Epidemic diseases from a sociological perspective: The role and funtions of religion in coping with epidemics

Human beings may feel the need to turn to religion throughout their lives. Famines, earthquakes, wars and epidemics can be counted among the external factors that show man his helplessness and lead him to worship a Creator. In such situations, usually in disaster situations, people feel the need to turn to a supernatural power in order to achieve salvation. It achieves this mainly through religious coping arguments. Epidemic, earthquake, famine, etc. The devastation caused by natural disasters is felt especially on the disabled, the elderly, children, women and the poor, who have high social vulnerability. In cases where science is insufficient, people turn to seek God-centered solutions. In this context, religious coping motifs such as prayer, fate, patience, gratitude and traditional treatment practices are used. These motifs minimize stress, anxiety and depressive behaviors that occur as a result of challenging events. This study mainly deals with religious coping tools in Islam and other religions in the context of epidemic diseases. The research also analyzes the demographic, economic, psychological, political, religious and sociological effects of epidemics with scientific analysis.