Are Christians morally obligated to be vaccinated for COVID-19?
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists and new vaccine boosters targeting the latest subvariants have been approved, public debate concerning vaccines and vaccination mandates has not subsided. Such debate has been particularly acute among Roman Catholics and other Christians, with arguments having been...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sage
2022
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In: |
Review and expositor
Year: 2022, Volume: 119, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 64-75 |
IxTheo Classification: | KAE Church history 900-1300; high Middle Ages NCH Medical ethics |
Further subjects: | B
moral complicity
B Covid-19 B Vaccination B Thomas Aquinas B Conscience B Abortion |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | As the COVID-19 pandemic persists and new vaccine boosters targeting the latest subvariants have been approved, public debate concerning vaccines and vaccination mandates has not subsided. Such debate has been particularly acute among Roman Catholics and other Christians, with arguments having been put forth from scriptural and natural law bases in favor of vaccination against COVID-19, and counterarguments based on respecting individual conscience and concerns about moral complicity with abortion. In this article, I argue that principles of both secular public health and Christian social ethics justify vaccination mandates for COVID-19. I further show why certain objections Christians may have are ill-founded and conclude that no moral reason exists for a Christian to refuse to be vaccinated for COVID-19; rather, vaccination for COVID-19 is a moral obligation. |
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ISSN: | 2052-9449 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Review and expositor
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/00346373221132201 |