#Atheists are more likely to get vaccinated: survey

Atheists have a reputation for putting their faith in science, not divination.

Now, it’s a fact. A new Pew Research Center survey shows that the godless are more likely to get vaccinated for COVID-19 compared to religious groups — as 90% of atheist respondents said that they will “definitely” or “probably” seek the shot, or have already received their first vaccine dose.

Meanwhile, an average of 77% of Catholics will go in for the jab, and only 62% of Protestant participants — including white or Hispanic evangelicals and worshippers at historically black churches — will do the same.

By contrast, nearly half — 45% — of white evangelicals say they “definitely” or “probably will not” seek the coronavirus vaccine, regardless of the manufacturer. And they appear split down the middle as 54% affirmed that they likely will get the shot.

Insights into how various spiritual communities currently approach vaccination were first reported by Religion News Service, as part of a broader report by Pew researchers to investigate Americans’ intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination, published Friday. The survey of 10,121 adults was conducted last month, between Feb. 16 and 21.

The results come as religious leaders continue to grapple with how to lead congregations in both faith and health. Last month, the Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans was split on whether or not to endorse the late-entry Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which some have deemed “morally compromised” due to its development involving cloned stem cells from two fetuses that were aborted in the 1970s and ’80s.

In December, the Vatican OK’d vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna, which conducted tests using the same abortion-derived cells. However, the stem cells are not ultimately required for manufacturing of those vaccines, whereas the J&J’s blueprint relies on those controversial cells.

“It is under the same guidance that the archdiocese must instruct Catholics that the latest vaccine from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson is morally compromised as it uses the abortion-derived cell line in development and production of the vaccine as well as the testing,” the New Orleans Archdiocese concluded in their statement.

Christians of all denominations have now found themselves pitted against others in their fellowship.

According to RNS’s report, white evangelicals are the least likely to “consider the health effects on their community when making decisions to be vaccinated,” with only 48% responding to Pew that they put this into “a lot” of consideration.

“There’s a long history of anti-science within American evangelicalism,” said evangelical historian John Fea of Messiah University, going back to the Scopes Monkey trial of the 1920s, he told RNS, in which evangelicals protested the teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution in Tennessee public schools.

David French, senior editor — and Presbyterian — at conservative news site the Dispatch, asserted in a Saturday column that “vaccine hesitancy is both an information problem and a spiritual problem.”

“Yes, you can and should flood the zone with more and better information about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, but we also need to flood the zone with better and more effective spiritual teaching about loving our neighbors and — critically — about trust, faith, and courage,” he wrote.

His comments follow those from Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (that’s Dr. Anthony Fauci’s boss), who appeared Thursday on the popular Christian Broadcasting Network — home of the long-running televangelist talk show “The 700 Club” — to encourage viewers to seek the vaccine.

Collins, a “devout Christian” according to CBN, stressed that the biblical commandment to “love thy neighbor” is an important virtue when considering vaccination.

“This is a ‘love your neighbor’ moment, where we all have a chance to do something not just for ourselves but for everybody around us,” he said.

Responding to recent reports of infighting among religious communities over which vaccine to seek — or whether to seek one at all — Collins said, “I would be reluctant to suggest that anybody just wait until they get the one they like, because that might be waiting awhile, and in the meantime, people can still get sick.”

Nevertheless, CBN viewers were skeptical, according to the more than 1,000 comments made on the network’s Facebook page following the 22-minute interview. Many cited scripture in their rejection, accusing Collins of “blasphemy,” using “the name of the Lord your God in vain,” as written in the Bible.

Others objected on the basis of “impulsive” and insufficiently researched vaccine development.

“This has never even been tested on animals and humans are the test groups. Good luck!” wrote Sharon Elise, recognized as a “top fan” on the page.

But Collins addressed this fear during the interview.

“The vaccines, which I’ve had a big part in helping get developed, have been tested in the most rigorous imaginable trials, they’ve been shown safe and effective,” he said.