#218 Lingering Court Cases; Xenophobia/COVID-19 Links; Pandemic Lessons
Various court cases (notably in the United States) highlight tensions surrounding restrictions on religious gatherings in the context of the pandemic and vaccine mandates and religious exemptions (or lack thereof). According to several reports, a federal judge has dismissed a complaint from a group of workers claiming they were unfairly discriminated against by Maine’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care personnel. While the workers argued that the vaccine mandate violated their right to free exercise of religion because it did not provide an exemption for religious beliefs, “Jon Levy, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, wrote that the vaccine mandate was rationally based.” Across the country, California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed lower court decisions on church restrictions, “citing a May 2020 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in February 2021 that a ban by Gov. Gavin Newsom on indoor worship services in counties where COVID-19 was surging violated freedom of religion.” The case canceled the fines owed by a California church that had defied safety regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic by holding large religious services. Litigation continues.
Vaccine hesitancy and its religious links is another ongoing concern. A recent study examined various types of misinformation related to vaccine hesitancy and refusal with a particular emphasis on COVID-19 vaccines: “Vaccine hesitancy mediated the relationship between the vaccine knowledge and behavioral intention. Findings across these studies suggest exposure to misinformation and believing it as true could increase vaccine hesitancy and reduce behavioral intention to get vaccinated.” The study also revealed that “57.6% reported being exposed to conspiratorial misinformation such as COVID-19 vaccines are harmful and dangerous.” These results have implications even for non-COVID-19 diseases. For example, in Zimbabwe, a deadly measles outbreak is linked to religious resistance: “some apostolic church sects forbid their followers from taking vaccinations or any medical treatment. The churches attract millions of followers with their promises to heal illnesses and deliver people from poverty.” Also, a New York Times article explores approaches to addressing Orthodox Jewish vaccine resistance in relation to the recent polio outbreak.
In South Africa, in the wake of COVID lockdowns, “a heightened state of anxiety” is negatively impacting refugees and asylum-seekers. Various faith-linked groups, however, work to counter anti-immigrant, xenophobic sentiments. The Scalabrini Centre in Cape Town, for example, speaks out against newly-proposed legislation that would limit the number of foreigners businesses can hire, thus creating new barriers for immigrants seeking employment.
A National Catholic Register reflection takes a hard-nosed approach to some lessons that might or should be drawn from the COVID-19 experience: “There are many analyses being done as to the long-term impact of the pandemic on health care, the economy, culture, remote work, travel, schools, interpersonal interaction, child psychology and other social dimensions. It is similarly important for the leaders and faithful of the Church to take this time to examine the impact of the pandemic on Catholic life.” Among the impacts is parishioner attendance, as “several surveys have shown that one-third of American Catholics who were coming to Mass at the beginning of March 2020 now no longer regularly attend. The decision to lock churches and prevent access to the sacraments during the worst months of the pandemic has had a calamitous impact on the faith life of millions of Catholics, on the vitality of their parishes and dioceses and on the Church’s whole mission.” Religious leadership has also been affected by the pandemic, as “diligent priests became better and lazy priests became lazier, and the level of fatherly concern had an impact on the rate of return of the faithful…Out of fear or indolence, they hid the talent the Lord had given them in the ground (Matthew 25:25)...Only a small percentage of Church leaders and faithful stood up to these abuses. We need to be prepared to be bolder the next time.”
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