Come together as singular force to overcome COVID: Religious leaders ask communities

Describing religion as probably the most powerful means for mobilising human conscience to serve common good, over 20 spiritual gurus of different faiths on Wednesday jointly urged people to come together as a singular force to overcome COVID-19 pandemic.

They also strongly condemned unscientific beliefs and practices being propagated in the name of religion, exposing thousands to the virus and vitiating public discourse with half-truths, falsehoods, conspiracy theories and doomsday narratives.

"Today, the spread of coronavirus provides a testament to the oneness and inter-connectedness of the human family where the well-being of one is dependent on the well-being of all.

"As the past few weeks have shown, among the biggest obstacles that stand in our way as we strive to find a way out of this crisis, is the tendency to be selfish or self-centred whether as an individual, a community or a nation," the statement said,