Pope Francis dubbed the COVID-19 vaccine an “act of love.” He encouraging people around the world to get the COVID-19 vaccine in a new public service advertisement. “Thanks to God and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19.” In an August 18, 2021 tweet he said, “Vaccination is a simple way of promoting the common good and caring for each other, especially the most vulnerable.” He continued, “They grant us the hope of ending the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we work together.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted religion in various ways, including the cancellation of the worship services of various faiths and the closure of Sunday schools, as well as the cancellation of pilgrimages, ceremonies and festivals. Many churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples have offered worship through live stream as an alternative to in person worship during the pandemic.
Gallup says that the halting of in-person worship “is one of the most significant sudden disruptions in the practice of religion in U.S. history. Some pastors defied CDC health guidelines that restrict indoor gatherings. On July 26, 2020 Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church had his flock gather indoors in Sun Valley to sing hymns, defying California regulations that aim to limit the spread of COVID-19. This is only one of many examples of pastors defying health guidelines.
On February 26, 2021 the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision that could foretell sweeping limitations for public health measures related to the free exercise of religion. The Court’s ruling in the case, Gateway City Church v. Newsom, blocked a county-level ban on church services, despite the fact that the ban applied across the board to all indoor gatherings. This religious exceptionalism is emerging as a key trend in recent Supreme Court decisions, particularly those related to COVID-19 restrictions. This ruling could become a serious health threat as the highly contagious, deadly Delta variant continues to be a public health disaster.
A pastor in Riverside County, California, told his congregation in the spring that the vaccine was “unclean” and directed them to a downloadable form Christians could use to claim religious exemptions. Some Catholic clergy and groups have made such resources available, despite the pope’s very clear opposing position on the matter. Greg Locke, a right-wing evangelical head pastor of Tennessee’s Baptist Global Vision Bible Church, told a cheering congregation that “elites” were trying to push an unsafe vaccine on the public while injecting themselves with sugar water. It is sad that some houses of worship have become conduits for misinformation that can spread sickness and death.
Daniel Darling, senior vice president of communications for the National Religious Broadcasters, was fired on August 27, 2021 after refusing to say his pro-vaccine statements on Morning Joe were mistaken. Darling, an evangelical pastor and author, told host Joe Scarborough about how his faith motivated him to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Darling described the vaccines as an amazing feat of discovery by scientists, some of whom share his Christian faith.
Darling said he was proud to be vaccinated.
“I believe in this vaccine because I don’t want to see anyone else die of COVID. Our family has lost too many close friends and relatives to COVID, including an uncle, a beloved church member and our piano teacher,” Darling told Scarborough.