[ti:Religious Leaders Stay Silent on Vaccination as COVID-19 Increases] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The Bible Belt is often used to describe an area of the United States, [00:06.76]mainly in the South, where people are deeply religious. [00:12.52]As a result, religious leaders could help or hurt the campaign [00:18.80]to vaccinate people in areas affected by high infection rates [00:24.88]from the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus. [00:31.08]Some clergies are holding vaccination centers and praying for more shots. [00:38.84]Others are against the vaccine or not talking about it at all. [00:46.32]Recently, the First Baptist Church of Trussville in the state of Alabama [00:53.56]had an outbreak following its 200th-anniversary celebration. [01:00.96]The church's leader promised more cleaning and face coverings. [01:07.20]But he did not say the two words that health officials [01:11.64]believe could make a difference: "Get vaccinated." [01:17.36]Dr. Danny Avula is the head of Virginia's COVID-19 vaccination effort. [01:25.88]He suspected he might have a problem getting religious leaders [01:31.20]to publicly support the shots. [01:34.80]Members of his church called them "the mark of the beast." [01:40.56]It is a saying to describe loyalty to the devil in the church's teaching. [01:48.00]A few religious leaders have gained crowds or media attention [01:53.56]for their opposition to the vaccines, like Tony Spell. [01:59.92]He repeatedly ignored COVID-19 restrictions [02:04.88]to hold in-person church services in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. [02:12.12]He told followers vaccines are like the devil [02:16.72]and urged them not to follow the government's "evil orders." [02:23.28]Curtis Chang is a church leader who also teaches at Duke University. [02:31.08]He said most clergies stay silent on the vaccine issue [02:36.60]to avoid tensions in religious communities already struggling [02:42.32]with the pandemic and political division. [02:46.88]The National Association of Evangelicals, a group of Christian leaders, [02:54.24]found that 95 percent of its members plan to get vaccinated. [03:02.12]But Chang said many leaders have not spoken in support of vaccination. [03:09.68]This matters because vaccination rates [03:12.88]are generally low across the Bible Belt [03:16.72]where many church-goers resist appeals [03:20.36]from government leaders and health officials. [03:24.80]In the state of Missouri, more than 200 church leaders [03:30.28]signed a statement urging Christians [03:33.32]to get vaccinated as cases exploded last month. [03:39.28]They noted the church's teaching [03:41.88]to "love your neighbor as yourself." [03:46.20]The mayor of Springfield, Missouri said the area saw [03:51.28]a big jump in vaccinations after the leader of a large church [03:56.72]told followers that it was the right thing to do. [04:02.52]Dr. Ellen Eaton is an infectious disease specialist [04:07.88]at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. [04:13.96]She said churches could be effective at supporting vaccination [04:19.64]as a way "to love your neighbors during this pandemic." [04:25.44]"Next to their personal physician, many here in Alabama [04:30.88]routinely turn to their church leaders with health issues," she said. [04:37.68]I'm Gregory Stachel. [04:39.76]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM