Myths and misunderstandings: how religious Education contributed to vaccine hesitancy among Nigerian Christian students

The aim of this study was to explore: 1) how religious education (RE) contributed to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Christian students in Nigeria; and 2) how RE could be used to counter vaccine hesitancy among students in Nigeria. Although progress has been made in examining different aspects of the coronavirus vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria, literature has yet to focus on how RE contributed to vaccine hesitancy among students in Nigeria. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 students in primary and secondary schools and analysed thematically. Emerged themes included: (1) the apocalypse; (2) dehumanisation by vaccine; (3) 666 (‘the mark of the beast’); (4) shortening of the lifespan; and (5) Separating personal beliefs from class studies. Findings reveal that vaccine hesitancy becomes a product of the type of RE young people receive in school, especially in primary and secondary schools. As a country with one of the lowest rates of vaccinated individuals, the findings point to the need to adjust the perspective that RE has on vaccines.