New Books Network Kira Ganga Kieffer, "Unvaccinated Under God: Religion and Vaccine Hesitancy in Modern America" (Princeton UP, 2026)
May 13, 2026
Kira Ganga Kieffer, a scholar of contemporary American spiritualities and health, explores the religious roots of vaccine resistance. She traces historical flashpoints, legal exemptions, and how wellness culture, mothering movements, and politics shape refusal. The conversation highlights shifting coalitions, COVID-era dynamics, and how spiritual marketing and identity inform modern hesitancy.
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Cape Cod Protest Predicted Vaccine Backlash
- Kira Kieffer observed early COVID-era anti-masking protests in Bourne, Massachusetts that were overtly pro-Trump and vehemently anti-lockdown.
- Seeing protestors reject masking made her predict strong resistance to vaccines before mass rollout, which prompted her to write articles and a book proposal.
Vaccine Hesitancy Is As Old As Vaccines
- Vaccine hesitancy has existed since inoculation and early vaccines, expressed as fears of satanic transformation, animalization, or loss of parental control.
- Modern hesitancy shifts in the 1980s toward concerns about specific vaccine safety rather than wholesale opposition.
Religious Institutions Usually Support Vaccination
- Traditional institutional religions rarely oppose vaccines; most teach vaccination as a public good.
- Legal religious exemptions arose historically as a coding mechanism, not because denominations formally banned vaccination.
