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COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHT
#178
Returning to “Normal” (or Not) 
 
Religious communities share in what for many is an urgent desire to put the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, even as the pandemic still rages in many places. The challenges of how to reopen, under what conditions, are matters of debate and, in some places, tension. A worrying observation suggests that conflict, including religious conflicts, are on the rise, but evidence is still fragmentary.
 
Reports have focused on several places of worship that began operating at full capacity last week, including the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. While Saudi officials require worshippers at Mecca to be fully vaccinated and wear masks, social distancing markers were removed. Mosques, churches, synagogues, and Sikh temples also reopened for in person services this week in Sydney, Australia. Sydney’s largest mosque, Lakemba Mosque, originally delayed its reopening, citing the need for an 80% vaccination rate in New South Wales, before they could safely welcome back members of the community. The mosque opened its doors on Friday. The Church of St. Paul’s in Burwood and the Emanuel Synagogue in Woollahra, Australia, are also up and running, though, like Lakemba Mosque and the Grand Mosque in Mecca, all worshippers are required to physical distance, wear masks, and be fully vaccinated. 
 
A Pew Research Center study suggests that more than half of congregants in the United States trust their religious leaders for COVID-19 guidance. However, more than half of U.S. congregants said their religious leaders have not said much about the COVID-19 vaccine. Rev. John S. Udo-Okon at the Word of Life International Church in the South Bronx questioned that statistic; he is encouraging his congregants to get vaccinated. More evidence is coming highlighting how some Black churches, for example the Word of Life International Church, are using “the power of the pulpit” to address racial disparities in vaccination rates and encourage their community members to get vaccinated. 

Director of the National Institutes of Health Francis S. Collins, who helped develop the COVID-19 vaccine, also urges everyone to follow scientific advice with regards to vaccines. As a Christian, he especially encourages evangelical Christians to follow scientific evidence as they have the strongest hold on vaccine resistance. However, based on recent history of vaccine mandates with regards to public emergencies such as a pandemic, analysts believe that it is unlikely that religious exemptions and vaccine hesitancy will stop states in the United States from enforcing vaccine mandates.
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If you have news articles, guides, or other relevant resources you wish to share with us for review please email covid19.faithresponse@gmail.com. We are particularly interested in learning more about groups facing acute vulnerabilities (refugees, elderly, those impacted by the digital divide, in fragile states, etc.). Please send us any information you see.
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