This week's show explores global religions and the pandemic, with a special focus on religious nationalism's role in pandemic politics. We begin with a survey of religious responses to Covid-19 in South Asia, using this to explore the worrying spread of authoritarianism in response to the pandemic, and how "public health" laws and other measures are being used to target religious and social minorities. We'll also look at how internal religious cleavages are making effective Covid-19 responses difficult, from Pakistan to Afghanistan. We'll also delve into how Hindu nationalism in India has harnessed the popular appeal of Vedic science in India to pass off bogus ayurvedic medical claims as cures for Covid-19, with remedies ranging from turmeric and cow urine to Baba Ramdev's herbal Coronil pills. All of this is made possible, scholars suggest, by the broad support for Hindu nationalism across India. From there we pivot back to the United States, and delve deeper into the politics of Christian nationalism and current debates over Covid-19 public health restrictions. As our authors suggest, at the heart of Christian nationalism is a potent blend of religious, ethnic, political, and economic beliefs that come together to form a distinct political dynamic that is at the heart of current Covid-19 opposition and are intimately tied up with the politics of white racial grievances and social change. The world is becoming increasingly global and diverse, but not everyone is happy about those changes, and some want a return of the so-called "glory days." We'll delve into the hows and whys of some of these beliefs and these dynamics and more in this week's episode.

I'm producing these episodes in parallel with a course I'm teaching at California State University, Chico. Each week I explore a different topic related to the end of the world, from doomsday preppers and our deepest fears to the role of religion, media, and politics in thinking about the end of the world.

Audio samples:

Intro: "Breakfast on the Dark Side of the Moon" by Mana Junkie. 2020 CC-BY-NC (3.0). 

http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mana_junkie/62733 Ft: gurdonark

Outro: "Firefly Memories" by Rewob. 2020 Licensed under a CC-BY-NCS (3.0). 

http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/rewob/62213 

For additional show notes and materials references in this episode be sure to visit my End of the World page:

https://www.chriscrews.com/end-of-the-world-podcast/

Thanks for listening.

Dr. Crews