If there were any religious denomination I thought would grant religious exemptions to the COVID vaccination, it would be the Christian Scientists. After all, their main tenet is spiritual healing.
But when I called, I learned the denomination in fact doesn’t object to the vaccine.
“Christian Science actually does not have a theological objection to vaccination,” according to Scott Shivers from the Christian Science Committee on Publication for New Jersey. He is based in Blawenburg in Somerset County and said the decision is left up to the individual.
“Adherents’ decisions to live their faith with sincerity are generally not based on fear, either of a disease or a vaccine, but rather a heart-felt commitment to God’s healing love that Christian Science teaches,” he said.
There are no more such churches in Hudson County but 16 are located throughout the state, including in Montclair and Princeton. The Church of Christ, Scientist, was founded in 1878 in Boston by Mary Baker Eddy, author of “Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures.”
After hearing in the news so much about people around the country claiming religious exemptions to the vaccine, I decided to check with multiple denominations in our county and state and couldn’t find any who are taking that route. And little wonder. Vaccines are a modern medical practice and the holy books that inspire all the major religions were compiled ages ago.
Nationally, Evangelical Christians are quoted most about claiming religious exemptions.
But that’s not the case at Iglesia Evangelica Pentecostal Church on Kennedy Boulevard in Union City.
“We don’t preach religious exemptions,” said the Rev. Josefina Rolon, co-pastor of the congregation that sees some 300 members attend their two Sunday services.
Rolon said the pastor, the Rev. Eliezar Garcia, favors vaccination and encourages people to get vaccinated. She added that she thinks most members are vaccinated.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have a huge convention center on Journal Square in the former Stanley Theater, are also on board.
“Jehovah’s Witnesses are not opposed to vaccination. We view vaccination as a personal decision for each Christian to make. Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses choose to get vaccinated,” according to their public information desk out of Wallkill, New York. They stated, “We seek quality medical care and appreciate the many advancements of medical science to reduce the risk of serious illness. We are grateful for the commitment and dedication of health-care professionals, especially in times of crises.”
Mainline denominations also do not approve of or grant exemptions.
Bishop Tracie Bartholomew, head of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in New Jersey, said: “The Lutheran ELCA leaders have encouraged participation in vaccination programs as a primary means to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no specific ELCA policy resolution dedicated to vaccination, but in the Lutheran tradition and in ELCA teaching there is no evident basis for religious exemption.”
They also anchor their guidance in the community as a whole, she said.
“Health implications go beyond the domain of ‘my’ personal body and rights,” she said. “This comes into play because the health of the whole community is connected to each person’s heath. My health is related to yours; your health is related to mine.”
The United Methodists follow suit.
“Bishop John Schol, throughout the pandemic, has called and supported the more than 500 United Methodist congregations in Greater New Jersey to a goal of zero spread of the virus,” said Heather Mistretta, their editorial manager. Schol called on all United Methodists to be vaccinated.
The Rev. Carlo Fortunio pastors three Catholic churches as part of the new Holy Redeemer Parish: St. Mary and Our Lady of Libera in West New York and St. John Nepomucene in Guttenberg. He has a total of 1,200 families with as many as 1,500 attending Masses on Sundays. Yet, only seven people have asked him for an exemption, which he denied.
“The Holy Father (Pope Francis) is encouraging people to get vaccinated. How can I go against him?” was his reply.
He noted that most who had asked were worried about losing their jobs. He also said that there is a lot of misinformation out there.
Other faiths concur.
“It’s a personal issue whether to vaccinate or not,” said Avi Shriki, president of the Orthodox Jewish shul Ohav Zedek in Bayonne. “I don’t think they have a right to see it as a religious choice.”
Imam Mohammed Al-Hayek, who used to be affiliated with the North Hudson Islamic Center but is now with the Bergen County Islamic Center in Hackensack, agreed.
“The only exemption I can think of is if a member was told by a physician,” he said, adding that within Islam there is no religious basis for an exemption. He said that he has heard some Muslims object to the vaccine production sources by the way viruses are cultivated in fetal cells, but that is a misconception. They are not. No one, he said, has approached him to request an exemption.
These religious leaders are following scientific advice for the good of their members and the greater society. And as Vice President Kamala Harris said about getting vaccinated during her visit to Newark on Friday, “It’s an expression about love thy neighbor.”
That’s the best religious reason.
The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.
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