Michael Abrahams | Religion – a barrier to the management of COVID-19

Religion, while giving hope to many, is by no means harmless. As we experience the devastation being wrought by COVID-19, some of the flaws of religion are being exposed, and we are seeing, in real time, the damage than can be done.

Religious folks believe they have relationships with their deities, and that these supernatural beings will answer their prayers and protect them. Indeed, in the Bible, Jesus said that if you ask you will receive, and spoke of the power of having faith even as small as a mustard seed, while Psalm 23 tells us about having faith and being protected by God.

The COVID-19 pandemic affords us an excellent opportunity to confront religious beliefs that are not only irrational, but dangerous. We must be honest about what prayer and faith can and cannot do.

SUPER SPREADERS

In February this year, thousands of worshippers from across the globe assembled at The Christian Open Door Church in Mulhouse, France, to take part in the week-long gathering, an annual celebration which is the high point on the church calendar. Unfortunately, approximately 2,500 confirmed cases, including at least 17 deaths, have been linked to the event, with worshippers at the church taking the disease caused by the virus back home to Burkina Faso, Corsica, Guyana and Switzerland.

As coronavirus spread through Washington state in early March, the Skagit Valley Chorale held a choir rehearsal. Three weeks later, 45 of those who attended had reported COVID-19 symptoms, and two had died. In South Korea, The Shincheonji Church of Jesus was almost singlehandedly responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak in that country, with over 5,000 cases being triggered by that church.

This is not just about followers of Jesus Christ. In Bangladesh, despite concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus, tens of thousands of Muslims gathered in Raipur to pray "healing verses" from the Koran. A similar religious event in Malaysia in February has been confirmed as the source of more than 500 infections. The event, which was attended by 16,000 people, has also led to confirmed cases in Brunei, Singapore and Cambodia, as attendees travelled to those neighbouring countries.

The evidence is there. Large gatherings at this time place people at risk. Some of the congregants mentioned above may not have been fully aware of the danger they were in at the time, but since then, laws regarding gatherings and social distancing have been put in place in many territories.

And this is where we are now seeing one of the disturbing sides of religion. The side where believers think they can do whatever they want, once it is pleasing to their god and they believe they are protected. Despite the institution of the above-mentioned laws, utterances and acts of defiance from religious leaders and their followers have become all too common. The problem is that this sense of entitlement places not only themselves, but also their families, and communities at risk.

In the United States, despite COVID-19 spreading through Jewish synagogues and schools from an initial case in Westchester, and laws prohibiting congregating, Hasidic Jews in the communities of Brooklyn and upstate New York still continue to assemble and hold large gatherings.

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Pastor Tony Spell defied an emergency order banning public or private gatherings with more than 50 people to stop the spread of COVID-19 and has hosted over 1,000 congregants at one sitting. He claims, “The Bible tells us to lay hands on the sick and they shall recover and will continue to do that without the fear of the spread of any virus”, and also claims members of his congregation have been healed of HIV/AIDS and cancer.

Right-wing pastor E.W. Jackson vowed to hold services at his The Called Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, in defiance of a stay-at-home order, promising members of his congregation that they will not become infected by the virus because they are protected by God. Preacher Rodney Howard-Browne claimed that his church is “the safest place” because it’s a church, and that it will “never close” because his brand of revivalist Christians are “not pansies”. Yet another pastor said half of his church is ready to “lick the floor, to prove there’s no actual virus”.

HARMS WAY

These attitudes and behaviours place people in harms way. I am not religious, and in my opinion, these people are bat guano crazy. What I find interesting, however, is when I hear people of faith chastising others who choose to congregate. I agree that it is stupid to entertain such gatherings.

But does a Christian, for example, have a right to chastise other Christians who brazenly congregate? Don’t they all feed from the same trough? Don’t they all tell believers to have faith, and boast that “with God all things are possible?” Don’t they all believe in miracles? Don’t they tell their children stories about how Daniel survived in the lion’s den, and about how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of a furnace unscathed? Don’t they believe that a snake and a donkey spoke and that a man died and came back to life and ascended into the sky and today watches over us and answers our prayers?

In my opinion, those who congregate are the true believers. It is unreasonable to preach about the power of faith and then scold those who believe their God will protect them. All believers are on the slippery slope of Mount Fantasy.

This pandemic ought to be a wake-up call for all of us. We are entitled to our beliefs, but owe it to ourselves, and our fellow human beings, to do no harm.

Some truths are harsh, but the evidence is out there. The “blood of Jesus” offers woefully inadequate protection against COVID-19. The novel coronavirus is not haemophobic. It will dive into and swim through that blood and bite your behind.

Protect yourselves. Wash your hands often, maintain social distancing as best you can, and wear a mask properly.

- Michael Abrahams is a gynaecologist and obstetrician, comedian and poet. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or tweet @mikeyabrahams