The Anglican Communion Science Commission (ACSC) is progressing its mandate to promote dialogue on science and faith. Launched at the Lambeth Conference in 2022, the commission has engaged a number of ‘lead science bishops’ who represent different provinces of the Anglican Communion. They meet regularly to discuss how the church can engage with science, share ideas and learn together.
On the 18th and 19th of June, many of the lead science bishops met online to hear from Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, who was one of the people instrumental in the creation of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
It was a stimulating discussion and highly relevant to many churches. During the COVID-19 pandemic, churches were instrumental in sharing health information with their communities to aid the adoption of the COVID vaccine.
This is one example of the ways in which the Church has a vital role to play in collaborating with the science community in response to human need, but also how the Church can bring the ethical voice of faith to scientific debate.
At the meeting with Sir Andrew, the lead science bishops and members of the Core Group discussed the steps, processes, ethical considerations and merits in developing a viral vaccine and shared their thoughts and questions. The question of ethics in profit and equitable distribution was also discussed. Is it right to gain profit from the medicine? If so, how would poorer nations afford it? Sir Andrew stated, “When partnering with AstraZeneca, we partnered with them for the COVID-19 vaccine because they were remarkably prepared to do so with no profit to be made through it. On this, we were clear.
“Distribution had to be fair regardless of income or economic status. Even so, there were challenges with equitable distribution, such as when India was hit with the Delta wave.” He recounted that since a lot of the vaccine production was in India that when the borders were closed, the supply was retained in India and the global distribution process was compromised. Since a lot of those doses were supposed to be for African nations, it may have looked as if high economic value countries were being prioritised, which wasn’t the case.
Considering how the church and faith leaders can be of assistance to scientists, Sir Andrew observed, “Faith leaders have an opportunity for communication, that is independent of political parties or pharmaceutical companies, to communicate the science and importance of vaccinations. Where the church is important is in public engagement; it’s a critical part in the process. The communication will be different in different cultural settings. The church will know how to engage the public in their individual setting.”
Dr Heather Payne, who is a consultant paediatrician and Senior Medical Officer for the Welsh Government and a commissioner for the ACSC, stated, “The science commission is not trying to turn bishops into scientists. The science is already there; we are trying to achieve a beneficial transdisciplinary discussion so that faith and science can work together to support scientists.”
Regarding the value of this meeting of the Anglican Communion Science Commission, Dr Heather went on to say, “The discussion is important and for bishops to weigh in with their input into ethics, they need to first understand the process [of vaccine development].”
The next meeting of the Science Commission will be held in September with the Rt Revd Dr Joseph Galgalo, Provincial Secretary of the Anglican Church of Kenya, on the topic of ‘Partnering with science for God’s mission’.
Read the Lambeth Call on Science and Faith.
Find out more about the Anglican Communion Science Commission here.
Find out more about Professor Sir Andrew Pollard here.