"Conservative pastors and leaders are encouraging the shot while the people in the pews have been more divided." - C.Today
"Theologically fraught conspiracy theories have been swirling online, particularly in some evangelical circles. In a recent video posted online, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., similarly suggested — without evidence — a connection between the Mark of the Beast and vaccines." - NPR
Though reluctance toward COVID vaccination seems to be on the decline, Pew Research found that evangelicals are among the most hesitant in the U.S.
“Hesitancy” is a broad term, and there’s plenty of room for rational and well informed people to “hesitate.” We know the vaccines were developed much faster than usual. We know that the RNA based vaccines use a partially new approach.
But many Christians aren’t just hesitating. They’re firmly rejecting. And it certainly appears that many are hesitating or rejecting for poor reasons. We owe it to ourselves, our fellow citizens, our fellow believers, and our Lord to be well-informed and well-reasoned on this.
I’m no expert in immunology, or bioethics, but what follows draws from people who are. To the critically minded—good for you! I’m all for asking good questions and holding answers up to strong standards. That said, this is an inductive case and doesn’t rise or fall on any one point, or even several.
"So even at least some of the 54% of evangelicals who do intend to get the shot are doing it primarily for themselves, not to stop the spread of the virus to others. As for the 45% who won’t, many of them are looking primarily at the impact on their own health and well-being, rather than that of their neighbors." - Veith
"From what I can tell, there are legitimate reasons, debatable reasons, bad reasons, and one good reason why many–though not a majority of conservative Christians don’t want to get the shot. But there is also a theological reason that needs to be addressed." - Veith
"54% of white evangelicals 'definitely or probably' plan on getting vaccinated or already have received at least one vaccination shot, the lowest of any religious demographic surveyed." - C. Post
"These conspiracy theories, however, are not rooted in reality. Indeed, many of them come from the same sources that previously told us that the coronavirus itself was a hoax or, even worse, a 'plandemic' mapped out by the government for some purpose or another.
"A viral social media video insinuates that the COVID-19 vaccine contains trackable microchips that will be injected into vaccine recipients. The video, just under 4 minutes long, is a composite of clips .... they create a false impression that those who get vaccinated for COVID-19 will be injected with a 'forced chip with a tracking device.'" - The Dispatch
