Throughout the United States and elsewhere, faith leaders are defying the orders/recommendations of their local governments and continue to meet in large groups, as well as spread malicious misinformation. Some notable examples:
What other examples have you seen? How can we counteract this, and get through to our friends and relatives who continue to downplay the pandemic threat?
Sigh. My parent's church went online only, which was a small relief... but then the pastor spent the first half of the sermon defending the decision as not one made out of fear, so it felt clear people were not thrilled about it. And when my brother asked my mom if they were self isolating, she said kind of... and then proceeded to describe their small group meeting for the online church on Sunday and a prayer meeting, my father still working, and them both going to Costco the other night where there was "a line out the door and a list of things they didn't have but once they got inside it was fine."
I don't know what the answer is. It seems like they've been leading up to this. When you more and more aggressively ignore science and facts, eventually you will ignore it on something really deadly. It all feels of a piece to me and I don't know how to get through to them.
Sigh. My parent's church went online only, which was a small relief... but then the pastor spent the first half of the sermon defending the decision as not one made out of fear, so it felt clear people were not thrilled about it. And when my brother asked my mom if they were self isolating, she said kind of... and then proceeded to describe their small group meeting for the online church on Sunday and a prayer meeting, my father still working, and them both going to Costco the other night where there was "a line out the door and a list of things they didn't have but once they got inside it was fine."
I don't know what the answer is. It seems like they've been leading up to this. When you more and more aggressively ignore science and facts, eventually you will ignore it on something really deadly. It all feels of a piece to me and I don't know how to get through to them.