Religion and Attitudes Toward Covid Vaccination

 On April 22, 2012 the following report was released by PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute)

Religious Identities and the Race Against the Virus:

 Engaging Faith Communities on COVID-19 Vaccination

The above is a link to the full report, which has an executive summary. However there is also a webinar including slides which can be accessed here: Faith-Based Approaches Can Positively Impact COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts.  The first thirty minutes of their ninety minute program is a fine graphical presentation much of which I have summarized in one chart below.

Attitudes Toward Vaccination (%)

	Acceptor	Wait and See	Only if required	Refused
Americans	58	19	9	14
Democrats	73	15	6	6
Independents	58	20	9	13
Republicans	45	32	12	23
		Hesitant
Jewish	85	10		5
White Catholics	68	23		8
White Mainline	63	24		13
Unaffiliated	60	28		12
Hispanic Catholic	56	34		10
Mormon	50	33		17
Black Protestant	49	32		19
While Evangelicals	45	28		26
Hispanic  Protestant	43	42		15
White: 4 yr. degree	77	16		7
Black: 4yr. degree	66	25		9
Hispanic: 4yr degree	66	26		8
65 and older	79	13		7
50-64	58	27		14
30-49	48	35		17
18-29	49	33		18

RESPONDENTS were classified as either a) Acceptors, if they said they had already received a dose, or planned to be vaccinated ASAP, or b) Hesitant if they said they would wait and see, or said they would get the vaccine only if required, and c) Refused if they said they will not get the vaccine. 

I was disappointed that they did not give a breakdown for the Hesitant for all categories like they did for Americans, Democrats, Independents and Republicans. I suspect the sample size was too small to provide a reliable breakdown among smaller groups such as religious affiliations.

THE ELDERLY, those 65 and older who are most threatened by the virus, have decided (79%) to get vaccinated.  A few (7%) say they will refuse, and only some  (13%) are hesitant.  Hesitation and refusal occurs mostly among younger groups who are less threatened.

COLLEGE EDUCATION. Whites with at least a four  year degree have made up their minds in favor of vaccination much like the ELDERLY.  Even Black and Hispanics with four year degrees are unlikely to refuse, although they are more hesitant than White college educated.

WHITE CATHOLICS: What is most surprising about the faith traditions is that Catholics are substantially above the American average in being vaccine acceptors with low levels of vaccine refusal. The report attributes this to higher levels of education. Jewish respondents have an even higher acceptance, probably a combination of being highly educated and mostly Democratic. 

However White Catholics should be about evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. That means that on this issue  Catholic Republicans are much more like Catholic Democrats than they are like White Evangelicals even though Catholic Republicans  have been allied with them against abortion and for Trump.

Unfortunately we do not have a breakdown of Catholic Democrats and Catholic Republicans but we can make good guesses from the overall summary statistics.

If we assume half of White Catholics are Democrats and half are Republicans and assume that Catholic Democrats are exactly like Jews in their percentage of refusers then the percentage of Republican Catholics who are refusers would turn out to be eleven percent i.e. (5% + 11% =16%) /2 = 8%. Eleven percent is better than or equal to White mainline (13%), White and unaffiliated (12%) but out of the ballpark different than White Evangelicals (26%).  

Unlike Democrats, Republicans are very influenced by their most trusted media source. If we assume Catholic Republicans are at eleven percent refusal, that would be consistent with Republicans who view the mainstream media as their most trusted source of information (11% refusal) and better than Republicans who trust Fox News (16%) and far better than Republicans who trusted far right news sources (31%). 

In other words the data suggest that very few Catholic Republicans value far right news sources on this issue, and suggest most of them likely trust the mainstream news more than Fox News. This is consistent with the article’s view that White Catholics are more educated than other faith groups.   

WHITE EVANGELICALS  Of all faith traditions this group (26%) has the highest percentage of refusal. One might say that this is because they are Republicans My answer is that the Republican refusal rate is so high because almost all White Evangelicals are Republicans!

REPUBLICANS: We should be wary of making vaccination a political issue. By and large both the Elderly and the College Educated, many of whom are Republicans, have made up their minds to get the vaccine. Few of them plan to refuse. 

In the analysis above I have made the case that Catholics who are above the American average could only be that way because Catholic Republicans are more like Catholic Democrats than White Evangelicals on this issue. Finally the Republican party is increasing becoming the party of those with less than a college education. We have seen above how four  years or more of college predicts vaccine acceptance. 

A large part of the report has not been summarized because it deals with various faith  based approaches to persuading the hesitant. These were mostly more appropriate to groups other than White Catholics, such as White Evangelicals, Black Evangelicals and Hispanic Catholics. 

VACCINATION IN CATHOLIC PARISHES

1. Because of the size of many of our parishes and the large number of people at Mass we need to encourage as many people as possible to become vaccinated. Vaccines are not one hundred percent effective. That means we are all safer in the company of vaccinated people than in the company of unvaccinated people. This is particularly true when the number of new cases per day in the surrounding community is high.

2. This research shows that the Elderly, the College Educated, and White Catholics are more likely than the average American to get vaccinated rather than refuse. The research also suggests that this is not the political issue that it might appear. Republican hesitancy on the vaccine is likely due to the high numbers of White Evangelicals and those with less than a college education among Republicans. Everyone needs to follow the leadership of the elderly, the highly educated, and Catholics in general in overcoming hesitancy on this issue. 

3. Vaccine Buttons/Stickers. When I got my vaccination I was given a sticker which I keep in my car on a name tag that I can wear when I go places.  It is much like the civic pride underlying the "I Voted" stickers. 

Such buttons and stickers are widely available on the internet. Each parish should purchase, or even make their own simple identifiers. Make them available at the church door and in meeting rooms so that each of us can proclaim that we have done our part.

In order for their to be "herd immunity" we all have to go along with the herd.