A poster that reads “Trust in God, not in vaccines” during a demonstration in Los Angeles, California, in April 2022, during the Covid-19 pandemic. MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
Antivax and religion: Kira Ganga Kieffer, a visiting professor in religious studies at Fairfield University (Connecticut), tackles two sensitive topics in “Unvaccinated Under God: Religion and Vaccine Hesitancy in Modern America” published on May 19 by Princeton University Press. A first book where she challenges some common ideas about what makes believers fear vaccination.
Does religion push believers not to get vaccinated?
Kira Ganga Kieffer: It is often wrongly believed that believers reject vaccines because of principles learned in church. But most religious leaders, regardless of traditions, are very supportive of vaccination.
