Currently, more than 30% of Americans remain completely unvaccinated, and COVID-19 cases are surging again in many states, increasing the risks of indoor gatherings even for those vaccinated. The looming threat of the new omicron variant makes it all the more important that we stamp out opposition to vaccination now.

In late May, we surveyed a representative sample of 2,500 American adults about religion, vaccination and mask-wearing opinions and behaviors. We found that two-thirds of those who are part of a congregation received messaging of some kind encouraging vaccination from their leaders or fellow members.

At this moment of political polarization, conservative congregations are generally seen as a lost cause in the fight to increase vaccination rates. By contrast, progressive faith communities are believed to be consistently strong advocates of inoculation.

But our study demonstrates that neither of those perspectives is entirely true. No matter where they fall on the political spectrum, only a minority of American adults who are part of congregations are exposed to uniform messages from leaders and fellow members encouraging or discouraging vaccination.

Instead, our data suggests that it is the consistency of messaging, not the particular type of congregation to which one belongs, that is critical for understanding individuals’ decisions about vaccination. Nearly 90% of congregants who heard all encouraging messages are vaccinated or committed to doing so, while roughly half of the congregants hearing all discouraging messages refuse to get vaccinated.

While these patterns might reflect a range of processes, including self-sorting into religious groups sharing similar beliefs, they point to the potential power of faith communities’ messaging in the battle against vaccine hesitancy.

The benefits of such gains are not limited to people who are part of congregations. As more and more people are vaccinated in faith communities, the risk for everyone goes down. But uniform messaging encouraging vaccination is not the current reality in American society or American faith communities. Our research shows that most congregations — whether they be progressive or conservative — are still struggling with the vaccine question.

The time for faith communities to reach a clear and uncontested commitment to vaccination is now, as winter is coming.

Kraig Beyerlein is an associate sociology professor and director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame. Jason Klocek, an assistant professor at the University of Nottingham, was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion and Society. Grace Scartz, a Notre Dame undergraduate student, does research for the center.