Asheville Forum: Michael Scofield
(3:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone)
Michael Scofield at the Asheville Adventist Forum
Topic: “Vaccine Hesitancy in Adventism.”
IMPORTANT: Please note that this is a Zoom meeting. If you would like to attend, email alexander@spectrummagazine.org before 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 1/28, to receive Zoom login info.
A surprisingly large number of Adventist members are refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and are susceptible to believing the flood of misinformation about the virus and alleged cures and treatments. This discussion explores root causes of this resistance to peer-reviewed medical science. The topic is consequential because it is dividing families, disrupting congregational unity, and threatening the staffing levels of Adventist institutions and their mission readiness. A variety of factors and beliefs converge to create this largely-unrecognized division in Adventism—until Covid-19. Ignorance of science (and hostility to science) along with right-wing politics are significant influences on this resistance to vaccination, resulting in unnecessary deaths, often of innocent victims.
This presentation includes some graphic models to clarify our vocabulary, particularly distinguishing between testing, prevention, and treatment (once infected). Those are often blurred in the reckless rhetoric of vaccine opposition.
Speaker Bio: Michael Scofield, M.B.A. is an assistant professor at Loma Linda University. His career has been mainly in data management in corporate settings, but also has lectured widely about the sociology of Adventism. He has over 27 published articles in data management, and has taught workshops all over the United States, in the U.K. and Australia. In addition, he has guest-presented at numerous Sabbath School classes around the country on Adventist history and culture.
