Since COVID-19 many people have been stuck questioning whether they should go back to church on Sundays or go to synagogue to celebrate the holidays with their community. But maybe it is better to shy away from religion altogether? COVID-19 is simply making the religious controversy problems worse as religious minorities are being targeted and people are becoming more anxious and afraid to practice their religion as COVID-19 continues to affect everyone, causing tensions to rise dramatically.

Specifically in the Middle East, tensions surrounding religious minorities have been rapidly increasing. According to a study from the Pew Research Center (https://www.pewforum.org/2019/07/15/a-closer-look-at-how-religious-restrictions-have-risen-around-the-world/) “The Middle East ranked highest in the world for religious restrictions each year from 2007 to 2017.” If COVID-19 continues to surge tensions in these countries, the Middle East could become the highest ranking again which could prompt some of the governments to make life for certain individuals within the minority religious communities very difficult. Junior Anushka Siddiqui stated, “We need to make people aware of the injustices that are happening.” As well, senior Viren Uddanwadiker stated, “They say we have freedom of religion, but that doesn’t mean forcing your beliefs onto someone else.”

So many people are currently quarantined in their homes for hours at a time, forced to have all their social interactions and work online. Studies supported by Poynterg,NPR and USA Today have shown that people are becoming so anxious and fearful of others spreading the coronavirus that it makes them worry about regulatory laws being passed and spike arguments about the government breaking religious laws because of the churches, mosques and synagogues mandatory closures. Many are also so worried about others crossing state borders that it leads them to lack of communication, isolation and possibly not even wanting to be tested. Freshman Capucine Anquetil simply had this to say: “It’s been so long in the making that something needs to happen, and it’s now or never.”

This issue is only getting worse and not slowing down. “More people need to be made aware of this issue.” As sophomore Allie Lanham, Siddiqui, Uddanwadiker and Anquetil stated, “Not enough people are aware that this is happening to people all over the world.” Minorities are being targeted, people are arguing and people not only are really acknowledging this issue but do not know it is happening because of so many other things that are happening in the world right now. Maybe it is unfair that governments are putting restrictions on religious sites and not restaurants and bars? Maybe certain governments will target smaller religions to gain more power? Many have already been affected by this because of COVID-19. I urge you to reach out to the people you know and make them aware of this issue. It’s extremely important, as Lanham stated, “Everyone has a right to their own ideas and beliefs.”

If you have been at any point during this pandemic stuck questioning whether you should go back to church,  I hope that from reading this article you understand one thing: that COVID-19 has had a very negative impact on religion such as targeting minority religions and causing fighting over the governments religious laws, and simply by telling others it’s a problem, you could change some of these outcomes.