COVID-19: Harbinger of a New Psychology of Religion for Postcolonial Societies
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COVID‑19: Harbinger of a New Psychology of Religion for Postcolonial Societies James J. Akpan1 Received: 15 July 2020 / Revised: 27 October 2020 / Accepted: 16 November 2020 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Religious practice, like every other human affair, was alteredat the onset of the pandemic. The paper argues that the “home church” as a Christian expression of religiosity during Covid-19, for instance, was a signalto something new at least in the theoretical realms of religion. More strongly,it was a vindication of postcolonial native societies (of Africa) whoseindigenous spiritualities were thwarted and/or abolished during the colonialera. The pandemic is theorized as a wake-up call for agency in these societies.The theorization relies upon Piaget’s psychological “techniques” ofaccommodation and assimilation, opening various channels to answering thequestions: what was assimilated during colonialism that should have beenaccommodated and vice versa? And how has the pandemic uncovered that error ofinversion? Keywords Covid-19 · Religion · Psychology · Accommodation · Assimilation · Equilibration · Postcolonial Africa
Introduction One finds no better words to describe the state of human brokenness due to Covid-19 than those of Brene Brown: “In these uncertain and risky moments of vulnerability, I search for inspiration from the brave innovators and disrupters whose courage feels contagious” (Brown 2017). These words can help as we navigate through what we may call crisis discourse at the intersection between (postcolonial) society and (foreign) religion using the tools of psychology. Jean Piaget would be among Brown’s categories of “brave innovators”; his psychological theories have lots of meaningful ideas to offer especially to postcolonial societies in their post Covid-19 practice of religion. Even though the idea of God has brought dissension and rupture to social relations especially in contemporary society, religious practices have become a defining attribute for many people (Chappell Tomcho, and Foels 2020), more so during crisis. Yet, as “animals of habit,” our routines can empty itself of the primary treasures we found in the activities we intentionally engaged in, including * James J. Akpan [email protected] 1
Psychology: Consciousness and Society, University of West Georgia, 316 Columbia Dr. #324B, Carrollton, GA 30117, USA
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religion. “Automaticity is the peril of repetition” (Kunkel 2018). Thus, the Covid-19 pandemic has rolled back some critical platforms for societies to reason together, and we can only hope that these avenues are utilized for good. The overall aim of this paper is to evaluate what is changing (or ought to change) in the practice of religion in the world and especially in postcolonial societies because of the pandemic. It is a sympathetic stance with indigenous peoples whose primary spiritualities were altered by colonialism. Thus, we shall begin with the fundamentals of the pandemic in a global scene, particularly, the differe
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