A white pastor I know was recently hospitalized with COVID-19, but not until after he had served communion to his mostly African American congregation — a population that has suffered more severely from the disease due to ongoing racial disparities in U.S. health care and society. Leading up to that fateful morning, the pastor had expressed skepticism about restrictions related to the pandemic and had appeared in public without a mask. Consequently, 200 of his parishioners and church staff were ordered to quarantine for two weeks.
Research data show masks significantly reduce aerosolized saliva that emits from a person while speaking, coughing, or sneezing — and keep those droplets from carrying the virus to someone else. Why, then, do certain people, including conservative Christians, object to masks or outright refuse to wear them?
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