ABSTRACT
One of the most recurrent concepts during the COVID-19 phenomenon globally was ‘social distancing’. Essentially, it referred to maintaining physical distance between and amongst individuals in the hope that they would not pass on the virus. This chapter seeks to interrogate the dominant paradigm characterising the interface between public health and religion. It is often assumed that public health and religion are two autonomous and mutually distinctive fields. This chapter questions the assumed ‘social distance’ between the two fields using examples from the response to COVID-19 vaccines in the Zimbabwean context. It uses constructs from the Health Belief Model to assess the interaction between the two fields in influencing health behaviours. The chapter also highlights a pertinent need to encourage greater interaction and mutual respect between public health practitioners and religious leaders. The flexibility demonstrated by most religious leaders suggests that there is a sense in which they are public health practitioners. On the other hand, the sensitivity shown by most public health practitioners implies that they have utmost respect for religion. The chapter further argues that the dynamics around the COVID-19 vaccines represent a new phase in the discourse between public health and religion in Zimbabwe (with implications for other contexts as well).
