A new survey coming from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) gives new insights as to the link between religion and the refusal to get vaccinated against COVID.
According to NPR, the PRRI and IFYC survey is “the largest one to track the intersection of the pandemic and religious beliefs” and can be key in combating vaccine hesitancy. PRRI CEO and founder Robert Jones remarked in a statement that the results of the survey showed how many Americans believe that religious liberty is not an “absolute” ad how there must be some sort of balance when it comes to public health matters.
Results showed that only 39% of Americans are in favor of a blanket religious exemption excuse, while 51% of Americans are in favor of providing a religious exemption only as long as a person has documentation from their faith leader proving that the vaccine goes against their religious beliefs. Moreover, a majority of Americans or 58% said that people should be allowed to claim religious exemptions from the COVID vaccine.
Findings also show that only 10% of Americans believe that getting a COVID vaccine conflicts with their religious beliefs, while 59% of Americans believe that too many people are using religious beliefs as an excuse not to get the jab.
The Christian Headlines reported that as per survey results, 52% of Americans who refused the COVID vaccine were more likely to say that their religious beliefs would be violated if they got vaccinated than to say that the vaccine contradicts their religious teachings, with 33% of vaccine refusers saying so. Moreover, 51% of Americans support allowing people who would otherwise be mandated to get the jab to opt out if the vaccine violates their religious beliefs.
The PRRI and IFYC study surveyed 5,721 American adults living in all 50 states through an online method between October 18 to November 9. The survey results also shed light on Americans’ opinions on those who continue to refuse vaccination.
According to Faithwire, the study’s conclusions on the widening and increasingly partisan divide between the vaccinated and unvaccinated is truly “most concerning.” Research showed that 67% of Americans said they were “angry at those who are refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and are putting the rest of us at risk.” In fact, 84% of Democrats said the same, versus 43% of Republicans who shared the same opinion.
Meanwhile, 85% of unvaccinated Republicans are “significantly more likely” than unvaccinated Democrats (only 48%) to say they are angry at those who believe they have a right to tell them to get vaccinated against COVID. In addition, 31% of surveyed unvaccinated Americans said they plan to or have requested for religious exemptions from COVID jabs. Lastly, one in five Americans or about 19% admitted that the COVID vaccines have caused “major conflicts in their families.”
