Covid-19 And The Theology Of Johane Masowe: A Transpersonal Social Work Perspective

Abstract

The advent of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 has left the world trembling due to fears, uncertainty, grief and loss. The virus has indiscriminately ravaged the entire world claiming many lives among people of almost all walks of life. During its onset, close to nothing was known about it which left health experts to rely on trial and era for its prevention and management. Nothing much is known about the virus from a religious fraternity hence this study sought to explore nexus between the beliefs and practices of Johane Masowe Church and COVID-19 prevention measures. The study was informed by transpersonal theory and it adopted a qualitative approach in which data was collected from 16 influential office bearers in the church. Data was collected through telephone interviews among church members in Mazowe district in Zimbabwe. Members of Johane Masowe church who participated in the study reported that the coming of the disease was foretold through prophesy. It was also established that COVID-19 prevention measures such as social distancing, use of alcohol based sanitisers and travel restriction were against church beliefs and practices. The participants also believed that contracting COVID-19 could be prevented through use of holy ashes and dedicated songs. Social workers working in the public health sector should therefore strike a balance between respecting the religious views of the church members and protecting the public from the scourge of COVID-19 given the high transmission competence of the disease.

Key words: Johane Masowe, apostolicism, COVID-19, prophesy, transpersonal theory, transpersonal social work