“Personal Experiences of the Christian Science Faith during COVID”

Searle, Susan. “Personal experiences of the Christian Science faith during Covid.” Pages 209–214 in The Covid Pandemic and the World’s Religions. Edited by George Chryssides and Dan Cohn-Sherbok. London, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023.

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote in the forward of this book of twenty-eight representatives of fourteen of the world’s religions: “Every kind of communal activity was heavily impacted by the Covid pandemic. . . and [this collection of essays] very properly asks what has been learned” (xix). Susan Searle responded to these questions as a representative of the Christian Science faith. She acknowledged the challenges of a global pandemic in the context of her usual practice of spiritual healing and turned to the Bible for inspiration and help. She found the pandemic pushed her to ask deeper questions and wrestle with her faith. When vaccines were made available and public restrictions were enacted, new questions arose concerning the impact of spiritual healing in the public context. Searle accepted vaccination in order to continue her public ministry.

ISBN (Hardcover): 9781350349643
ISBN (Softcover): 9781350349636