RELIGION AND FAITH IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19 IN INDIA

India is a country of faith and has followers of various religions. Religion has always served the mankind and played a significant role of ointment for the soul and has demonstrated to be positively associated with better emotional health. Along with all other aspects of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected faith, religion and spirituality in different ways. Due to fast spread of virus, numerous restrictions on religious activities have been implemented. The same has impacted religion in various ways, including the cancellation of the worship services of various faiths, as well as the cancellation of pilgrimages, ceremonies and festivals etc. In this brief review, we have studied the relief works and role of religious institutions, congregations, and individuals in this pandemic. Present study also studied the strategically and innovative approaches for revealing ongoing changes to religion, along with the changes in people mindset towards ways of worship, God, religion, humanity and physical gathering etc. The outcomes of this study revealed that pandemic made most people shocked and physical gathering in worship places is restricted. Presently, all over the world, worship is offering through online /livestream, by churches, synagogues, mosques, gurudwara, and temples on virtual platform. In this period, a great collaboration was seen among government, non-governmental organizations, wealthy persons, and common public in relief work. Though, this pandemic has put drastic loss in term of life, health, economy etc but optimistic are seeing grace of God here too.