Religious organisations express differing views on vaccines

Some religious organisations are encouraging their clergy and congregations, while others are leaving it up to personal choice.

Inter-religious Organisation (IRO) President Pandit Lloyd Murkram Sirjoo said members of the organisation have been encouraging their congregations to take the vaccine.

“We have been encouraging all the time, all the organisations under the IRO umbrella have been advising their congregations to get vaccinated. The IRO is encouraging everyone, not only those under the IRO umbrella, but generally, that the public should be looking after themselves, then their immediate families, then their communities and generally the nation.

He said the IRO represents 25 bodies, of which 18 are active. He said the 2,000 vaccines allocated by the Health Ministry are for the clergy in these organisations.

“So far I haven’t met any religious leaders who have said they wouldn’t get vaccinated, although there might be some, as we have some dormant members. The Pentecostal churches are not part of the IRO so I’m not sure what their position is. The government has asked us to submit a listing from IRO members, the names of the clergy, the pundits, imams, priests, and so on who are involved with the IRO. We’re still putting that together, and once that is done, we’ll submit it to the Health Ministry, and then they will inform us as to dates and times and places.”

A representative of the Service Department of the Jehovah’s Witnesses Organisation said their position is to allow their members to make their own choice with respect to vaccines. He said their position was listed on their website, which states:

“Jehovah’s Witnesses are not opposed to vaccination. We view vaccination as a personal decision for each Christian to make. Many of Jehovah’s Witnesses choose to get vaccinated. We seek quality medical care and appreciate the many advancements of medical science to reduce the risk of serious illness. We are grateful for the commitment and dedication of health-care professionals, especially in times of crises. For decades, the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses have emphasised the following principles: Health-care decisions are a personal matter. We seek medical treatment because we place a high value on life.”

It said, since the pandemic began, the Jehovah’s Witnesses had advocated for the adherence to local safety guidelines. These include the importance of physical distancing and of following regulations on public gatherings, quarantining, hand washing, and the wearing of face coverings as well as other practical measures required or recommended by the authorities.

General secretary of the Rastafarian umbrella body, All Mansions of Rastafari, Glenroy “Bongo Grease” Halls, said in general the Rastafarian community was against the use of any type of vaccine.

“We see vaccines as a form of genocide, and also because of the ital livity of the adherents of the Rastafarian faith, we don’t support the introduction of certain things into our bodies.

"We are also sceptical because the nations that have colonised us are the ones issuing these vaccines. We are more into using our natural medicines to build our immunology and so far we think we’re doing a good job. We have constitutional rights, religious protections, human rights protections and protection under indigenous laws which protect us from having to get vaccinated.”

He said he did not think the wider community would shun the Rastafarian community for not being vaccinated, as it is so small, especially after most of the population has been vaccinated. He said the organisation was not against anyone generally going to take the vaccine.