Discours des religieux sur la pandémie au Pérou (2020–2021) : se conformer aux directives de l’État ou les rejeter ? Faire confiance à Dieu et/ou à la science ?

Abstract

This article analyzes the official position of Peruvian religious institutions, particularly Pentecostal ones, in response to the health emergency of COVID-19 (2020–2021), in the context characterized by precarity and multiple deficiencies. Using netnography and an ethnographic case study method, we examine the reactions of various churches. While a significant sector of the religious field, generally the most institutionalized, remained officially confident in the scientific approach assumed by the government to confront the pandemic, others, inspired by transnational connections related to North American conservative currents and promoting conspiracy theories and eschatological views, have introduced more ambiguous, even dissenting, discourses. Our analysis shows that diversity exists in the most structured institutions such as the Catholic Church and some dogmatic independent churches. Many members maintain their independence and do not follow the leaders’ instructions.