“Jeg var i akut fællesskabsmangel”:En analyse af fællesskabsfølelse blandt danske religionsgrupper under og efter COVID-19-pandemien

The COVID-19 pandemic and the concomitant restrictions caused Danish religious groups to seize meeting physically for longer periods of time. Consequently, these groups were affected in terms of their rituals, communication, and community, and for many groups the pandemic gave rise to engaging (further) in the incorporation of digital tools. While other research has examined the pandemic’s effect on the reconstruction of rituals and the integration of social media among religious groups, this article instead focuses on the specific consequences of the pandemic related to the feeling of community among religious groups in Denmark. Based on analyses of 23 interviews and fieldnotes from fieldwork in Buddhist, Muslim and Christian communities as part of the RECOVIRA-project we find that the informants lacked community during the lockdowns and that the digital alternatives offered could only rarely replace the physical co-presence in the groups. We highlight two main reasons for this; firstly, the informants do not find the digital alternatives to function well in terms of conveying a feeling of mutual recognition and intimacy; and secondly, they miss the physical, sensory co-presence, which is difficult to replicate in the digital sphere. We discuss these findings and engage with Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition as well as with a complex of theories related to embodiment and senses to understand how the informants conceptualize their idea of a meaningful, effectful religious community. Finally, we discuss the methodological limitations of the study and the theoretical implications of our findings.