I say a little prayer for you

Readers of this blog know well that I am not a fanatical atheist who mocks the faithful and their religions.  I fully understand the phenomenal role that religion plays in helping humans make sense of our fleeting existence; after all, we are meaning-haunted creatures.

My problem is when the faithful bring their religion into public policy making.  Into various collective decisions.

COVID-19 is a recent, but yet another, context in which religion and faith interferes with public policy.  Recall the President yelling--does he ever speak calmly though!--that everything will reopen by Easter?  Imagine if that were to happen when we are in the thick of first wave of this awful pandemic!

Passover began Wednesday. Easter is Sunday. Ramadan begin a few days later on the 23rd.  It is an Abrahamic convergence of sorts when the cousins worship their own respective gods!

In their respective prayers, do the faithful wish the others good health during this pandemic?  Or, do they believe that their god will protect them, but the infidels be damned?

Decades ago, a born-again fundamentalist told me that my parents and I will go to hell despite the fact that we are good people because we don't believe in Jesus--HE is the only one who can save us, she sincerely said!

Sure, she and other faithful can believe whatever they want.  Those are personal issues.  But, what if those beliefs interfere with the common good?

In public policy, prayers are risky. Prayers to God can give people a false sense of reassurance that something has been done. In the context of COVID-19, this could mean actions to control the virus or protect those on the front lines of the pandemic—the health care workers, fire fighters, and store clerks, among others. In the worst case, prayers can take the place of effective action, such as social distancing and material aid, which can prevent people from becoming sick and dying.

Further, prayers are cheap. They don't cost a damn thing.  Helping people out in the real world during catastrophes is bloody expensive, for which material donations and taxes are necessary.

In two out of three studies, I found that Christians who prayed for hurricane victims donated less than Christians who did not pray for the victims. While it is unknown how prayers affect other forms of support during a pandemic, it is a real risk that they have similar effects, given that the same social and psychological mechanisms may be at play. In my research, I found that prayers may take the place of material help in the wake of a natural disaster because religious Christians regard the act of praying itself to be directly helpful—hurricane victims’ material need was perceived as lower, after they had first received prayers.

With prayers, one can maintain a safe distance between one's mouth and their wallet.  Not for this atheist though, who sincerely believes that god is irrelevant when doing the right thing. I have been donating left, right, and center, these past few weeks.  I don't care whether you pray--donate, locally!