The second issue of the Public Health, Religion and Spirituality Bulletin, a publication of the Public Health, Religion, and Spirituality Network (publichealthrs.org) has now been released. Two issues appear per year, Fall and Spring/Summer, and are published online in HTML and paginated PDF format. Download the full newsletter here.
Editorial: When we began to develop this issue in January, we never could have imagined how differently the world would look by the time of publication. While the articles in this issue were not initially designed to address COVID-19, some of our content unsurprisingly evolved alongside our changing world. Read the full article here.
Article 1: Interview with Dr. Jeff Levin
We present an interview with Jeff Levin, who contributed many pioneering publications in the 1980s and 1990s that formulated conceptual foundations for the study of religion and health. Dr. Levin was interviewed for the PHRS Bulletin by graduate students Auwal Abubakar and Angela Monahan of U. C. Berkeley, working in conjunction with Blake Kent, postdoctoral researcher at Harvard University. Read the full article here.
Article 2: Religious Communities and Love of Neighbor in Times of Crisis
Tyler VanderWeele and Katelyn Long write about the challenges faced by religious communities during the coronavirus crisis, the various ways religious and spiritual communities are adapting, and the guiding principle of love of neighbor during times of crisis. Read the full article here.
Article 3: Ebola and COVID-19: Lessons from and for the Faith Community
Ellen Idler, John Blevins, and Mimi Kaiser discuss themes from the 2014-15 Ebola outbreak, newly featured in an online CDC exhibit, that are relevant to the COVID-19 crisis facing the world today. They also note a number of positive efforts orchestrated by faith leaders and a highlight growing list of tailored resources for members of faith communities. Read the full article here.
Article 4: Dancing with the Stars
Everett Worthington Jr. uses both wit and candor to describe his journey from psychology, to becoming a renowned researcher on the topic of forgiveness, to now, in his late career, bringing his expertise to bear in the realm of public health, religion, and spirituality. Read the full article here.
Article 5: Religion and Public Health: Learning from the [Ancient] Past
Susan Holman describes her background as a historian of religion, providing numerous resources, tips and reflections on how religious history can contribute to the growing field of religion/spirituality and public health. Read the full article here.
Article 6: PHRS Resources & Updates
This article highlights a number of resources relevant to COVID-19, religion, and public health, as well as number of newly published research articles at the intersection of religion, spirituality and public health. Read the full article here.