A professor of Religious Studies at a local University asked the following questions for a research project she is conducting about how churches are fairing with the pandemic.  Below are the responses provided by the Committee on Publication for Southern California:

I was wondering how your community has managed over the past year with COVID?

Christian Scientists are certainly not alone in our daily endeavor to follow the Golden Rule, which we see as the heart of our ethics. This naturally takes form in obeying the law and respecting public health safety measures for the good of all. For this reason, most Christian Science churches, like so many other churches and faith institutions, began to hold their services online when the pandemic set in. Each Christian Science church is democratically self-governed, so it is up to each branch church as to how they respond to the pandemic in relation to State and local guidelines for congregations. Now, with the reinstatement of in-person services with some restrictions, churches are prayerfully and thoughtfully deciding if, when, and how to open their doors again. Many Christian Science churches are in the process of conducting both in-person and online services as members work together to find out what best meets the needs of their individual congregations and communities. These adjustments to unique demands have come with a quiet sense of gratitude for the continuity of congregational worship aided by technologies and hearts willing to walk where Christ leads.

Beyond the logistics of online worship, many churches have engaged in specific, deliberate prayer for the world regarding the pandemic, in addition to their individual daily prayer and spiritual study. Churches also have offered to the community online public talks to help shed the light of Christ on issues of the world today. Some church members have shared through various mediums testimonials of spiritual healing of COVID-related difficulties, such as illness, loneliness, economic hardship and cherishing a deeper understanding of the meaning of church. Churches rallied in support of local community needs, such as participating in local interfaith Zoom events responding to the need of the hour, putting up a banner on church property thanking first responders, and tithing recipients of local organizations with prayers, financial support, food and supplies to help families who are homeless or not working. Churches also remained alert to the needs of the members of their congregations, including offering financial support to their local Christian Science nursing facilities that could not take new patients for a while, and helping church members get the support they required in these trying times such as food, caregiver support for practical care and ongoing communication.

And since the vaccine is not legally mandated, I assume that you are not encouraging your members to take it?

While Christian Scientists cherish the clear gospel model of following Jesus’ example of healing through the living power of God’s love (and are most grateful to have seen something of that power manifested in our lives), we equally cherish the Protestant ideal of each individual having an unfiltered and direct relationship with their Maker. For this reason, ours is not a church that dictates healthcare decisions for its members, but rather recognizes the freedom of each member and each family to come to their own decisions on these vital questions, including whether or not to get vaccinated. Through their experience of striving to follow the healing example of Christ Jesus, Christian Scientists have long seen the value of prayer to meet their health needs and have asked the public to make space for their practice of reliance on God’s law of love. Christian Science has sought accommodation within the law where both Christian Scientists and the public in general have the same goal of health and safety but a different way of achieving the same results. You may also be interested in this statement from our church on the subject of vaccinations and public health that predates the pandemic but is nevertheless quite applicable to the question you have raised.

I am interested in this because I have studied groups that forgo medicine for religious reasons for some time, and I would like to get your take on things.

As noted in an entry on Christian Science in American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time, “The title ‘Christian Science’ refers to a church, a denominational organization, a theology, and a religious healing practice.” An accurate understanding of our healing practice cannot be gained without some understanding of our theology, which is rooted in the Bible and in Jesus’ redemptive mission; in fact, church founder Mary Baker Eddy was careful to note that the “emphatic purpose of Christian Science is the healing of sin.”

Christian Scientists are often seen as the people who “forgo medicine.” And the assumption seems to be that relying on medicine is somehow seen as contrary to God’s will. That’s not what Jesus taught or what Christian Scientists actually believe. For one thing, as indicated above, Christian Scientists are always free to make their own decisions in terms of what form of assistance they seek when faced with a health challenge. Christian Scientists generally, including those who have never relied on medicine for meeting a health need, have a natural respect for the humanitarian motives of medical professionals.

When Jesus was approached by two of John the Baptist’s disciples, who were sent to question whether he was actually the Messiah, his response was all about his healing works: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them” (Luke 7:22). It seems clear by this answer that Jesus thought of spiritual healing as the defining feature of his Messiahship — as a core aspect of what it means that he is the Son of God. We believe that the healing and blessing Jesus brought to individuals and whole crowds of people was a vivid showing-forth of God as Love, and that this healing love is meant for all. Jesus was also recorded as saying, “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do…” (John 14:12).

When Christian Scientists turn to God in prayer for healing, they are endeavoring to be faithful to their understanding of what it means to follow Christ, and they are turning to a healing method that has been tested across generations and found to be reliable and deeply meaningful, even while we have much to learn and demonstrate. When healing happens through spiritual means, it generally results not only in the cure of an ailment or solving of a problem, but also in spiritual growth, which often proves to be more gratifying than the relief of suffering or the resolution of a problem.