European Journal of Science and Theology, April 2021, Vol.17, No.2, 43-56 _______________________________________________________________________ RELIGIOUS CAPITAL AS A CENTRAL FACTOR IN COPING WITH THE COVID-19 CLUES FROM AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY Berenika Seryczyńska 1* , Lluis Oviedo 2 , Piotr Roszak 1 , Suvi-Maria Katariina Saarelainen 3 , Hilla Inkilä 3 , Josefa Torralba Albaladejo 4 and Francis-Vincent Anthony 5 1 Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, ul. Gagarina 37, 87-100, Toruń, Poland 2 Pontificia Universita Antonianum, Via Merulana 124, 00185, Roma, Italy 3 University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistokatu 2, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland 4 University of Murcia, Calle Campus Universitario, 11, 30100, Murcia, Spain 5 Salesian Pontifical University, Piazza dell'Ateneo Salesiano 1, 00139, Roma, Italy (Received 17 November 2020, revised 2021) Abstract Religious or spiritual capital has been described in terms of resources provided by religious organizations, and which individuals ‘purchase’ through attendance, learning and commitment. The recent COVID-19 pandemic and its related experience of lockdown, loneliness and high uncertainty has offered a unique context in which the extent and effects of religious or spiritual capital could be tested against alternative attitudes or resources. An extensive survey undertaken by an international research team at the height of the pandemic in four European countries has provided data that allows for a better assessment of the extent to which the factor might be related to the way people cope and project meaning in critical times. The aim of the paper is to find out to what extent religious capital still holds among Europeans in their struggles to cope with harsh circumstances. The results point to the effective impact of religious capital and at the same time introduce nuances that help to better understand its complex dynamics. Keywords: religious, capital, spiritual, coping, meaning 1. Introduction A recurrent issue in the study of religion in many societies is to what extent it still provides useful functions or performs activities that help a significant sector of population in their lives and relationships or increases their living standards. To analyse such a positive impact, a scientific approach needs to find out indicators, proxies and the right theoretical frameworks that could allow to assess the real influence and effect of religious beliefs and practices in highly developed societies. What is at stake is whether religion is still useful and * E-mail: berenika@doktorant.umk.pl