Exploring the Role of COVID-19 Pandemic onReligious and Spiritual Experiences of IranianPopulation: A Phenomenological Study

The spread of COVID-19 has led to numerous changes indifferent domains of life throughout the world, including health habits, jobs, consumption patterns, lifestyles, and religious ceremonies. Phenomenological questions, religious challenges, and many questions regarding the cause of the pandemic also resulted from these changes. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to explore the role of the COVID-19 pandemic on the religious and spiritual experiences of the Iranian population.

A qualitative design based on a phenomenological approach was used. The sample included 18 subjects who were selected using a purposeful sampling method. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews.

The Colaizzi method was used to analyze the data and member checking, selfmonitoring, and immersion were used to examine the credibility of the results. The study findings included 175 primary codes, of which two main categories and 11 subcategories were extracted. Belief in God and religion was the first category extracted that included the following subcategories: no change in belief in God, no change in lack of belief in God, reconsidering one’s own beliefs, amazed by the power of God, amazed by the knowledge of God, Expecting miracles from God, and Increased sense of spirituality or closeness to God. The second category was beliefs about existence that included the following subcategories: no change in Beliefs, believing that human abilities are limited, thinking about existence, and believing in the importance of changing our behavior towards nature.

According to the study result, the experience of COVID-19 had affected participants’ attitude towards religion, spirituality, God, nature, and the system of the world; most of the participants reported improvements in their previous beliefs and attitudes as a result of these changes. Therefore, some conversations, such as the epidemic of a disease (COVID-19) can affect the religious attitudes and beliefs of individuals.