Vaccination: Truth and Myth; Choice and Responsibility for Christians
Featuring Dr. Susan R. Holman and Dr. Rachel Orscheln
Presentation Summaries
Dr. Susan R. Holman and Dr. Rachel Orscheln will present separately on the following topics.
Public Health and Disease Prevention: Lessons from Church History
Presented by Dr. Susan R. Holman
As early as the Gospels, Christian writers emphasized the theological and humanitarian importance of care for the sick, mandating social action for community health and disease prevention long before the discovery of effective, life-saving vaccination for smallpox in the 1790s. Early ideas on disease risks differed, of course, from how we view scientific medicine today, but premodern preachers and healers did believe that science, based on the natural world as they understood it, mattered in healing of both soul and body in the here and now; they advised Christians to value ordinary physicians; and they practiced community interventions meant to prevent contagion and promote public health. In this talk Dr. Holman, an award-winning scholar on healthcare in the ancient world, will draw on stories about the church’s role in these areas of premodern public health: from the rise of early hospitals and epidemic responses in late antiquity, to Luther’s advice on plague, to itinerant preacher-vaccinators. Connecting religious history with present modes of care, she invites community reflection and discussion, asking: What might we learn from the distant past to help in our modern concerns about issues such as pediatric health, vaccinations, and related disease risks for vulnerable populations today?
Immunizations: Separating Fact from Fiction
Presented by Dr. Rachel C. Orscheln
Routine childhood immunization is one of the most successful public health strategies to protect children and the public at large from illness, disability, and death from vaccine-preventable diseases. The unintended consequence of this success has been a loss of the collective memory of the impact of these diseases. At the same time, the rise of social media has allowed for the amplification of concerns about vaccination. Parents who have the duty to protect their children may struggle to find the most accurate information about the benefits and risks of vaccination. The goal of our talk is to review vaccinations, the diseases they prevent, vaccine safety, and common concerns about vaccination.
There is no cost to attend, but please let us know that you’re planning on coming.
About the Presenters
Dr. Susan Holman
Dr. Susan R. Holman is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University, where she served until 2024 as the John R. Eckrich endowed Chair and Professor of Religion and the Healing Arts. A native of New England, she graduated from Concordia Bronxville and Valparaiso (BA, BS), Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (MS), and Harvard Divinity School (MTS). Dr. Holman received her PhD in religious studies from Brown University, with her dissertation on fourth-century Christian sermons on poverty, hunger, and disease. She worked for more than twenty years in healthcare settings, as a dietitian, medical and global health writer, and editor. In addition to numerous published articles and chapters, she is author of Essentials of Nutrition for the Health Professions; The Hungry are Dying: Beggars and Bishops in Roman Cappadocia; God Knows There’s Need: Christian Responses to Poverty; and Beholden: Religion, Global Heath, and Human Rights, winner of the 2016 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Learn more about Dr. Holman.
Dr. Rachel Orscheln
Dr. Rachel C. Orscheln attended undergraduate and medical school at the University of Missouri- Columbia. She completed her pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital and a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at Washington University. She is currently a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases where she is the Clinical Director of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Division. She serves as the Vice Chair of Community Health and Strategic Planning for the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University. Her special clinical interest is in the care of the immunocompromised child.