Preaching Goes Viral

Three further perspectives on Christian Science and vaccination

Respect for government and/or patriotic loyalty, as a priority

[OLD] Accept or reject public health guidelines

Christian Scientists would agree with the basic ethical principle voiced in Michael Graham’s May 2 column on vaccination — that religious freedom, important as it is, doesn’t extend to putting our fellow citizens at risk. In the past, because of the small number requesting religious exemptions from vaccination, public health authorities haven’t necessarily seen these exemptions as putting others at risk. For many decades, as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health wrote in a column on “Christian Science and Community Medicine,” Christian Scientists have recognized “what society may reasonably expect [them] to do for the general good” (The New England Journal of Medicine 2/14/1974). The ethic of our faith requires respect for the rights of others. Writing in this newspaper back in 1900, our church’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy, strongly counseled Christian Scientists to obey the laws of the land, including those requiring vaccination. She went on to cite Jesus’ counsel to “render to Caesar what is Caesar’s” and “to God what is God’s.”

2022-12-16

h1104

Christian Science Committees on Publication