Emphasizing Science: Black Pastors Encourage Awareness of Medical Information about COVID-19 Vaccine

Church leaders have used scripture to encourage congregants to reflect on their health choices. Still, this study focuses on Black pastors who used other approaches to prompt awareness about COVID-19 and vaccination. The purpose of the study is to explore how Black posters use medical information and scripture to discuss COVID-19 vaccination within the communities they serve. This study uses a phenomenological design; ten Black pastors in South Carolina were recruited through snowball sampling to learn about their information dissemination practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study describes their rhetoric, foregrounding medical facts and supporting them with biblical passages. The pastors who participated in semi-structured interviews presented scientific information to the church community and encouraged members to "follow the science." Two central themes emerged from the study: 1) Stand by the science to educate the Black community about COVID-19 vaccines, and 2) Balancing science and scripture to reinforce positive COVID-19 vaccine messaging. The study's implication demonstrates how Black pastors are instrumental in providing a narrative of factual health information in a spiritual setting.