Lethbridge Reprobate Wrote:
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> We have a large Calvinist Dutch population here in
> southern Alberta that actively preaches against
> vaccines, plus some of the Anabaptists (Hutterian
> Bretheren and Mennonites) also have very low
> vaccination rates and are the source of several
> measles outbreaks in recent years but still flock
> into Lethbridge with their huge families to shop
> an mingle...and spread whatever they're carrying.
So much for loving your neighbour eh? Love should preclude you from sharing your germs, for sure.
Below are some excerpts from various articles/sites I've recently seen re religion and vaccination. I am reassured that so many are in favour and encourage their flock to accept modern medicine, for the benefit of themselves and everybody with whom they come into contact.
It might be surprising which faiths DO accept vaccination, contrary to what may be assumed about them.
It's also reassuring that faiths such as Catholics and Jehovah's Witnesses promote vaccination despite their strict beliefs that may otherwise forbid it - for Catholics due to potential use of fetal tissue in manufacturing vaccines and for JWs due to their prohibition against blood products (I'm not sure which vaccines this would refer to - maybe rabies?).
From The Gospel Coalition:
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-christians-should-know-vaccines/Excerpts:
“Vaccines have proven to be one of humankind’s greatest inventions, and the single most powerful and effective way of reducing disease and improving global health.
“A vaccine is created from the same germs that cause disease, using extremely small amounts of weak or dead microbes such as viruses, bacteria, or toxins. A vaccine stimulates your immune system to produce antibodies, exactly as it would if you were exposed to the disease. After getting vaccinated, you develop immunity to that disease, without having to get the disease first.
“The purpose of vaccinations is not only to immunize an individual but also to provide immunization for an entire community.
“When parents refuse to vaccinate their children for philosophical reasons, they increase the risk of disease exposure for the entire community.
“Annual use of recommended vaccines for children has been estimated to avert up to 3 million deaths per year globally, with even greater numbers of prevented cases of illness and substantial disability. For children born in the United States in 2009, routine childhood immunization will prevent an estimated 42,000 early deaths and 20 million cases of disease. An additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided, though, if global vaccination coverage improves.”
From Canadian Mennonites:
https://www.mennonitechurch.ca/article/12323-a-message-from-mennonite-church-canadas-executive-ministers-on-religious-exemptions-from-covid-19-vaccines“A message from Mennonite Church Canada’s executive ministers”
“We are responding to inquiries from constituents regarding religious exemption from COVID-19 vaccines. For a religious exemption to be granted, rationale for exemption must be clearly indicated within our sacred texts or confessional statements.
“We wish to clarify that there is nothing in the Bible, in our historic confessions of faith, in our theology or in our ecclesiology that justifies granting a religious exemption from vaccinations against COVID-19.
“We have heard concerns from some members of our constituency regarding the vaccines. However, we do not believe these concerns justify an exemption from COVID-19 vaccinations on religious grounds from within a Mennonite faith tradition.
“From the earliest biblical writings, in the words of Jesus Christ and in ecclesial writings since Jesus’ ascension, the command to love God and love our neighbour is paramount. Vaccinations allow us to live out this command. Not only do they reduce the severity of symptoms for those who become infected with COVID-19, but they reduce the risk of spreading the virus to those around us. We also note that individuals should make personal health care decisions based on advice given by their doctors.
“We pray for unity among us in the Spirit of Christ, who calls us into this life of love, especially for our most vulnerable neighbours.”
From Skeptical Raptor - A review of major religions and vaccines (2023):
https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/a-review-of-major-religions-and-vaccines-almost-all-support-vaccinations/“Members of the Dutch Reformed Church have had a tradition of refusing vaccines going as far back as the early vaccinations for smallpox in the early 1800s. Most of this early vaccine refusal was because of the observed adverse events with the vaccines of that era (which is still an ongoing issue for vaccine deniers), although it has evolved into the formal belief that vaccines interfere with the relationship with their god.
Amish:
“One of the enduring myths of the vaccine deniers is that Amish communities do not get vaccinated. However, there is no prohibition against vaccines by the Amish church, and vaccination rates vary between different communities. And leaders of communities that get hit by a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak are more often accepting of immunization.”
Buddhism:
(Yay for the Buddhist nun):
“Around 1022-1063 CE, a written account described how a Buddhist nun used the process called variolation, which is a form of inoculation. In this case, she ground up smallpox scabs and then put them in the noses of non-immune individuals, an early form of nasal vaccine I suppose. The 14th Dalai Lama, the current incumbent, was involved in a polio vaccination program. There are no religious texts or doctrines that oppose vaccines, and predominantly Buddhist countries are rather pro-vaccine.”
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“… most Christian churches have no specific scriptural or canonical objection to the use of vaccines. He included the following Christian churches in the list – Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Amish, Anglican, Baptist, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Congregational, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Methodist (including African Methodist Episcopal), Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and Seventh-Day Adventist Church.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses:
“During the 1920s through the 40s, the church was opposed to vaccination based on its doctrine about human blood. However, by the early 1950s, the church took a neutral stance about vaccinations … They unquestionably endorse the success of vaccinations:
“In the world’s developed countries, new vaccines dramatically decreased the toll of measles, mumps, and German measles. A mass polio vaccination campaign, launched in 1955, was so successful that cases of the disease in Western Europe and North America plummeted from 76,000 in that year to fewer than 1,000 in 1967. Smallpox, a major killer disease, was eradicated worldwide.”
Mormons:
“The LDS church (formally known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the adherents known as Mormons) has stated fairly clearly that it supports the use of vaccines to eliminate preventable infectious diseases in children. In addition, LDS missionaries are sent all over the world, and they are all fully vaccinated, with many vaccines that are only used in tropical areas, before they leave on their missions.”
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Some exceptionally fundamentalist churches/preachers around and about teach their flock to disregard public health advice. That's when the government sometimes has to step in (as we saw here in B.C. and other places during the height of the recent pandemic) in order to protect citizens. It's very unfortunate. Especially for those who reject potentially lifesaving measures and end up paying a high cost in terms of morbidity and mortality. Not just for themselves but for others they may pass along their infection to who also have to pay the price, unfortunately.
My best friend goes to the Mennonite church. Mainstream.
There's a difference.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2024 05:41PM by Nightingale.