Serving as pastor of a church in the Tampa Bay area, it seemed appropriate to have a life-sized cardboard cutout of Tom Brady at church the morning before Brady would lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the Super Bowl….
New surveys connect the dots between politics, race, religion and vaccination
Recent surveys of adult Americans may connect the dots between the role of politics, race and religion and attitudes about the pandemic and COVID-19 vaccines. A study by Pew Research Center examined respondents’ intentions to get vaccinated, while a report…
Religious communities can offer more to the coronavirus vaccination effort
As religious leaders of different traditions pose while receiving their initial injections of the coronavirus vaccine and even livestream their jab for congregants to see, I can’t help but think that we could do even more. Of course, talking positively…
White Christian nationalists and Black Americans find common ground in vaccine wariness while some pastors try to set a positive example
Two communities seemingly at odds with each other are among the groups of Americans most likely to be skeptical of the new COVID-19 vaccines: Christian nationalists and Black Americans. The reasons why each group is skeptical are different, but the…
6 things you should know about the COVID vaccine
New things can create anxiety and, as a result, there is false information about the COVID-19 vaccine that is attempting to take root and prevent people from receiving protection from what we know is a deadly disease. Writing as a…
In Tennessee and Kentucky, religious freedom claims and COVID prevention plans are in conflict
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to strain the already contentious boundaries of religious practice versus public policy. In the same week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled New York may not restrict religious worship gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus, two…
Religious freedom doesn’t require risking public health
By General Counsel K. Hollyn Hollman The recent measles outbreak and ensuing conversation about immunizations is not primarily a story about religion or religious exemptions. We are learning, again, that measles is a serious, and sometimes fatal, but preventable disease….