Religion is an important aspect of so many lives today. It dictates how people live, what they believe, and how they think. After interviewing people who have varying religious affiliations in addition to researching different anthropological studies on the effect of religious beliefs on choosing to vaccinate, we have come up with a few conclusions. Our first conclusion is that there are still pockets of extremely religious groups who choose not to vaccinate. However, there are more people who do believe in the safety and efficacy of vaccines, and whose religion teaches them to protect themselves and their communities from preventable diseases. As seen throughout our interviews and research, religion is not a heavily weighted factor in someone's decision not to vaccinate their children or themselves. It appears other, non religion-based beliefs are the driving factors. 

 

     Secondly, more public health initiatives are needed to stress the importance of vaccines to specific groups of people. The United States has made great strides in spreading awareness of the dangers of communicable diseases and the importance of being vaccinated to reduce these threats. This project is a great example of how ethnographic evidence can disprove common stereotypes. Ethnographic research should be taken into consideration when public health initiatives are put in place.

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     Finally, while there are stereotypes that religion plays a large factor in the decision to vaccinate, in most cases it is not the deciding consideration, according to our research and interviews. Furthermore, many people who consider themselves to be highly religious still rely on scientific research to prove that vaccines are both effective and safe to use.

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    However, what we are seeing is a rise in diseases that were thought to have been eradicated due to the rise in questions about the efficacy and safety of vaccines. Many people take for granted that these vaccinations exist and how our modern communities are afforded herd immunity from most of these vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccines are an upstream approach to healthcare and make our communities safer. Spreading the word about the importance of vaccinations in both scientific research and religious doctrine will help us avoid major epidemics in the future.

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