Vaccination Hesitancy, Fanaticism, and Conspiracies
By Barrington H. Brennen, September10, 2021
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Why are some people having difficulty deciding to get
vaccinated against COVID19? Why are some people deciding
not to wear masks or obey the national protocols against
COVID19? Then, what makes people inclined to believe
conspiracies? There are multiple factors at play here.
Research indicates that broadly, the key factors are level
of education, personality, personal experience, social
media, and extreme religious conservatism or fanaticism.
These factors may determine whether or not someone will be
inclined to be influenced by conspiracies and decide not to
take the vaccination.
We must bear in mind that there are some who are reluctant
to be vaccinated for personal medical reasons or their
scientific understanding of the COVID19 vaccine
development. These people are not really against
vaccination in general.
One of the challenges that lead to confusion and hesitancy
is that of effective communication. In the article
“Changing the Frame” by psychologist, Arthur C. Evans, Jr,
PhD, president of the American Psychological Association,
states: “During the pandemic, most leaders and public
officials have recognized the importance of effective
communication with their constituents. However, they often
do not recognize the importance of understanding how the
emotional state of the listener can impact people’s
perceptions, risk propensity, and willingness to act.”
Hence, there could be a communication crisis impacting
vaccination hesitancy. It is true that nearly no one alive
has experienced such worldwide pandemic. Therefore, the
learning curve is very challenging. Since conspiracies
spread faster than a virus, it becomes, in a sense, a race
to see who will win the battle for effective communication.
Which information will be more impacting and produce
results? Conspiracies are causing deaths and following
medical science is saving lives. That’s a scientific
fact. Who are you listening to?
Another challenge is that of personality differences,
especially when it comes to lockdown and quarantine. In the
March 2021 research article entitled “Personality
predicts self-isolation” compiled by Chris Palmer in the
magazine Monitor on Psychology states: “People’s
personality influences their likelihood of staying home
during the pandemic, regardless of whether they live in a
region under a lockdown . . .” The research was done among
101,005 participants in 55 countries. The research looked
at the “Big Five personality traits: agreeableness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism, and openness.
They found that extraverts were least likely to follow
official stay-at-home guidance, agreeable people tended to
self-isolate when advised to do so, and people who were
highly neurotic or open to experience decided to stay home
more than usual even in the absence of stringent
lock-downs.” Would the results be similar in our own
country?
For some, religion plays a big part in not deciding to
vaccinate or to wear masks. Some religious people who are
hesitating to take the vaccine are often prone to follow
other conspiracies. It is not unreal to say that
conspiracies or false teachings by spiritual leaders
concerning the vaccine, COVID19 reality, and wearing of
masks, travels faster and proves more dangerous than the
virus itself. They claim it is a matter of faith. But is
this faith or
fanaticism? What is the difference?
In the April 2021 article, “The difference between faith
and fanaticism,” written by Arvind Sharma, he addressed
the point so clearly. What he writes may cause you to
think. “A person of faith recognizes the truth that God is,
whoever it may be, for him and others, while a fanatic is
certain that only he or she knows who or what God is and is
blinded by her/his passion. That is where differences
between the two arise.” Does that sound more like
arrogance? Arvind Sharma continues: “The difference
between faith and fanaticism runs along similar lines.
Fanaticism results from being blinded by the intensity of
the luminosity of one’s own religious tradition by standing
too close to it, instead of seeing the whole world
transfigured in its light. The person of faith also stands
close to his or her tradition but lives in the light, not in
darkness.” With this in mind would it be fair to say then
that a person of faith would be less likely to follow or
believe conspiracies and more likely to obey protocols
regarding COVID19.
It seems as though in certain circles, religious fanaticism
is causing more damage to our society than the virus
itself. Here is what Stephen Rwembeho, a writer in
New Times—Rwanda’s Leading Daily, stated far back in
2009 in his article “When fanaticism eats up the
society”: “In
fact, this (religious fanaticism) is the most
dangerous form of fanaticism for it affects people's lives
entirely. Religious fanaticism of any kind is perilous and
shouldn't be given chance in society because it leads to the
loss of lives. When a group of people starts carrying too
much pride in their religion, then conflicts blossoms.”
Isn’t it amazing that such an article, written for another
purpose and over a decade ago, could be so relevant today?
Dear readers, let’s not let religious fanaticism destroy our
country. The sisters of fanaticism—traditionalism and
extremism, and many other isms, are reaping havoc on our
society. They are eating away common sense and destroying
the beauty of true faith. Christianity is being made a
mockery by some religious leaders who believe that their
so-called knowledge of God is far superior to the scientific
truth that COVID19 is real.
They are also making a mockery of God who uses science.
They did not read their own Bibles. There were a number of
“pledges” or pandemics during Biblical times and the people
also had to quarantine. For example, Isaiah 26:20-21-
“Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind
you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has
passed by.” Leviticus 13:1-40 talks about how to deal with
a terrible skin disease (leprosy) that was killing many
people. Isolation was one of the requirements.
Why did not the great God of the universe just tell his
people to pray, have faith, and the disease would
disappear? Why didn’t God ask his prophets to “declare” the
people well. “I declare, in the name of Jehovah God, that
this pandemic will not harm me.” While faith can surprise
common sense, it does not nullify or stupefy it. The
pandemic is real. If you choose not to get vaccinated for
medical reasons, your Christianity should tell you to
cooperate with the medical advice and wear your mask,
sanitize, and practice physical distancing. Do not make a
mockery of faith and Christianity. Faith is not
fanaticism.
Barrington H. Brennen is a marriage and family therapist.
Send your comments or questions to
question@soencouragement.org
or call 242-477 4002 or visit the website at
www.soencouragement.org
