Thursday, August 19, 2021

Many Bible Belt preachers silenced on polarized vaccine issue

Lead story

In this June 7, 2021 file photo, Tony Spell, pastor of the Life Tabernacle Church of Central City, La., prays with supporters outside the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. Health officials have an unsteady partner as they try to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the Bible Belt: churches and pastors. Some preachers are praying for more inoculations and hosting vaccination clinics. Others are skirting the topic of vaccines or openly preaching against them in a region that's both deeply religious and reeling from a spike in cases. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Editor's note:

A survey by the National Association of Evangelicals found that 95% of evangelical leaders planned to get inoculated against COVID-19. But theologian Curtis Chang, who has pastored churches and is on the faculty at Duke Divinity School, said that number hasn’t translated into widespread advocacy from the pulpit. 

“I would say that the vast majority are paralyzed or silent because of how polarized it has been,” said Chang, in a recent story by Associated Press writer Jay Reeves. 

As the delta variant spreads rapidly across the Bible Belt, Reeves explores how pastors in the region are both helping and hurting efforts to get more people vaccinated. 

An image of Holly Meyer, the Religion News Editor at the Associated Press.
 

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Commentary and Analysis

A political philosopher argues why the current situation in Afghanistan should weigh heavy on the American conscience. By Michael Blake for The Conversation

I beg anyone reading this who is not vaccinated to prayerfully consider getting vaccinated. But your conscience comes before all else. By Charles C. Camosy/Religion News Service

Megachurches and the men who lead them can be superrich. So why don't the IRS and local authorities see a cent in taxes? A scholar explains. By Ryan Cragun for The Conversation

Warrior, servant, mother, unifier – the Virgin Mary has played many roles through the centuries

Mary has acquired popularity among celebrities of late. A religion scholar writes about how for nearly 2,000 years, the Virgin has been viewed as an exemplar by different Christian groups. By Eric Vanden Eykel for The Conversation

 
Two Hindu wrestlers grapple on a dirt floor with other wrestlers watching nearby. There are many people watching the match sitting on a cloth and there are some spectators standing behind them.

Traditional Indian wrestlers engage in a bout during Nag Panchami festival in Prayagraj, India, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. Every year, the wrestlers offer prayers and hold bouts to mark the festival, which is primarily dedicated to the worship of snakes. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

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  • This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
  • The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
 
 

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