Is it necessary—even, mandatory—for believers to visit a place of collective worship, or participate in a religious congregation, for one’s prayer to be accepted by God? And does the necessity hold true even when a lethally contagious disease breaks out, when participants in a collective prayer not only run the risk of catching the contagion but also of passing it on to others in the vicinity?
The answer to these questions is rather obvious. The primary duty of religion—at least its chief promise—is to protect the devout. The very first prayer to the Almighty on the lips of many devotees, irrespective of their religious affiliation, is: “O Lord, protect me and protect my near and dear ones.” Since God is the Creator of all, He is also the Protector of all. But even He cannot protect if dogmas and blind beliefs of organised religions make devotees behave irresponsibly in times of an unprecedented global pandemic, such as COVID-19, which has so far afflicted close to a million people and killed over 40,000 around the world.