddenness Does not Justify Atheism,” 47.

30
Danish Zaidi, “Influences of Religion and Spirituality in Medicine,” Ama Journal of Ethics 20 (2018): 609,
610.

31
Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the U.S.A., April, 16, 2020.

32
Pope Francis, Homily at Extraordinary Urbi et Orbi Blessing, Vatican City, March 27, 2020.

12
and temples indicate, is the need to worship God “in spirit and in truth.” They were closed; while

hospitals were needed.”

Despite the growing religious inclinations, there is also the tendency to “shy away from

the practices of religion, due to disenchantment and trauma.”33 In other places, religious practices

are perceived as a show of fanaticism. This attitude of repudiation in the form of secularism or

agnosticism occurs even in the medical field. Hospital chaplains are valuable assets towards

guiding the operations of the hospital to the spiritual affairs. They are to “mediate between

patient’s families and physicians” in the dialogue of how the medical care should proceed.34

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