Religious Coloradans' vaccine hesitancy largely driven by secular concerns, research finds
Plus: two new church housing developments and what faith groups are pushing for this election season
Vaccine hesitancy and religion have been conflated for months, as news stories about people requesting religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates continue to pile up. But is faith really at the heart of people’s objections?
One CU Anschutz professor was already in the middle of researching vaccine hesitancy when the pandemic broke out, and according to his data the answer is: probably not.
This week, I wrote an article for the Aurora Sentinel about Dr. Joshua Williams, a pediatrician and assistant professor at CU Anschutz. Williams was drawn to researching vaccine hesitancy among people of faith, and in 2019 partnered with the Colorado Council of Churches to hold a series of ‘listening circles’ at faith communities where he solicited people’s questions and concerns about vaccination.
The concerns people voiced were overwhelmingly secular in nature, and largely centered on the potential health risks and side effects of vaccines. From the article:
“Those findings bear out with research Williams conducted about the nationwide rates of religious-based vaccine exemptions, which found that people are more likely to seek out religious exemptions when other options aren’t available.
All but five states offer religious-based exemptions for the vaccines that students need to attend public school, while 15 states also offer exemptions on the basis of personal belief (Colorado has both).
Williams found that in states where both types of exemptions were offered, usage of religious exemptions were very low. During the time he was conducting research, the state of Vermont, one of the least religious states in the nation, rescinded its personal belief exemption. Beforehand, Williams said about .5% of Vermont families requested a religious exemption — afterwards the rate increased sevenfold.
“If you remove an option that’s available to people, they’re going to choose something else if they’re really intent on exempting themselves from the vaccine,” he said.”
Williams still believes that faith leaders have an important role to play in encouraging people to get vaccinated, however, and religious communities have played a key role in state and local efforts to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine. (You can read about what different Colorado denominations believe about vaccine exemptions here.)
“Many people will listen to their pastor before they listen to a politician,” Colorado Council of Churches executive director Adrian Miller said.
The pre-pandemic round of listening circles focused on attitudes towards pediatric vaccines, but Williams and Miller received a second round of funding and are currently conducting a series of sessions focused on Black faith communities’ perspectives on the COVID-19 vaccine.
CU Anschutz itself is at the center of a lawsuit testing the bounds of religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine. As previously mentioned in HFC, a Catholic and a Buddhist are suing the university on the grounds that it is discriminating against them for rejecting their religious exemption requests. This week, John Ingold at the Colorado Sun took a close look at the suit, which illustrates how difficult it can be to determine what qualifies as a legitimate exemption. Per the Sun:
“...beyond the courtroom battle, the case shows the difficulty Colorado hospitals and other health care organizations have faced in sorting out what is a valid religious exemption to the COVID vaccine mandate, what is not and whether they should be making that decision at all.
“The standard for a sincerely held religious belief is so general, it’s open to different kinds of arguments,” said Christopher Jackson, a Denver-based attorney who specializes in constitutional and appellate law.”
Vote faithfully
The general election is just around the corner, with ballots due by 7 p.m. this coming Tuesday. This election is much calmer than last year’s (unless you’re like me and cover school board races), and there are fewer statewide issues up for a vote. Some Colorado faith advocacy groups are weighing in on state and local ballot items, while others, including Interfaith Alliance of Colorado and the Colorado Catholic Conference, are sitting this election out.
The Colorado Council of Churches has two items on its ballot guide, and encourages people to vote no on Prop 120 and Denver measure 2F. Prop 120 is a statewide measure that would reduce property tax rates. Measure 2F would repeal an amendment passed earlier by the Denver City Council and make it illegal for more than two unrelated people living in the same house.
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado’s voter guide recommends a ‘no’ vote on all three of the statewide ballot measures: Amendment 78, Prop 119 and Prop 120.
Together Colorado is opposed to 2F, and is in support of Denver measure 2G, which would increase the autonomy of Denver’s Independent Monitor, the watchdog for the city’s law enforcement agencies. Together Colorado has also endorsed Boulder ballot question 300, Bedrooms Are For People, which would change Boulder’s current occupancy limit of no more than 3 or 4 unrelated people in our house.
Room at the inn?
A former Methodist church in Denver’s Cheesman Park neighborhood has been converted into 48 housing units for people transitioning out of homeless. The St. Francis Warren Residences, a partnership between the City of Denver and the St. Francis Center, celebrated its grand opening last Friday and 30 people have already moved in. Channel 4 and 9News both produced segments about the residences.
"The Warren Residences model is so important because it shows the greater community what can be accomplished in support of affordable housing by adapting and reusing available community spaces," Saint Francis Center Executive Director Tom Luehrs told 9News. "We can convert unused sacred spaces into active sacred spaces and transform people’s lives."
The historic building on East 14th Street was formerly home to Warren Church, which was built in 1909 and closed in 2014, according to a Denverite article.
Meanwhile in Aurora, a proposed partnership between Mountain View United Church and Habitat for Humanity to build 10 affordable housing duplexes on a two acre plot of land before the church went before city council on Monday. It was initially approved on a 5-4 vote, but will need the support of six council members for final approval. Before the vote, a number of the surrounding residents spoke against it during public comment.
“I support affordable housing, just not this affordable housing,” one neighborhood resident said according to an article in the Sentinel.
“I feel like I could prewrite that sentence into every affordable housing story I've ever written,” Colorado Sun reporter David Gilbert quipped on twitter.
Briefly noted
In a virtual summit with local faith leaders last Friday, Aurora police chief Vanessa Wilson spoke about her faith. “I have my own personal relationship with God and I truly believe that he put me here at this time for a reason,” she said.
Leaders of the Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship are asking for an investigation into an incident where a police officer threw a homeless woman to the ground outside the church in August.
Heidi Beedle of the CS Indy wrote about different ways people are reckoning with death and dying during the pandemic.
An unvaccinated teacher is suing the Westminster school district, claiming it is violating his First Amendment rights by denying his request for a religious exemption.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee mistakenly announced Thursday that its only member from Colorado, Brad Kolman of Delta, had resigned before quickly backtracking. (Curious about what prompted the mix-up…)
The Denver Post has a roundup of Día de los Muertos events in and around Denver.
Colorado Springs religious leaders attended a protest for climate justice earlier this month, the Gazette reports.
Denver University professor Roger Holland wrote about African-American spirituals for CPR.
ADL Mountain states acknowledged the three-year anniversary of the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting where 11 people were killed on Oct. 27, 2018 in Pittsburg.
A former pastor running for a spot on the DPS school board twice faced accusations of using physical force against his stepdaughter when she was a minor, Chalkbeat reports.
The Aspen Daily News wrote about the importance of music to the Roaring Fork Valley’s churches and temples.
St. John’s Cathedral in Denver is hosting a public talk about Satan on Halloween. It’s also inviting children and youth to wear their costumes to church that day.
Also: Chatham News + Record reporter and seminary student Hannah McClellan was inspired by Have Faith, Colorado to create a similar newsletter for North Carolina. We’re honored to be trendsetters, and can’t wait to check out the North Carolina Religion Roundup.
That’s all for this week. Happy Halloween!
“Have Faith, Colorado” is a weekly roundup and analysis of local religion articles in the Centennial State founded by Liam Adams and Carina Julig and written by Carina Julig. To submit tips, questions and comments about the newsletter or to inquire about contributing, email carina.julig@colorado.edu.