Document Type

Working Paper

Date

Fall 12-7-2020

Keywords

COVID-19, Muslim students, religious practices

Language

English

Disciplines

Cognition and Perception | Religion | Social Statistics | Sociology of Religion

Description/Abstract

Implications of religious practices in Islam go far beyond religiosity, and this paper analyzed the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and religious practices of Muslim students in higher education. The analyzed data is from the survey of the Muslim Student Life at Syracuse University and the Center for Islam in Contemporary World at Shenandoah University. The survey was conducted through a non-random convenience sampling from March 30th through April 10th of 2020 and had 498 responders. For this study, I analyzed 272 who provided their demographic information. The paper hypothesized and confirmed an overall increase in the engagement with the daily prayers due to the COVID-19 among the students that participated in the study. In addition, it found that age was not a significant predictor of how often Muslim students pray. These findings of an overall increase in prayer due to the COVID-19 replicate the previous research that Muslim students' religious practices stay the same or slightly increase during college life and are used as coping mechanisms for stress, anxiety, and unexpected life events. However, a mixed-method study is needed to understand better the broader roles of religious practices in Muslim students' lives, especially those less religious. Such research would deepen scientific knowledge about various roles of religious practices in the field of social sciences.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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