Religious leaders warn faithful against vaccine conspiracy theories

Church leaders are concerned migrant communities in Sydney’s west are being influenced by COVID-19 vaccination conspiracy theories and fears the pandemic was part of God’s judgment on the world.

Reverend Alimoni Taumoepeau, who works for Uniting’s Mission and Education Unit, said he and other religious leaders had raised concerns about vaccine hesitancy at a meeting with NSW Health and state government officials including Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Tuesday. Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello and representatives from the government agency Multicultural NSW were also at the meeting.

Uniting Church minister Alimoni Taumoepeau.Credit:Wolter Peeters

Reverend Taumoepeau, who is from Tonga and is a former minister of Strathfield-Homebush Uniting Church, said he was concerned people in the South Pacific Island community were being influenced by conspiracy theories, which had contributed to their distrust of COVID-19 vaccines.

“Pacific Islanders are broadly more conservative in their religious beliefs, and they are listening to conspiracy theories that link anti-COVID-19-initiatives to biblical references to end times in which government seeks to increase control over people,” he said. “Yet there is no biblical argument against the COVID-19 vaccine or the government-imposed lockdowns.”

Reverend Taumoepeau said Christians in Pacific Islander communities in areas worst affected by the pandemic, including Canterbury-Bankstown, Blacktown, Liverpool, Fairfield and Campbelltown, feared the safety of vaccinations. Some believed the pandemic was part of God’s judgment on the world and predictions about a one-world government during the end times described in the Bible’s book of Revelation.

He has posted a photo of himself getting the AstraZeneca vaccine on social media with a message in Tongan to help encourage others to do the same.

“Church leaders can play a really powerful role in promoting the importance of vaccination, they are able to break through to a community that is often in the thrall of conspiracy theories.”

The Moderator of the Uniting Church NSW/ACT Reverend Simon Hansford has also appealed to church leaders to do what they can to overcome COVID-19 misinformation and vaccine hesitancy.

“There is concern, especially in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, that many people are being misled, or misinformed, about vaccination and COVID-19. This, among other issues, is leading to their hesitancy about receiving vaccination,” he said.

Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel said the church recognised COVID-19 as a community and global public health challenge which vaccines could help restrain. While all citizens had freedom to choose whether they wanted to get vaccinated, he said “Christians would be especially conscious of the command of Jesus to love their neighbour as themselves” and getting vaccinated would help protect others.

“Although COVID-19 reminds us of our mortality, we cannot say it is a specific judgment of God. Christians are not immune from disease but receive the benefits of healthcare and medical science with thanksgiving to God,” he said.

“In God’s kindness, a number of vaccines have been developed and those available in Australia are helping to restrain the spread and severity of the virus.”

Archbishop Raffel said the Church was relying on the NSW Health advice and encouraging people to speak to their doctors about getting vaccinated.

“This will not only protect them but also members of their own household, especially the vulnerable.”

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher has advised parishioners that they would need a “really serious reason” not to get vaccinated. He said it was a pity that some people are “dead set against all vaccines” and that others feared the side-effects.

“If a vaccination makes us immune to COVID that will be good for each person vaccinated. If it stops us transmitting the virus, that will be good for those with whom we come in contact, and for the whole community. These vaccines will save lives, especially of elderly people,” he said.

Archbishop Fisher said some people were troubled that the AstraZeneca vaccine was cultured on a cell-line ultimately derived from an electively aborted baby.

“Like the Vatican and the other archbishops, I think one can use such vaccines when there are no alternatives available. That’s because anyone using such a vaccine today can honestly say they were in no way complicit in the abortion all those years ago and would not want it repeated,” he said.

Anna Patty is a Senior Writer for The Sydney Morning Herald with a focus on higher education. She is a former Workplace Editor, Education Editor, State Political Reporter and Health Reporter.

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