The Ebola Epidemic

The news headlines bombard us with death and destruction every day. Most of these issues are fundamentally or culturally linked to religion. Exemplary cases of this in recent news are easy to come by, but I choose to touch on a seemingly subtler one.

With the latest death toll at 1,848 and counting, the Ebola epidemic has become of global importance. Other countries are refusing to send doctors and aid workers in fear of bringing disease back home. However, it may not be doctors that are the most helpful when the problem has evolved into the crippling force it is today.

While listening to a story on NPR recently, I learned that one of the most prominent sources of infection is funeral attendance. For many African religions, it is tradition to mourn for days with the dead, touching and laying on the bodies to say their goodbyes and properly send them from this life to the next. The most infectious time period for Ebola is right after death. Consequently, the very place the whole community goes to mourn the loss of a loved one is where they catch the disease that has taken the life of their mother, son, or friend. Although efforts have been made to warn communities of this risk, most are resisting changing their traditions. Are they ignorant of the imminent danger they put themselves in or are they so devoted to their religious traditions that they are willing to give up their lives to do what they believe? If the latter is true, then something has got to give or it will not be difficult for the death toll to reach the predicted 20,000.  What will it take for such an engrained religious practice to become extinct or at the very least, set aside? A religious movement? Government intervention? 

Is it right to take away a man’s religious freedom to save his own life? Some say there is no life without freedom. Where do you draw the line?

-Betta Hobbins