Today as part of a larger CARA survey America reported some interesting data about vaccination
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Like the PRRI study in a previous post they also report high levels of vaccination among Catholics, no difference by political party and a large effect for age and education.
"Three-quarters of adult Catholics have already received a Covid-19 vaccine or plan to do so. Millennials are among the least likely to say they have gotten or plan to get a Covid-19 vaccine (60 percent). Catholic Republicans are just as likely as Democrats to say they have been vaccinated or plan to be (both at 76 percent). While 81 percent of those with a four-year college degree said they have been vaccinated or plan to be, only 69 percent of those with only a high school education, and 60 percent of those who have not completed high school, said the same."
Also they report influence by the bishops, especially among weekly Mass attenders. The PRRI study also reported that weekly attenders were more likely to be influenced by religious leaders.
Twenty-three percent said statements from U.S. bishops have influenced their decision to get a Covid-19 vaccine. Thirty-two percent of weekly Mass attenders said they were influenced by statements from U.S. bishops compared to 27 percent of monthly attenders and 16 percent of those who attend Mass a few times a year or less often
So again we see that Catholic laity, Republicans as well as Democrats, are leading the way to getting our nation vaccinated; our pastoral leaders need to catch up. This is a patriotic not a partisan issue that accords both with our reverence for life and care for one another.
If I were a pastor or bishop I would be recruiting Democratic and Republican Catholic political leaders to communicate that Catholics are united on this issue.
I have a "vaccination sticker" from the local health department. Like the "I have voted" stickers they encourage others to do their patriotic duty. Parishes should be handing them out before Mass and parish meetings to help encourage everyone to be a part of the effort to defeat the virus.
People are really going to be dismayed as the virus cases skyrocket again in the coming weeks and months. We Catholics have a great opportunity to join Democrats and Republicans together to do something to change things. Maybe this is the beginning of something even bigger.
I don't need the bishops to enlighten me on this. My Catholic upbringing says "Don't kill yourself". I believe my life is not my own. It was given to me. I must take reasonable measures to preserve it.
ReplyDeleteI feel team pride that Catholics are doing such a good job. And it's always surprising how much influence the much-derided bishops can have when they take a pastoral turn.
ReplyDeleteEven taking into account whatever influence the bishops have exerted, I suspect that Catholics' doing well in vaccination is of a piece with our doing well when it comes to education, income, professional attainment, etc.
Perhaps Catholics are doing well on these demographic class markers, but white Catholics, like white evangelical Protestants, are failing when it comes to what Jesus taught us in the gospels. More than half don’t support politicians ( including Non- Christian politicians) who support gospel values. Instead they supported a president whose behavior mimicked alley cats in his personal life, was corrupt in how he ran his businesses, his “ charitable” foundation, and his administration, working against the poor, the immigrant, the refugees, and those with brown or black skin, pushing policies that mostly helped the rich, etc. They also elect congressional representatives who stand for non- gospel values, while wearing their alleged Christian faith on their sleeves. And many of the bishops are just as bad, subverting gospel values by supporting trump and his lies. His lies about Covid resulted in a death rate that was far higher than it should have been, and now they reinforce the anti- vaccine crowd.
DeletePerhaps pride in the Catholic ( Christian) tribe should be a bit muted, given that Jesus didn’t teach that education and professional accomplishments are what matters.
A Merton quote I saw this morning
DeleteIt is easy enough to tell the poor to accept their poverty as Gods will when you yourself have warm clothes and plenty of food and medical care and a roof over your head and no worry about the rent. But if you want them to believe youtry to share some of their poverty and see if you can accept it as Gods will yourself