Religion and Public Health
Religious beliefs and public health today often find themselves at odds. Because of a tendency to associate religious people with everything from abstinence-only education to opposing vaccinations, it is easy to see faith as an obstacle to public health. However, the translation we read of the First Gate paints a very different picture. I enjoyed this reading because I immediately saw a clear connection with my major.
Most people today credit John Snow as the founder of the modern field of public health. He mapped out the spread of cholera and found that it was concentrated in specific groups of people that got their water from the same wells. Today we know that bacteria live in that water, and when people drank it they became infected. This was a landmark discovery and he was a very smart man, but I am not sure he actually founded modern public health. One of the key tenants to the field is disease prevention and overall population health. These were achieved all the way back in the middle ages by Jewish people living in Europe. We are often uncomfortable attributing scientific advances to anyone who is not a white Christian man, but I think it is important to acknowledge the practices that advanced public health throughout history.
The spread of the Bubonic Plague has been of interest both to historians and epidemiologists for centuries. Why is it that all of Europe, an extremely rural region of the world at the time, fell victim to it except Poland? What made Poland special?
Most people today credit John Snow as the founder of the modern field of public health. He mapped out the spread of cholera and found that it was concentrated in specific groups of people that got their water from the same wells. Today we know that bacteria live in that water, and when people drank it they became infected. This was a landmark discovery and he was a very smart man, but I am not sure he actually founded modern public health. One of the key tenants to the field is disease prevention and overall population health. These were achieved all the way back in the middle ages by Jewish people living in Europe. We are often uncomfortable attributing scientific advances to anyone who is not a white Christian man, but I think it is important to acknowledge the practices that advanced public health throughout history.
The spread of the Bubonic Plague has been of interest both to historians and epidemiologists for centuries. Why is it that all of Europe, an extremely rural region of the world at the time, fell victim to it except Poland? What made Poland special?
Handwashing seems so obvious a way to stay healthy today that it’s hard to imagine a time when most people never did it. In Europe especially it was not common practice in the middle ages. The exception to this rule was Jewish people, who as we learned in the reading washed their hands both before and after meals. This was a spiritually cleansing practice that also could cleanse the hands of bacteria before touching food or after coming into contact with sick people.
So what does this have to do with Poland’s avoidance of the Plague? During the middle ages most European countries were extremely intolerant towards Jewish people. The exception to this rule was Poland. Much to the dismay of the Christian Church, Poland made the decision in the 1200s to stop prosecuting those practicing the Jewish faith. The result was an unusually high population of people regularly washing their hands.
There are many theories about why Poland maintained relatively low mortality from the Bubonic Plague. However, I believe that much of the credit goes to the Jewish population that lived there. The connection between faith, hand washing, food, and health may be much more important than we have given it credit for.
So what does this have to do with Poland’s avoidance of the Plague? During the middle ages most European countries were extremely intolerant towards Jewish people. The exception to this rule was Poland. Much to the dismay of the Christian Church, Poland made the decision in the 1200s to stop prosecuting those practicing the Jewish faith. The result was an unusually high population of people regularly washing their hands.
There are many theories about why Poland maintained relatively low mortality from the Bubonic Plague. However, I believe that much of the credit goes to the Jewish population that lived there. The connection between faith, hand washing, food, and health may be much more important than we have given it credit for.
(image from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blackdeath2.gif)
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