That question always makes me laugh, but it’s been posed to me more than once, and I try to make the person posing the question understand what they’re really saying when they speak about “belief” in a product created by a pharmaceutical corporation. Do I “believe” in a pharmaceutical product in the way a Catholic believes in the immaculate conception, or any member of a religion or cult “believes” in their particular doctrine? It’s dangerous to speak about a pharmaceutical product in terms of religious “belief”, as if vaccines are exempt from scrutiny and can only be discussed in theological terms. The vibe surrounding vaccine policy closely aligns with fundamentalist religion in many ways: a perception that “disbelievers” are damned, the censorship of critics, the inquisition and excommunication of heretics, the belief that society is doomed unless the majority accept vaccine policy into their hearts, et cetera.
We humans are hardwired for religion, and if we aren’t careful we let all sorts of beliefs fill that need. This includes vaccines, apparently. And it’s amazing what people will do when in the grips of religious fanaticism.
