Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Vaccine
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/vaccine

Review

What the Worlds religions teach, applied to vaccines and immune globulins
John D. Grabenstein ,1
Merck Vaccines, 770 Sumneytown Pike, WP97-B364, West Point, PA 19426, USA

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 20 October 2012
Received in revised form
21 December 2012
Accepted 7 February 2013
Available online 26 February 2013
Keywords:
Religion
Beliefs
Vaccines
Antibodies
Immune globulins

a b s t r a c t
For millennia, humans have sought and found purpose, solace, values, understanding, and fellowship
in religious practices. Buddhist nuns performed variolation against smallpox over 1000 years ago. Since
Jenner developed vaccination against smallpox in 1796, some people have objected to and declined
vaccination, citing various religious reasons. This paper reviews the scriptural, canonical basis for such
interpretations, as well as passages that support immunization. Populous faith traditions are considered,
including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Subjects of concern such as
blood components, pharmaceutical excipients of porcine or bovine origin, rubella strain RA 27/3, and
cell-culture media with remote fetal origins are evaluated against the religious concerns identied.
The review identied more than 60 reports or evaluations of vaccine-preventable infectious-disease
outbreaks that occurred within religious communities or that spread from them to broader communities.
In multiple cases, ostensibly religious reasons to decline immunization actually reected concerns about
vaccine safety or personal beliefs among a social network of people organized around a faith community,
rather than theologically based objections per se. Themes favoring vaccine acceptance included transformation of vaccine excipients from their starting material, extensive dilution of components of concern,
the medicinal purpose of immunization (in contrast to diet), and lack of alternatives. Other important
features included imperatives to preserve health and duty to community (e.g., parent to child, among
neighbors). Concern that the body is a temple not to be deled is contrasted with other teaching and
quality-control requirements in manufacturing vaccines and immune globulins.
Health professionals who counsel hesitant patients or parents can ask about the basis for concern
and how the individual applies religious understanding to decision-making about medical products,
explain facts about content and processes, and suggest further dialog with informed religious leaders.
Key considerations for observant believers for each populous religion are described.
2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents
1.
2.
3.

Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2012
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
3.1.
Populous religious groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
3.1.1.
Hinduism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
3.1.2.
Buddhism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
3.1.3.
Jainism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013
3.1.4.
Judaism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
3.1.5.
Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2014
3.1.6.
Islam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2016
3.2.
Vaccine components and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017
3.2.1.
Bacteria, viruses, cell substrates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017
3.2.2.
WI-38 and MRC-5 cell lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017

Tel.: +1 215 652 6695; fax: +1 215 652 8833.

E-mail address: john [email protected]
1
JDG is an employee of Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ. This work represents the authors opinions and not those of Merck & Co. The author has been a
practicing Roman Catholic his entire life, and has explored religious aspects of immunization since the 1990s.
0264-410X/$ see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2013.02.026

2012

4.
5.

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

3.2.3.
Rubella virus strain RA 27/3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2017
3.2.4.
Porcine excipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2018
3.2.5.
Bovine excipients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2018
3.2.6.
Misunderstandings of vaccine production or content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2018
3.2.7.
Pathogen route of exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2018
Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2019
Personal note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2020
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2020
Appendix A.
Supplementary data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2020
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2020

1. Background
People conducting immunization programs may encounter
individuals who hesitate, question, or decline some or all vaccines or immune globulins based on religious beliefs or related
cultural reasons. Such matters are intensely personal and may
be disconcerting for health professionals not comfortable discussing religious issues or who usually make immunization
decisions based on matters more closely aligned to quantitative
sciences.
The word religion derives from the Latin religio or religionem,
describing respect for the sacred or reverence for God or gods [1,2].
Multiple denitions of religion have been proposed, but religions
are fundamentally sets of beliefs about God or spirituality held by
groups of people. Like all groups, religious groups develop their
own systems of culture. And yet, as we will see, behaviors of likeminded individuals are not necessarily related to the theological
basis of their religions. Religious differs from theological, in
part, as social differs from scholarly.
Religious concerns about immunization have a long history,
reaching back to those who rejected Edward Jenners 1796 mode
of smallpox vaccination as contrary to Gods will [3]. In the United
Kingdom, the Anti-Vaccination League formed in 1853 in London to oppose compulsory vaccination acts [36]. Similar events
occurred in the Netherlands and elsewhere [6]. In the United States,
several Boston clergymen and devout physicians formed the Antivaccination Society in 1879 [3,4,68]. In contemporary cases, such
objections involve blood products, porcine or bovine pharmaceutical excipients, or the remote fetal origins of cell-culture media and
rubella strain RA 27/3. In contrast, it is also worth remembering that
some of the earliest descriptions of variolation to prevent smallpox
involved the proponency of Buddhist religious women [9].
Individual rights are deeply embedded in many cultures. With
contagious diseases, though, vaccine and immune globulin decisions may affect more than an individuals health. This occurs
if a parent chooses to withhold immunization from a child or
where vaccine-exempting people increase the infectious risk of
their neighbors.
Numerous examples of vaccine-preventable outbreaks among
religious schools, congregations, and communities illustrate
how clusters of vulnerable people can enable epidemics, even
spreading beyond those foci to neighboring, well-immunized
communities [1215]. Published examples include diphtheria
[16,17], Haemophilus inuenzae type b [18,19], hepatitis A [20,21],
measles [2251], mumps [5255], pertussis [19,33,50,51,56,57],
poliomyelitis [19,33,45,5870], and rubella [45,7180,82]. Tetanus
cases have also resulted [50,51,83]. These infections occurred in
multiple countries (including transmission across borders and
oceans) and among a range of cultural traditions and socioeconomic situations, leading directly to hospitalizations, disabilities,
and deaths.
In several analyses, the risk of measles or pertussis was
635 times higher among people claiming exemption to immunization, compared with the general population [32,33,84]. This

elevated risk applies regardless of the faith tradition involved. The

infectious risk has nothing to do with religious denomination or
righteousness of the objection. To paraphrase the Book of Genesis
(chapter 4, verse 9), vaccine recipients are their brothers keepers,
as contributors to herd protection.
This review is intended to provide a factual and contextual
basis for discussions about religious concerns about vaccines and
immune globulins, as well as the role of religion in promoting
immunization. The perspective taken here is that of religious institutions and authorities, as they would teach their doctrines to
believers. It is important to note that there may be differences
between what individual believers profess and what their canonical texts teach. Indeed, different sects within a faith tradition can
interpret the same scriptural passages differently. Vaccines did not
or major Sanskrit texts were
exist when the Torah, Bible, Quran,
originally written. Subsequent interpretations are fundamental to
how contemporary believers approach immunization.
This review is not intended to criticize or argue against any
religious beliefs, but rather to objectively describe the basis from
which the beliefs arise, as well as various religious positions that
may enable or even expect immunization to be conducted. The
goal is a clearer understanding of the nature of some motivations
for or objections to immunization, how broadly or narrowly the
objections tend to be applied, and to help dispel misunderstanding.
Philosophical objections to immunization are beyond the scope of
this article.
Respectful consideration of religious beliefs within a clinical setting is important because medicine and religion come together to
frame and enlighten choices made by patients as well as health professionals [4,45,68,85,86]. Scientists and clinicians confront moral
and ethical choices daily and often observe a religious faith that
helps guide their own personal conduct. Indeed, the religious
beliefs of countless historical and contemporary researchers and
clinicians have been a source of motivation to help relieve human
suffering by means of immunization.
2. Methods
To identify professional and lay documents related to the
acceptability or unacceptability of vaccines and immune globulins based on religious beliefs, PubMed and Google databases were
searched using the search terms [outbreak and religion], [vaccine
and religion], and [vaccine and name of specic religious group],
specifying each of the worlds religions estimated to have at least
5 million adherents: Bah Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Shinto, and
Sikhism. Also searched were populous denominations within the
Christian tradition: Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, Amish, Anglican, Baptist, Church of Christ
(Scientist), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (including
Mormon), Congregational, Dutch Reformed Congregations, Episcopalian, Jehovahs Witnesses, Lutheran, Methodist, Pentecostal,
Presbyterian, and Seventh-Day Adventist.

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

Table 1
Notable scriptural passages.
1A. Hindu Texts: Bhagavad Gta 3.14. Shikshapatri s loka 16 and 31
1B. Sayings of the Buddha: Sermon at Benares. Dhammapada X:130 and

naphala-sutta.

n
Sigalov
ada-sutta,
Advice to Sigala.
XV:204. Sama
Bodhicharyavatara of Santideva III
1C. Hebrew Bible: Genesis 4:9, Leviticus 11:78, 11:1011, 19:16, and
19:19, Deuteronomy 4:9, 14:78, 22:14, and 22:8, and Proverbs
23:1213
1D. Christian New Testament:Passages cited to support immunization: Mark
7:1823, Luke 10:3335, Luke 14:16, 1 Corinthians 10:24, 2 Timothy
1:14, James 2:8, and 3 John 1:2. Passages cited in declining immunization:
Matthew 10:78 and 15:13, Mark 2:17 [Note similarities with Luke
5:3031 and Matthew 9:1012] and 5:34, and 1 Corinthians 3:1617;
6:1920. Consider also (C), with regard to Old Testament
1E. Jehovahs Witnesses: Genesis 9:34, Leviticus 17:1014, and Acts of
2:173, 5:3, 5:4, 16:81, 16:116, 30:30.
the Apostles 15:2829 1F. Quran:
Full text of these passages appears in the Supplemental material.
These selected scriptural passages should be interpreted in context with text preceding and following them.

All documents identied via PubMed were assessed. For the

Google searches, at least the top 50 entries for each individual
search were evaluated, more when the search results delivered relevant documents. After each search, reference lists were scanned to
identify other relevant documents. Religious reference books were
consulted [1,2], as well as key scriptural texts (e.g., Hebrew Bible,
Table 1).
Christian New Testament, Quran,
3. Results
3.1. Populous religious groups
Discussion of the major religious groups appears below,
sequenced by the founding dates of these traditions. The Christian denominations are listed alphabetically. This review did not
identify any canonical doctrine that has led to religious objection
to vaccines or immune globulins for Bah Faith, Confucianism,
Daoism, Shinto, or Sikhism.
Most ostensible objections to immunization attributable to religious belief fell into three categories: (a) violation of prohibitions
against taking life, (b) violation of dietary laws, or (c) interference
with natural order by not letting events take their course. Each is
addressed further below.
3.1.1. Hinduism
Various denominations of Hinduism share a fundamental set
of common beliefs, but philosophies and practices vary across different Hindu denominations. With no single founder, Hinduism
considers itself Sanatan Dharma (the Eternal Tradition) and traces
its roots to the revelations in the Vedic sacred texts of ancient India
(at least 1500 years before our common era (BCE) to 500 BCE) [1,2].
There are four major branches of Hinduism: Shaiva, Vaishnava,
Shakta, and Smarta. The Vedic sacred texts were transmitted orally
for many centuries before being committed to writing [1,2,87].
Important Hindu texts include the Shrutis and the Smritis (e.g.,
arata,

ayana,

In Hinduism, the
Vedas, Mahabh
Ram
Bhagavad Gta).
ethics and metaphorical meanings of the texts, as revealed by spiritually elevated gurus, may often be emphasized more than literal
interpretations. Vaccination is widely accepted in predominantly
Hindu countries.
Hindus advocate non-violence (ahimsa) and respect for life,
because divinity is believed to permeate all beings, including plants
and non-human animals [1,2,87,88]. The degree to which Hindu
believers apply the principle of non-violence varies. Hindu scriptures support the use of violence in self-defense and do not equate
ahimsa with pacism [88]. Some reason that even vegetation must
submit for human survival and that humans unknowingly destroy

2013

life forms on a regular basis through daily activities, as Mohandas

Gandhi acknowledged (Table 1A).
Some Hindus embrace vegetarianism to respect higher forms of
life (Table 1A); some eat meat only on certain days. Food habits
vary across communities and regions. Observant Hindus who do
eat meat often abstain from beef. The cow in Hindu society is traditionally identied as a caretaking and maternal gure. Verses of the
Rig-Veda refer to the cow as devi (goddess), but Hindus do not worship cows, but rather venerate (deeply respect) them. This review
did not identify contemporary Hindu concerns with trace bovine
components of some vaccines.
3.1.2. Buddhism
Buddhism involves traditions, beliefs, and practices based on
teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as
the Buddha (awakened or enlightened one). The Buddha taught in
the eastern part of what is now India between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, perhaps 563483 BCE. He is recognized by Buddhists as
an enlightened teacher who shared his insights (Table 1B) to help

end ignorance, craving, and suffering, and attain Nirvana (Nibbana,

freedom from suffering) [1,2,8991]. Major Buddhist sects include
Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Zen. Buddhism has no central
text commonly referred to by each tradition, nor a central authority empowered to pronounce on doctrine or ethics. Vaccination is
widely accepted in predominantly Buddhist countries.
A key precept within Buddhism generally prohibits killing,
either humans or animals [1,2,92,93]. Some canonical passages
seem to accept meat consumption, whereas certain Mahayana
sutras (texts) denounce eating meat [94]. In the modern Buddhist
world, attitudes toward vegetarianism vary by location. This review
did not identify contemporary Buddhist concerns with trace bovine
components of some vaccines.
Buddhism does not oppose treatment of an existing illness by
use of non-animal derived medicines, because treatment is an
act of mercy [9598]. Antibiotics kill microorganisms, yet antibiotics are accepted because they help people get closer to reaching
Enlightenment. Serious diseases separate the body from the mind.
Preventing disease means preventing disharmony within the body.
The Nepalese Lama Zpa Rinpoche describes a prayer of the Healing Buddha, to prevent diseases not yet experienced [99]. He also
describes Logynma (or Loma Gynma), a female healing buddha in leaf-wearing aspect, known as an opponent to epidemic
diseases [99,100].
The rst written account of variolation describes a Buddhist
nun (bhikkhuni) practicing around 10221063 CE [9]. She ground
scabs taken from a person infected with smallpox (variola) into a
powder, and then blew it into the nostrils of a non-immune person to induce immunity. Continuing this tradition, the 14th Dalai
Lama participated in poliovirus immunization programs personally
[101].
3.1.3. Jainism
Jainism arose in India between the 9th and 6th centuries BCE,
based on the teachings of Nataputta Vardhamana (also called
Mahavira), who prescribed a path of non-violence toward all living beings [2,88,102,103]. Their scriptures are known as the Jaina
Sutras. In the practice of ahimsa, expectations are less strict for lay
persons than for monastics.
Jains recognize a hierarchy of life forms, such that mobile beings
are accorded more protection than immobile ones [2]. Jains are
vegetarians or vegans [2,102]. They avoid eating root vegetables in
general, as cutting the root from a plant kills it, unlike other parts
of the plant (e.g., leaves, fruits, seeds). Although Jains acknowledge
that plants must be destroyed for the sake of food, they accept such
violence only inasmuch as it is indispensable for human survival
[2,88,102].

2014

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

Jains may drink boiled water, cook food, use paper or soap, and
take necessary antibiotics, but perhaps with some regret. When
considering vaccination, Jains may benet from an explanation of
the seriousness of the diseases to be prevented, to explain the rationale for killing microorganisms in the course of vaccine production
[103,104]. Jains agree with Hindus that violence in self-defense can
be justied [88,102].
Jains lter water, to remove any small insects that may be
present. Observant Jains drink primarily water that has been ltered and boiled. Boiling kills the multitude of tiny beings in the
water, but this is considered preferable to allowing the beings to
reproduce in the water and later die, which would result in a greater
number of deaths. As one Jain writer explained: . . . we should
not cause violence to creatures; but we cannot live without water;
so minimizing sins, we should use water. . . . Meaningless use is
improper [104].
3.1.4. Judaism
Judaism is based on the relationship between God and the
children of Israel. Judaism considers itself the religion of Jacob
(alternately Yisrael or Israel), grandson of Abraham and father of
Judah [1,2]. Major Western branches or denominations include
Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist. The rst
ve books (Torah) of the Hebrew Bible date to around 1200 BCE,
with an evolution of ancient Judaism that reached its present form
around 450 BCE. The documentary basis of Judaic teaching is the
Hebrew Bible (Tanakh or Miqra), expounded in later texts such as
the Talmud and the Shulchan Aruch [1,2].
Judaism traditionally expects certain actions of its believers
to maintain health. Pikuakh nefesh, acting to save ones own or
anothers life, is a primary value, a positive commandment (mitzvah aseh) [105115]. Judaic principles emphasize the community
benets of disease prevention in a manner superior to individual
preference, based on scriptures such as Leviticus 19:16 (Table 1C)
that counsel not to stand idly by while a neighbor is in trouble.
Jewish scholars applied this directive to encourage smallpox vaccination in previous eras. Rabbi and physician Mosheh ben Maimon
(also called Maimonides or Rambam) expounded: Anyone who is
able to save a life, but fails to do so, violates You shall not stand idly
by the blood of your neighbor [105,108,109]. Indeed, in settings
where vaccination services were intermittently available, several
scholars stated it is permissible to set aside Sabbath restrictions on
activity to allow vaccination [105,106,109,110,112,113,115]. Similarly, there are exemptions from fasting if one is ill.
Parental responsibilities are detailed in a number of Jewish texts
[105,107,111], based in Proverbs 23:1213 (Table 1C). The Talmud
has long encouraged parents to teach their children to swim, as a
means of preventing drowning in some unknown, but foreseeable
scenario. Scholars have taken this as a metaphor for vaccination
against a future infection [105,107,108]. Maimonides wrote about
prevention: One must avoid those things which have a deleterious
effect on the body, and accustom oneself to things which heal and
fortify it [105].
Another metaphor related to community responsibility is elevated to the status of a paradigm: the admonition to erect a railing
around ones roof, when it was often used as a porch, to prevent
harm to others who may later walk there from an anticipatable
hazard (Deuteronomy 22:8, Table 1C) [105,106,108,109,111,115].
This paradigm has been applied as a proactive call for communal
protection: vaccinating oneself and ones family to reduce the risk
of transmission of infectious diseases to neighbors and bystanders.
Within halacha (Jewish law), the kashrut is the collection of
Jewish dietary laws, followed more closely by branches such as
Orthodox than by other branches. Food considered t for consumption is termed kosher in English, with most dietary laws derived
from the Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy (Table 1C).

Among these dietary laws are prohibitions on consuming animals considered impure (e.g., pork, shellsh). Products of impure
or improperly slaughtered animals are also non-kosher (treif). Animal gelatin, for example, may be avoided as food; nonetheless,
kosher gelatin (from cows or sh prepared to be kosher) may be
an alternative food.
In distinction to dietary laws, Jewish medical issues are judged
based on concepts of medical law contained in halachic codes. The
propriety of using vaccines or immune globulins within Judaism
would be evaluated from a therapeutic or disease-prevention perspective. Multiple Jewish authorities agree that limitations on
medications with porcine components are only an issue with oral
administration (for those who observe kosher rules), not products given by injection [86,105]. Thus, the teachings to avoid pork
products do not apply to injectable medications, in contrast to foodstuffs.
Permissibility of oral administration of medications with nonkosher ingredients, if necessary to preserve life, is provided in the
Talmud [105]. In the case of oral medications, the transformation
(ponim chadashos) of primary pork components into processed
materials would make them more acceptable. Oral medication containing small amounts of material derived from non-kosher animals
devoid of its taste could be kosher under some circumstances.
According to a principle known as bitul bshishim, a small amount
of non-kosher food mixed with a much greater quantity of kosher
food may be acceptable if the non-kosher item loses its taste or is
diluted beyond a 1:60 ratio [116]. Additional conditions (e.g., intention, gentile source) need to be considered before this ruling can be
made.
Rabbi Abraham Nanzig, writing in London in 1785 in the era
of smallpox outbreaks, described the halachic basis for exposing
a child to variola virus (variolation) to induce immunity against
smallpox: One who undergoes this treatment while still healthy,
God will not consider it a sin. Rather, it is an act of eager religious
devotion, and reects the Commandment to be particularly careful
of your well-being (Deuteronomy 4:15, Table 1C) [105,115]. In the
1850s, distinguished Rabbi Yisroel Lipshutz described Edward Jenner as a righteous gentile, for his efforts in developing smallpox
vaccination [105,109].
Jewish communities (often ultraorthodox, those who adhere
meticulously to Jewish law and tend to be more isolated
from others) in several countries have experienced measles
and mumps outbreaks associated with declining vaccination
[37,41,43,46,47,52,55,111]. The transnational social networks
between such communities have allowed outbreaks to spread from
one country to another [37]. Based on this review, contemporary
Jewish vaccine decliners are more likely to cite concerns about vaccine safety than to invoke a specic religious doctrine that has not
been considered by acknowledged Jewish scholars. Those scholars
have rejected arguments that medical interventions interfere with
divine providence [105,106,111].
The orthodox Hasidic Jews who constitute most of the residents
of the village of Kiryas Joel in Orange County, New York, volunteered
for several pivotal vaccine trials. These included trials for hepatitis
A vaccine and mumps vaccine [117119].
3.1.5. Christianity
Christians are followers of Jesus, whom they consider the
Christ (i.e., Messiah, anointed one). Christians believe that Jesus,
descended from Abraham through Isaac, is the Son of God prophesied in the Hebrew Bible [1,2]. Christianity began as a Jewish sect
around 30 CE. Today, the largest groups within Christianity are the
Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the denominations of Protestantism [1,2].
The life and teachings of Jesus are presented in four canonical
gospels (good news) and other writings appended to the Hebrew

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

Bible (Old Testament) in the form of a New Testament. Various

branches of Christianity dene separate lists of books of the Bible
that each considers canonical [1,2].
3.1.5.1. Multiple Christian denominations. Most Christian denominations have no scriptural or canonical objection to use of vaccines
or immune globulins per se, based on this review (Table 1C and D).
These include Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental
Orthodox Churches, Amish, Anglican, Baptist, the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), Congregational, Episcopalian,
Lutheran, Methodist (including African Methodist Episcopal), Pentecostal, Presbyterian, and Seventh-Day Adventist Church.
Exceptions appear in following sections. Roman Catholicism and
some other Christian denominations have expressed concern about
the aborted fetal origins of the principal formulation of rubella vaccine and some cell lines used to manufacture certain types of viral
vaccines, discussed in later sections. The second half of Table 1D
provides scriptural passages interpreted by a minority as contrary
to vaccination.
Within a Christian creation-fall-redemption-restoration framework, immunization advocacy can form a basis for Christian service
to humanity. This is consistent with themes of being ones brothers
keeper (Genesis 4:9, Table 1C), loving your neighbor as yourself
(James 2:8, Table 1D), and acting kindly to strangers, as did the
good Samaritan (Luke 10:3335, Table 1D).
3.1.5.2. Amish and related communities. The Amish, sometimes
called old-order Amish or Amish Mennonites, are a group of Christian fellowships among Mennonite churches. Amish fellowships
began with a schism within a group of Anabaptists in Switzerland in
1693 CE. Related groups in Canada and the northern US are known
as Hutterites.
Immunization is not prohibited by Amish or Hutterite religious
doctrine, but vaccine acceptance varies from district to district.
Districts that typically decline immunization reect a social tradition within these religious communities, related to modernity,
more than a theological objection. Low immunization rates in
Amish communities have been attributed variously to limited
access to care, limited disease understanding, higher priority to
other activities, and concerns about vaccine safety, with variability among various communities [18,120123]. They tend to dene
illness in terms of failure to function in a work role, more than
in terms of symptoms [19]. Within Amish and related communities, multiple Haemophilus inuenzae type b, measles, pertussis,
poliomyelitis, rubella, and tetanus cases and outbreaks have been
reported [11,18,19,26,50,51,5658,64,67,7080,83]. District leaders have been more accepting of immunization at times of local
outbreaks.
3.1.5.3. Church of Christ, Scientist. Spiritual healing of disease is
a central tenet for members of the First Church of Christ, Scientist, founded in 1879 CE in Boston by Mary Baker Eddy. Christian
Scientists frequently decline some or all medical help for disease. Individual believers often forego immunization, and church
members have lobbied governments for religious exemptions from
immunization.
Eddy called believers to unmask the devils lies, one manifestation of which is disease. Disease, in this construct, is not
fundamentally real, but rather something that can be dispelled, to
reveal the perfection of Gods creation. Sickness is part of the error
which Truth casts out [124]. From this arose the Christian Science
principle that disease is cured or prevented by prayer that afrms
human perfection as Gods child and denies the reality of disease.
This principle is featured in Eddys canon, Science and Health with
Key to the Scriptures [124]. Christian Science practitioners (who
do not practice medicine) aid believers in focused prayer.

2015

In a 1901 interview with the New York Herald, Eddy said [125]:
At a time of contagious disease, Christian Scientists endeavor to
rise in consciousness to the true sense of the omnipotence of Life,
Truth, and Love, and this great fact in Christian Science realized
will stop a contagion. Later, she said: Rather than quarrel over
vaccination, I recommend, if the law demand, that an individual
submit to this process, that he obey the law, and then appeal to the
gospel to save him from bad physical results [125].
Outbreaks of diphtheria, measles, and poliomyelitis
have been reported among followers of Christian Science
[16,17,2325,28,50,66], including repeat measles outbreaks at
Principia College and afliated K-12 schools between 1985 and
1994 [48]. Three measles deaths and hundreds of cases occurred
during those outbreaks. The Church has a policy for members to
report communicable diseases to health authorities, but members
have limited ability to do so. First, their practitioners and nurses
are not trained in disease recognition. Second, members are taught
that disease is healed by convincing oneself of its unreality. As a
result, several outbreaks have been recognized only after many
people were infected [28,48]. In such cases, Christian Science
parents were more willing to accept immunization after outbreaks
were recognized by health authorities.
3.1.5.4. Dutch reformed congregations. Members of certain traditional reformed (bevindelijk gereformeerden) Christian denominations in the Netherlands, founded in the 1570s CE, have
a tradition of declining immunization that dates back to concerns about adverse events after smallpox vaccination from
1823 onward [15,45,59,126]. These communities were the epicenters of paralytic poliomyelitis, measles, congenital rubella
syndrome, and mumps outbreaks between 1971 and 2008
[11,15,34,45,54,5865,7780,82,126].
Members of these denominations have familial and cultural
ties to associated Christian communities in other countries (e.g.,
Canada, United States), where immunization rates may also be low.
These ties have resulted in international transmission of vaccinepreventable diseases (e.g., measles, poliomyelitis, rubella) with
multiple outbreaks in locations otherwise free of circulating disease
[11,58,61,64,7880,82].
The contemporary basis for the objection of some members of
these churches includes choosing to forego immunization rather
than making a person less dependent on God [15,45,59,126]. For a
subset, avoiding interference with divine providence before infection may be paramount; another subset described immunization
as a gift from God to be used with gratitude [15,59]. Arguments
against immunization have been refuted by other members of the
traditional reformed community [15], for example by pointing out
that using agricultural practices or raising dikes, to prevent ooding, could also be construed as contrary to divine intent, yet are
common practices [45]. Recent increases in immunization rates in
Dutch communities suggest that objections to immunization may
be declining [45].
3.1.5.5. Jehovahs Witnesses. The Jehovahs Witnesses is a Christian
denomination tracing its roots to the late 1870s CE. The Watch
Tower Bible and Tract Society is its organizing body [127130].
Since 1945, the Watch Tower Society has instructed its followers to
refuse transfusions of whole blood and certain blood components
(e.g., red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, whole plasma),
which they consider a violation of Gods law. This interpretation
derives from several scriptural passages (Table 1E) [127138]. Their
blood doctrine has undergone multiple changes since 1945, principally in 1978, 2000, and 2004 [139142].
By abstaining from blood, Witnesses express their faith that only
the shed blood of Jesus can redeem them and save their life. In this
view, those who respect life as a gift from God do not try to sustain

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J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

life by taking in blood, even in an emergency [129,130]. While albumin, antimicrobial immune globulins, Rho(D) immune globulin,
and coagulation factors VIII and IX have been declared acceptable
to believers since 1978 [137,142], Witnesses today are taught that
the use of various blood fractions are not absolutely prohibited
and are a matter of personal choice [128,129,136138,143145].
More recently permissible products include those derived from
white blood cells (e.g., interferons, interleukins), cryoprecipitate,
cryosupernatant, erythropoietin, and preparations derived from
hemoglobin [129,135,146]. It is unclear what proportion of Jehovahs Witnesses offered such therapeutic products accept them.
The Watch Tower Society distributes worksheets and preformatted power-of-attorney advance directives, on which members can specify which allowable fractions and treatments they
would personally accept, if any [129,131,132,135,136,144,147].
Important questions have been raised regarding how much freedom and what degree of information about risks, benets, and
alternatives are available to individual Jehovahs Witnesses when
considering these documents [128,129,131135,148150].
Some Jehovahs Witnesses dissent from the blood-product doctrine, including the Associated Jehovahs Witnesses for Reform on
Blood [129,135]. They see no Biblical or ethical wrongness with
accepting transfusion of donor blood or with donating blood for
transfusion. This group functions with anonymity, because congregations have ostracized or expelled those who ignore or criticize
their doctrine [128,129,134136].
The Watch Tower Society denounced vaccination from the
1920s through the 1940s, citing scriptural passages such as those in
Table 1E [127129,138,151,152]. The group banned their members
from vaccination around this time, under penalty of excommunication [138,151]. The Society revised this doctrine in the December
15, 1952, issue of The Watchtower, saying that those passages did
not apply to vaccination [153]. In 1961, the Society took a neutral
stand, neither endorsing nor prohibiting vaccination. In the 1990s,
Awake! magazine began acknowledging the clinical value of vaccination. A contemporary Watchtower web page acknowledges the
efcacy of vaccination in preventing hepatitis A and hepatitis B
[154].
3.1.5.6. Churches that rely on faith healing. In addition to discussion
above, several small Christian denominations or churches hold core
beliefs that focus on healing through faith alone (Table 1D), with
active avoidance of medical care (e.g., Faith Tabernacle, Church
of the First Born, Faith Assembly, End Time Ministries) [155].
Several vaccine-preventable outbreaks (and associated deaths)
involved faith healing to the exclusion or neglect of immunization
or treatment after infection [27,39,40,50,51,155157]. These outbreaks involved both adults who choose not to have themselves
immunized and parents who withheld routine vaccines from their
children.
3.1.6. Islam

Islam professes beliefs articulated by their Holy Book, the Quran

(the recitation), and through the teachings and example of Muham (the
mad (570632 CE). Muhammad, the last messenger of Allah
God, in Arabic), descends from Abraham (Ibrahim) through his son

Ishmael [1,2]. The two major Islamic sects are Sunni and Shah.
and tradition forbid consumption of several animals
The Quran
outright (e.g., the esh of swine, Table 1F), while other animals are
permitted (halal) or forbidden (haram) based on conditions of how
they died or were slaughtered. Gelatin made from porcine skin or
bones is forbidden as food. Gelatin made from other halal animals,
beef or sh for example, is acceptable as food.
are issued
Opinions or rulings on interpretation of the Quran
as fatwas by Islamic scholars (mujtahids), with varying degrees of
strictness. But fatwas are not always widely held to be authoritative,

in part because of varying degrees of expertise and also because

the relationship for each Muslim is directly with God. According
a person is not guilty of sin in a situation where
to the Quran,
the lack of a halal alternative creates an undesired necessity to
2:173). This is
consume that which is otherwise haram (Quran
the basis for the law of necessity in Islamic jurisprudence: That
which is necessary makes the forbidden permissible in exceptional
circumstances (Table 1F).
Opposition to immunization programs among selected Muslim communities has occurred during poliovirus immunization
programs in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan [158]. The opposition within northern Nigeria, notably in the state of Kano, was
particularly long-lasting and an impediment to the global eradication effort [68,158163]. Detailed consideration of the Nigerian
situation revealed that what was described as ostensibly religious
objections and assertions that vaccines spread the HIV virus or were
vehicles for sterilization programs masked deeper struggles related
to political power, inadequate health services, and a controversial clinical trial of an investigational antibiotic [68,159,162]. While
the boycott was centered within Islamic social networks, most of
the objections raised related to social issues, rather than theological issues. Eventually, the Nigerian government sent religious
representatives to South Africa, Indonesia, and India to observe
quality-control tests of poliovirus vaccines to be used in their areas
and then sourced the vaccine from manufacturers they trusted
[68,162].
In contrast, multiple imams and other Islamic leaders issued
clear statements and fatwas describing how immunization is consistent with Islamic principles [68,69,162]. In the Nigerian case,
engagement of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (including 17 African countries) and the 15th annual conference of the
International Fiqh Council (a global forum of Islamic lawyers,
scholars and philosophers to address the practice of Islam in contemporary life) provided assurances to Nigerian leaders [68].
Earlier, in 1995, the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, a
well-regarded set of 112 jurisprudents and medical experts conducted a seminar in Kuwait on The judicially prohibited and
impure substances in foodstuff and drugs [164]. Participants
included the muftis (experts in Islamic law) of Egypt, Tunisia, Oman,
and Lebanon, the secretary general of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in
Jeddah, and many other accomplished Islamic scholars. Citing the
accepted principle of transformation (fundamental change, as from
wine to vinegar) within Islam, they concluded that The Gelatin
formed as a result of the transformation of the bones, skin, and
tendons of a judicially impure animal is pure, and it is judicially
permissible to eat it (see also Section 3.2.4) [164]. The full document also addressed issues related to medication capsules, alcohol,
pig fat, and porcine insulin.
Omar Kasule, professor of Islamic medicine at the Institute of
Medicine University of Brunei Darussalam noted that polio immunization is obligatory (wajib) when disease risk is high and the
vaccine shown to have benets far outweighing its risks [165,166].
Muslims will be interested in issues of vaccine safety, Professor
Kasule explained, because immunization to prevent disease should
not lead to side effects of the same magnitude as the disease. He
based this judgment on the purpose of the law to protect life, the
principle of preventing harm (izalat aldharar), and the principle of

the public interest (maslahat al-ummah). He noted that the Quran

uses the concept of wiqaya in multiple situations to refer to taking preventive action (e.g., against hell-re, punishment, greed, bad
acts, harm, heat) and concludes that prevention is one of the laws
with obvious application to medicine.
of Allah,
Muslims may apply additional scrutiny to vaccines required
for pilgrims to the annual Hajj in Mecca, when purity takes on
extra signicance [167170]. Another guiding principle comes
from the prophetic statement of Muhammad: God has not made

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

things that are unlawful for you to consume to be your medicine

[171].
3.1.6.1. Nation of Islam. The Nation of Islam is a US-based movement that aims to improve the condition of African-Americans in
the US [172]. Its religious practices have some similarities and some
differences, compared with traditional Islam. In 1997, the minister of health of the Nation of Islam advised believers to avoid
all immunizations, based on concern about viral contamination
with pathogens that cause AIDS, Ebola, Hanta, Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome, Gulf-War Syndrome, mad cow disease, etc. [173]. No
objective evidence to substantiate these claims has been offered.
That statement was framed as until further notice, although it
no longer appears on the Nation of Islam website. The basis was
rooted in safety and distrust-of-government concerns, rather than
theological grounds.
3.2. Vaccine components and processes
3.2.1. Bacteria, viruses, cell substrates
The Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain religions have long prioritized
respecting all forms of life, in the form of ahimsa [88]. The Jains in
particular extend this respect even to the bacteria or viruses contained in a vaccine, as well as the culture-media cells used to grow
viruses or produce recombinant proteins.
The Google searches identied a posting contending that Jains
cannot take vaccines because microbes are killed in the process of
manufacturing the vaccines. But this would seem to be a misreading
of the Jain approach to regretting the loss of microbial (one-sensed)
life, yet taking actions necessary to sustain life (e.g., ingesting life
forms along with food, boiling water) [88,103,104].
Mohandas Gandhi observed: The very fact of his [humanitys]
livingeating, drinking and moving aboutnecessarily involves
some himsa, destruction of life, be it ever so minute (Table 1A)
[174].
3.2.2. WI-38 and MRC-5 cell lines
Unlike bacteria, viruses do not replicate on their own. To make
viral vaccines, large numbers of viruses must be grown in cell cultures specic to each virus. Some licensed viral vaccines (i.e., some
formulations of hepatitis A, poliovirus, rabies, rubella, and varicellazoster viruses or combination vaccines containing such component
viruses) are produced by growing viruses that infect humans in
WI-38 or MRC-5 cell cultures [175,176]. WI-38 and MRC-5 represent two commonly used lineages of human diploid cell cultures,
batches of immature cells with twice as many chromosomes as
sperm or egg cells. Embryonic diploid cells are valuable in vaccine manufacture, because each aliquot of these cells can propagate
several dozen times before senescence.
Each of these cell lines started with cells harvested from a deliberately aborted fetus [177,178]. The cell lines are used to grow the
viruses, then discarded and not included in vaccine formulations.
These cell lines cannot form a human being.
The WI-38 line was developed at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia in 1961, with lung cells from a female fetus of 3 months
gestation aborted in Sweden, whose parents felt they had too many
children [175,176,179183]. Similarly, British scientists funded
by the Medical Research Council developed the MRC-5 line in
September 1966 with fetal lung broblasts taken from a 14-weekold male fetus removed for psychiatric reasons from a 27-year-old
woman. . . [179,184,185]. These cell lines, still in use today, gradually replaced primary cultures of monkey, duck, rabbit, chicken,
dog, or mouse tissue, an approach vulnerable to contamination
with viruses and bacteria [175,176,183].
Vaccine manufacturers have few options for viral culture media,
for reasons of microbiology and safety [175,176,179,186190]. It is

2017

not possible to simply replace one cell line with another, because
various viruses grow abundantly only in some kinds of cell lines.
WI-38 and MRC-5 lines are well described and understood, with
experience accumulated via hundreds of millions of vaccinations,
important for safety-assessment reasons.
The fetal origins of WI-38 and MRC-5 cell lines pose an ethical
or moral problem for people who disapprove of abortion. Critically, the two abortions were not conducted for the purpose of
harvesting the cells that were transformed into these cell lines
[177,178,191194]. This lack of intention is a key element in breaking the complicity link that could otherwise make use of the
vaccines unacceptable. No additional abortions are needed to sustain vaccine manufacture. The cell lines are not the nal product,
and no human cells are present in the nal vaccine formulations.
In the late 1990searly 2000s, teams of ethicists at the National
Catholic Bioethics Center and then at the Vaticans Pontical
Academy for Life and elsewhere considered the virology, epidemiology, and theology of the matter in detail [177,178,193195].
Their considerations included both cooperation with evil and the
principle of double effect. In this case, the cooperation related to
those involved with the specic abortions in the 1960s. The principle of double effect applied insofar as using implicated vaccines
today could appear to endorse or acquiesce to the acceptability of
additional abortions in our current time. These teams concluded
that the association between implicated vaccines and abortion was
noncomplicit, and that using these vaccines is not contrary to a
principled opposition to abortion. These centers reasoned that,
because the abortions that enabled the production of these vaccines
are in the past and (critically) the abortions were not undertaken
with the intent of producing the cell lines, being immunized does
not involve any sharing in immoral intention or action of others. In
short, they are morally separate actions. In 2008, this position was
elevated to the status of ofcial Roman Catholic teaching [196].
The bioethicist teams agreed that use of a vaccine in the present
does not involve sharing in the action of those who carried out the
abortion in the past [178,193196]. Further, they found that parents
have a moral obligation to provide for the life and health of their
children by means of immunization [178,193196]. The situation
with vaccines differs morally from ongoing harvest of fetal tissue
for pharmaceutical manufacturing or research, which could be used
to justify future abortions [177].
Still, these ethicists concluded that alternate vaccines should
be used if available. They also recommended that parents and clinicians should speak out against abortion by asking governments
and vaccine manufacturers to stop using cell lines that have links
to aborted fetuses [193,194].
3.2.3. Rubella virus strain RA 27/3
In 1964, the Wistar Institute developed the RA 27/3 strain of
rubella virus. The rubella virus isolate was recovered from the
explanted [kidney] tissue of a fetus obtained at therapeutic abortion from a mother who had been infected with rubella virus
[179,197199]. The scientic literature of that era indicates that
the abortion was not conducted with the motive of isolating the
virus, but rather because the mother was infected with rubella virus
and risked major birth defects [179,197,198]. After the RA 27/3
strain was isolated, it has been propagated serially in human diploid
cells. The RA 27/3 strain produced superior antibody responses and
was better tolerated, compared with other rubella vaccine strains
available in the 1960s [199,200]. No further abortions are necessary to sustain the manufacture of additional batches of rubella RA
27/3-strain vaccine.
Use of the RA 27/3 rubella virus strain was also considered by
the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the Pontical Academy
for Life. Using the same logic, they reasoned that because the one
abortion that yielded the viral isolate was not undertaken with the

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J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

intent to retrieve the virus and because no additional abortions are

needed to obtain more virus, being immunized is morally acceptable and also associated with parental duty [178,193195]. The
same provisions for preferring alternatives and petitioning governments and manufacturers also apply.
Some nd it meaningful that rubella vaccination prevents many
cases of fetal death and congenital rubella syndrome that would
otherwise occur if women were infected with rubella virus during pregnancy. Immunized women exposed to the virus during
pregnancy are no longer confronted with the question (what some
religions might consider temptation) of whether to terminate their
pregnancies on that basis.
3.2.4. Porcine excipients
All vaccines require the use of excipients (inactive ingredients)
in manufacturing. Some of these products, such as hydrolyzed
gelatin or trypsin, may have a porcine (pork) origin.
Hydrolyzed gelatin is a mixture of peptides and proteins produced by partial hydrolysis of collagen (connecting bers and
tissues) typically extracted from skin, bones, or other components,
most often from pigs or cattle. Hydrolyzed refers here to the process of breaking down collagen molecules into chains of amino
acids (polypeptides) by acidic or alkaline treatment, followed by
purication [187,201,202]. Gelatin hydrolysates are added to some
vaccine formulations to help stabilize and preserve active ingredients during freeze-drying and storage; hydrolyzed gelatin may also
act as a solvent [187,203,204].
The enzyme trypsin may be used in producing some viral
vaccines, to resuspend cells adhering to the cell-culture dish
wall during the process of harvesting cells [187,203,205]. Trypsin
typically is removed from the product physically before further
processing. Like hydrolyzed gelatin, trypsin is often derived from
porcine or bovine sources.
Some Jews, Muslims, and others have expressed concern about
porcine-origin components, derived from faith-based concerns
about consumption of pork in their diet, despite the injectable
nature of most vaccines. Injectable medications are not subject
to kosher rules [86,105]. Permissibility of oral administration of
medications with such ingredients, if necessary to preserve life, is
described in earlier sections. Scholars of Judaism and Islam have
issued various rulings or waivers that allow use of such vaccines,
for several reasons [86,105114,164,205,206]:
(1) the components of concern (e.g., hydrolyzed gelatin) have been
sufciently transformed from original pork origins,
(2) the minute quantities per dose administered (e.g., hydrolyzed
gelatin, trypsin) invoke exceptions based on dilution, or
(3) the vaccine is intended for important medicinal purposes and
not a matter of ingestion, to which dietary rules apply.
Other important considerations include the necessity of the
product to save life and the lack of alternatives. Different scholars
may evaluate and weigh these criteria differently.
For Muslims, Shara law includes the principle of transformation (istihaalah) in which unclean products can be made clean by
extensive processing, transforming the original product into something new (e.g., from wine to vinegar). Under certain circumstances,
this can make it permissible for observant Muslims to receive vaccines, even if the vaccines contain porcine excipients. This principle
of transformation was invoked by the 1995 conference convened
by the Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences [164,206]. The
scholars explicitly concluded that transformation of pork products into gelatin alters them sufciently to make it permissible for
observant Muslims to receive vaccines containing porcine gelatin
and certain other medicines, including those formulated in gelatin

capsules [164]. Even so, alternative products without components

of concern may be preferred, if available.
In 2003, the European Council of Fatwa and Research issued a
fatwa nding the permissibility of using oral poliovirus vaccine produced with porcine-origin trypsin [205]. Their decision centered
on lack of similarity between pork and puried trypsin, physical
removal during processing, dilution of any residual, necessity, and
lack of alternative.

3.2.5. Bovine excipients

Bovine serum or albumin may be added to some cell cultures as
a source of nutrition (in the form of albumin, amino acids or peptides, and growth factors); albumin can act as a protein stabilizer
[187,207]. Hydrolyzed gelatin or trypsin (see porcine excipients,
above) may alternately derive from a bovine source. This review
identied no explicit religious objection to bovine components.

3.2.6. Misunderstandings of vaccine production or content

Google searches revealed multiple postings (data not shown),
both by members of the public and by those who describe themselves as health professionals, that misstate the actual contents of
vaccines and immune globulins. These searches revealed erroneous
assertions that all vaccines are grown in chicken eggs, that vaccines
are blood products, or that vaccines are contaminated with alcohol,
toxins, or heavy metals. Some sites incorrectly asserted that most
vaccines are genetically modied, claiming that such products are
forbidden in both Judaism and Christianity based on Leviticus 19:19
and Matthew 15:13 (Table 1C and D).
Objections of certain Catholic ofcials in the Philippines in the
mid-1990s that tetanus toxoid immunization for adult women
actually contained contraceptives or abortifacients were based on
misunderstanding [208211]. Similar confusion disrupted immunization programs in Kenya, Mxico, Nicaragua, and Tanzania
[208,210].
Several websites objected to immunization on the basis that God
created humans in His own image and that the body is a temple not
to be deled (Table 1D). Interpretations of the rst letter of Paul to
the Corinthians contrast with Marks gospel in this regard. Even
so, vaccines are no less pure than various other commonly used
medications and are subject to extensive quality-control and audit
procedures by the manufacturers and by multiple government regulators [212,213].

3.2.7. Pathogen route of exposure

Many religions traditionally have been proponents of sexual
propriety [1,2]. This review identied several objections to hepatitis
B immunization or to human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization,
centered on the sexual route of exposure that can be associated
with the corresponding pathogens. These objections to immunization were not theologically based per se, but rather arose indirectly
as religious beliefs (usually of parents) affected views of acceptable sexual practices or timing. In the case of hepatitis B virus
(HBV), sexual activity is only one of many risk factors for infection,
including mother-to-child transmission. For HPV, several studies
have shown that immunization does not increase or accelerate a
womans likelihood of sexual behavior [214217]. The proportion
of never-married teenaged females in the US who had been sexually
active at least once fell from 51% in 1988 to 43% in 200610 [218].
With both HBV and HPV, a person could forego the vaccines, lead a
life fully compliant with religious belief, and still be infected. Many
religions have rites that allow for atonement or forgiveness of sins,
but the many diseases caused by HBV and HPV (including multiple cancers) remain among the most difcult infectious diseases to
attempt to cure.

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

Table 2
Summary of key points from perspectives of selected religions.
Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism (linked via ahimsa)
 Respect for all life, favoring nonviolence [1,2,88]
 Recognize the need to sustain human life, with regretful acceptance of
cooking food, boiling water, using antibiotics and vaccines
[1,2,88,96,103,104,174]
Judaism
 Consider the imperative for Pikuakh nefesh, acting to save ones own
or anothers life [105,106,109,110]
 Consider the duty to protect ones children and ones neighbors; do
not stand idly by [105109]
 Dietary kosher limitations on medications with porcine components
apply to oral administration, but not to injection [86,105]. Even so,
consider the importance of medicine in preserving life
Christianity
 Vaccines with remote fetal implications are morally acceptable (with
a duty to protect children), unless alternative products are available
[177,178,193196]
 Jehovahs Witnesses may accept certain blood derivatives, including
immune globulins, interferons, coagulation factors, erythropoietin,
and others [129,135,137,142,146]
 Concern that the body is a temple not to be deled contrasts with
other Scripture passages (Table 1D) and modern quality-control
requirements for vaccines and immune globulins [212,213]
Islam
 Consider the law to protect life, the principle of preventing harm
(izalat aldharar), and the principle of the public interest (maslahat
al-ummah) [165,166]
 Transforming haram components may generate halal products (e.g.,
wine to vinegar) [164,206]
 Extensive dilution of components of concern may result in minute
quantities per dose [164,205,206]
 Vaccines are intended for important medicinal purpose, not diet
[68,164,205,206]
 Vaccines help protect others [68,164166,205]
 Consider the law of necessity, whether alternative vaccines are
available [86]

4. Discussion
This review is intended to explain pivotal aspects of religious
teaching that have been applied for and against the acceptability
of vaccines and immune globulins. As various examples described
above show, the scriptural, canonical passages cited here are not
interpreted uniformly by each believer within a faith tradition. The
multiple sects, denominations, and branches within each of the
major religions demonstrates the multiple ways various passages
have been applied [4,83,86].
This review identied multiple religious doctrines or imperatives that call for preservation of life, caring for others, and duty
to community (e.g., parent to child, neighbors to each other). Even
in cases where vaccine components could be objectionable, this
review found several themes favoring vaccine acceptance, including transformation of components of concern from their starting
material, extensive dilution of such components, the medical purpose of immunization (in contrast to diet), and lack of alternatives
(see Table 2).
This review revealed few canonical bases for declining immunization, with Christian Scientists a notable exception. Along these
lines, it would seem that the instances of personal objections
that are properly theological in nature (dened here as systematic and rational exploration of the nature of God) are relatively
few, and that the preponderance might more accurately be dened
as philosophical (i.e., a more general consideration of existence
and reason) or simply personal choice [219]. For several religious
groups, declination of immunization is more traditional or social
than an essential religious precept [25,143]. The bulk of the objections identied in the searches for this review reected concerns
about vaccine safety, not matters of theology, as did an analysis of
exemptions for school-aged children [219]. For Christian Scientists

2019

who believe Man is incapable of sin, sickness, and death [124],

vaccines would be superuous.
One question-and-answer webpage started with this question:
I need to get a religious exemption or medical exemption for my
children. We are moving to HI [Hawaii] and these are the only two
exemptions they offer. Anyone know how to get around vaccinating my children? [220]. How can we understand the intent of this
writer? Understanding peoples actual motives is important when
discussing immunization.
Clinicians counseling people reluctant to be immunized may
wish to probe for understanding of vaccine contents and provide
factual information. From a Netherlands perspective, Ruijs et al.
suggest discussing vaccine decision-making processes (e.g., criteria
used, consequences), rather than medical information or an authoritarian stance [221]. Collaboration between public-health leaders
and (religious) community leaders historically has helped resolve
objections and enabled immunization programs to continue. Religious communities are a powerful social force, as shown in this
review and in other studies [222,223].
The accumulation of susceptibles within a community creates
vulnerability to infection [4,13,32,33,47,211,224]. A community
can afford to have a small number of conscientious objectors
to immunization. But each unimmunized person adds to the
vulnerability of the group. If geographic clusters within a city neighborhood, among preschoolers, or within a suburb, a rural town, an
island, a parish, or some other focal area are immunized at only
60% or 80% levels, herd protection does not occur and outbreaks
can develop. An increasing collection of vulnerable people is like
an increasing collection of kindling wood. Introduce a spark and
re can spring forth. One contagious person among a cluster of vulnerable people can ignite an outbreak involving many, including
those unable to respond to vaccination.
One of the limitations of this review is that information about
beliefs of less populous religions or denominations were not explicitly sought. On the other hand, the many searches and traces
through reference lists frequently led to documents describing
other religious traditions or denominations. None of those documents featured a canonical objection to immunization not already
described above. But review of the medical literature identied
multiple outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases among them
[27,29,37,39,40,50,51,83]. Outbreaks rooted in personal or philosophical beliefs are not referenced here, but are numerous.
The outbreak reports cited in this review are likely not an
exhaustive list of all religious-centered outbreaks, for several reasons: Some publications may not have been identied (especially
those not written in English or relevantly coded in PubMed), some
publications about outbreaks related to personal-belief exemptions
may not have specied a religious basis for those beliefs, and some
relevant outbreaks (or individual cases) may not have been published.
One element of acceptability for some believers is whether vaccines of concern have any alternatives [86,170,177,178,191195].
Alternatives can be determined by comparing ingredients and
culture media described in product prescribing information. Contrary to several web pages, measles vaccine is not a prophylactic
alternative to measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, insofar as
selecting measles vaccine alone would be a decision to reject protection against mumps and rubella. Manufacturers attentive to
global acceptability will endeavor to replace or avoid components
of concern whenever possible.
If we are to serve our patients needs in all their humanity, we
should help them gain access to reasoned ethical and theological considerations of clinical issues [4,45,83,86,177,195,211]. When
dealing with vaccines, the implications of a personal infectiousdisease decision reach beyond the self, to affect neighbors
[10,27,3133,42,56,68,86,106,109,188]. My decision to immunize

2020

J.D. Grabenstein / Vaccine 31 (2013) 20112023

or not immunize my family members changes the likelihood that

you or your family will contract a contagious disease, and vice versa.
5. Personal note
The coming together of public health and religion is not a collision; rather it involves repeated intersections. We can advance both
healthcare and our own condition by discussing them openly more
often. I remain open to nding and reading doctrinal teachings not
identied in my searches to date.
Acknowledgements
The assistance of numerous religious scholars, believers, and
vaccine experts who critiqued drafts of this review is greatly appreciated, including: Ibrahim AbuAmmar, Brant Biehn, Joye L. Bramble,
Shehla Hussain, Chester J. Kitchen, Barbara J. Kuter, Mark Loeb,
Manal Morsy, Paul A. Oft, Diane C. Peterson, Samir Shaikh, Neel
Sheth, Benot Soubeyrand, Walter L. Straus, Rita Swan, Deborah L.
Wexler, Charles (Skip) Wolfe, Robert M. Wolfe, and Karie Youngdahl; from the Associated Jehovahs Witnesses for Reform on Blood,
Marvin Shilmer; from the Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia, Abby Stamelman Hocky, Rev. Nicole Diroff, Bijan Etermad,
and Suketu Patel; and from The National Catholic Bioethics Center,
Edward J. Furton and John M. Haas.
Any remaining inaccuracies are the responsibility of the author
alone.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data associated with this article can be
found, in the online version, at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.vaccine.2013.02.026.
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