As a physician and Christian, I have been frustrated over the last 2 years with the alarming anti-science response to the pandemic. Two years ago, I shared worst-case predictions of 2.2 million COVID-19-related deaths. I was optimistic that the American people would “flatten the curve” of COVID-19 cases, but the early seeds of doubt and misinformation were already being sown. Ironically, by the time vaccines were available, science had become an enemy. Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984 and trusted advisor to seven Presidents on HIV/AIDS and many global health issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, became the hated face of science. The loss of trust in science has profound implications not only for the COVID-19 pandemic, but also for healthcare in general.
Francis Collins, a professing Christian who led the Human Genome Project and recently retired as director of the National Institutes of Health, noted that many white evangelicals have been “victimized by the misinformation and lies and conspiracies that are floating around, particularly on social media and some of it in cable news.” Moreover, he said people are dying as a result. “I am just basically heartbroken in a circumstance where, as an answer to prayer, vaccines have been developed that turned out to be much better than we dared to hope for.” Vaccination rates in the US remain stagnant at 65%. Only 47% of Angelina County are vaccinated, with a mere 17% having received a booster, compared with 28% nationwide.
Some evangelical pastors, whose political power goals – idols, really – appear to be more important than biblical mandates to love our neighbor and care for the least of these, tolerated and often promoted misinformation as opposed to vaccination, often in sync with a deep mistrust of government (except that of former President Trump). This misplaced “faith” won out over science, with the result that far more of our fellow Americans died of COVID-19 than should have – an astounding one million of us so far.
Denial of the seriousness of COVID-19, promotion of unproven treatments, and rejection of highly safe and effective vaccines are all more common in evangelical Christian circles. Refusing vaccination became the new creed for many – a mark of membership in a chimera Christian nationalism faith, where wearing a mask in church is considered a political statement and not a safety measure.
For those of us who are Christian and work in science-related fields, the chasm that exists – unnecessarily, I might add – between faith and science is perplexing. In 2015 in an article title Are Evangelicals Anti-Science? Sara Kropp Brown noted that “evangelicals are more than twice as likely as the general public (29 percent vs. 14 percent) to say that science and religion are in conflict and that they are on the side of religion” and that “evangelicals are twice as likely as other groups to look to church leaders for answers to their questions about science.” Pandemic politics are certain to have made those numbers worse.
Historically, there was no inherent conflict between science and religion. Scientists have often been men and women of deep faith, including geneticists, physicists, and mathematicians. Augustine of Hippo (354-420 AD) is often attributed with saying “All truth is God’s truth.” The actual quote from On Christian Doctrine (Book II) is right on target in today’s anti-science, anti-vax, misinformation climate:
Nay, but let every good and true Christian understand that wherever truth may be found, it belongs to his Master; and while he recognizes and acknowledges the truth, even in their religious literature, let him reject the figments of superstition, and let him grieve over and avoid men who, “when they knew God, glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” Romans 1:21-23
But we cannot claim “truth” and twist circumstances (sins of commission and omission) to suit our needs. Commenting in Bez & Co, Daniel R. Jones notes, “If we focus wholly on fragmented “truths” without getting around to glorifying God, we’re only exercising our own pride.”
Reformation theologian John Calvin, commenting on Titus 1:12, put it pretty bluntly: “All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God.” Christians must recognize truth wherever it is found or we dishonor God, even if that truth comes from people you may think “wicked” from across the political aisle, another denomination, or a different race.
Truth, along with fellow virtues of justice and love, are side casualties in the unnecessary war between science and faith. People of faith across the political spectrum are being manipulated by politicians only interested in power – not truth, and certainly not the gospel’s command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let’s take vaccination as a moral truth example applied to Philippians 4:8 (parentheses mine):
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true (vaccines work), whatever is noble (vaccines save lives), whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy (preventing millions of deaths worldwide)—think about such things.
This pandemic wave may be dying down, but the truth battle goes on. Science and religion are not incompatible. If the church claims so, she loses credibility. “The culture war is literally killing people,” Collins said. Let’s hope the culture war doesn’t kill the church as well.
