How will coronavirus affect religion?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: How will coronavirus affect religion?
Position1 of 3›: It will strengthen religious beliefs
Argument: Faith is all people can believe in

The world is falling apart, and having faith might be the only thing to get people through.

The argument

As Tim Stanley writes in the Telegraph, "For Christians, this terrible virus is not a punishment but a test of our faith and charity". For many religious people life is a test. And their 'performance' or actions during life will determine whether they 'pass'. In this case, the coronavirus is part of this test. As Hamza Koire writes in New Vision, "Trials and tribulations are part of life, this is something that Allāh informs us of and warns us so that when we are afflicted, we remember that it is ultimately Allāh who controls our affairs."

Context

For believers, faith is the only constant. Such reliance is exacerbated in times of crisis.

Premises

[P1]Many faiths frame life's hardships as a test, with the coronavirus being part of that test of faith and charity. [P2] In times of affliction, believers are reminded that God ultimately controls their affairs. [P3] In a crisis, faith becomes what people can hold onto for meaning and comfort. [C] Therefore, because faith is all people can believe in during such trials, coronavirus will strengthen religious beliefs.

Counter-arguments

Life may be considered a test for some religious people. However, key aspects of these religions - such as prayer - offer adherents a way to ask for positive outcomes in their actual lives. The fact that these prayers are going unheard, as the virus tears across the world indiscriminately, will reduce faith in the power of religion.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P3] Many religious people believe that prayer brings rewards come in the present life