Mormon Vaccine Push Ratchets Up, Dividing Faith’s Members

Sophia Eppolito of the Associated Press reports, “Members of the faith widely known as the Mormon church remain deeply divided on vaccines and mask-wearing despite consistent guidance from church leaders.” The disagreements about the public health measures seem to break down along political lines. “Some Latter-day Saints have accused those who promote anti-vaccine rhetoric of apostasy, a term that is associated with wickedness and describes when individuals turn away from church principles,” Eppolito writes. Others, however, see vaccination as a personal decision that is wholly outside the church’s sphere of influence and should not be questioned.