How does one determine what is a religious versus personal belief? Religious exemption is a written form that certifies a parent’s objection to immunization for religious reasons, and exempts the parent and child from the state’s vaccination requirements. Unfortunately, this is a highly flawed process. The debate on vaccinations versus religion has been ongoing for almost a century, and is not going anywhere. While one’s opinion can never be considered wrong, it can be misguided and in some cases very extreme. However, looking at different perspectives through the major religions and scriptures, it is revealed that only one world religion is against vaccination. Instead, most arguments people have against vaccines is based on personal belief.
…show more content…
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, and Islam all endorse vaccinations because they all preach public well-being over the individual. Christians are also in this group, but are concerned about vaccinations that contain aborted fetuses and recommend alternatives. However, there is no doctrine stating they are forbidden (Moulton). This means that there is no anti-vaccine scripture to be seen, and those who state that they are part of one of these religions should not be admitted for religious exemption. These religions go as far as to say that it would be immoral not to vaccinate as it is disrespectful to life (Grabenstein). According to a blog through WordPress, “When someone makes a claim that their religion is opposed to vaccines... it is just a smokescreen for a personal refusal of vaccinations” (A Review of Religion). This statement elaborates on how those who deny vaccination typically have a personal argument, not a religious. This goes back to the point that claiming vaccination exemption through religious beliefs should generally be denied and discredited. However, there is one lone religion that is notoriously against …show more content…
The major issue with people being granted religious exemption is that religious and personal belief is being considered the same thing. However, these two ideologies are completely different. The arguments people present against vaccination is based off of their personal ideology. Ed de St. Aubin, who has a PhD and is an expert on psychology, defines personal ideology as, “An individual 's philosophy of how life should be and of what forces influence human living.” This phenomena is clearly present in the argument between religion and vaccinations. Those against vaccines take pieces of scripture and warp them in a way that makes it appear as though vaccination is against religion. Doing so, however, reveals a personal belief and does not adhere to what is being taught in these scriptures (A Review of Religion). This means that realistically, the number of people being granted religious exemption should drastically
Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, and Islam all endorse vaccinations because they all preach public well-being over the individual. Christians are also in this group, but are concerned about vaccinations that contain aborted fetuses and recommend alternatives. However, there is no doctrine stating they are forbidden (Moulton). This means that there is no anti-vaccine scripture to be seen, and those who state that they are part of one of these religions should not be admitted for religious exemption. These religions go as far as to say that it would be immoral not to vaccinate as it is disrespectful to life (Grabenstein). According to a blog through WordPress, “When someone makes a claim that their religion is opposed to vaccines... it is just a smokescreen for a personal refusal of vaccinations” (A Review of Religion). This statement elaborates on how those who deny vaccination typically have a personal argument, not a religious. This goes back to the point that claiming vaccination exemption through religious beliefs should generally be denied and discredited. However, there is one lone religion that is notoriously against …show more content…
The major issue with people being granted religious exemption is that religious and personal belief is being considered the same thing. However, these two ideologies are completely different. The arguments people present against vaccination is based off of their personal ideology. Ed de St. Aubin, who has a PhD and is an expert on psychology, defines personal ideology as, “An individual 's philosophy of how life should be and of what forces influence human living.” This phenomena is clearly present in the argument between religion and vaccinations. Those against vaccines take pieces of scripture and warp them in a way that makes it appear as though vaccination is against religion. Doing so, however, reveals a personal belief and does not adhere to what is being taught in these scriptures (A Review of Religion). This means that realistically, the number of people being granted religious exemption should drastically