Bad Faith
When Religious Belief Undermines Modern Medicine
Paul A Offit, MD
- In
- recent
- years,
- there
- have
- been
- major
- outbreaks
- of
- whooping
- cough
- among
- children
- in
- California,
- mumps
- in
- New
- York,
- and
- measles
- in
- Ohio's
- Amish
- country
- --
- despite
- the
- fact
- that
- these
- are
- all
- vaccine-preventable
- diseases.
- Although
- America
- is
- the
- most
- medically
- advanced
- place
- in
- the
- world,
- many
- people
- disregard
- modern
- medicine
- in
- favor
- of
- using
- their
- faith
- to
- fight
- life
- threatening
- illnesses.
- Christian
- Scientists
- pray
- for
- healing
- instead
- of
- going
- to
- the
- doctor,
- Jehovah's
- Witnesses
- refuse
- blood
- transfusions,
- and
- ultra-Orthodox
- Jewish
- mohels
- spread
- herpes
- by
- using
- a
- primitive
- ritual
- to
- clean
- the
- wound.
- Tragically,
- children
- suffer
- and
- die
- every
- year
- from
- treatable
- diseases,
- and
- in
- most
- states
- it
- is
- legal
- for
- parents
- to
- deny
- their
- children
- care
- for
- religious
- reasons.
- In
- twenty-first
- century
- America,
- how
- could
- this
- be
- happening?In
- Bad
- Faith,
- acclaimed
- physician
- and
- author
- Dr.
- Paul
- Offit
- gives
- readers
- a
- never-before-seen
- look
- into
- the
- minds
- of
- those
- who
- choose
- to
- medically
- martyr
- themselves,
- or
- their
- children,
- in
- the
- name
- of
- religion.
- Offit
- chronicles
- the
- stories
- of
- these
- faithful
- and
- their
- children,
- whose
- devastating
- experiences
- highlight
- the
- tangled
- relationship
- between
- religion
- and
- medicine
- in
- America.
- Religious
- or
- not,
- this
- issue
- reaches
- everyone
- --
- whether
- you
- are
- seeking
- treatment
- at
- a
- Catholic
- hospital
- or
- trying
- to
- keep
- your
- kids
- safe
- from
- diseases
- spread
- by
- their
- unvaccinated
- peers.Replete
- with
- vivid
- storytelling
- and
- complex,
- compelling
- characters,
- Bad
- Faith
- makes
- a
- strenuous
- case
- that
- denying
- medicine
- to
- children
- in
- the
- name
- of
- religion
- isn't't
- just
- unwise
- and
- immoral,
- but
- a
- rejection
- of
- the
- very
- best
- aspects
- of
- what
- belief
- itself
- has
- to offer.
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