> [...] it's already clear to me that in the US wearing face masks is more like a religion or a political statement [...] What about wearing masks in countries

> [...] it's already clear to me that in the US wearing face masks is more like a religion or a political statement [...] What about wearing masks in countries where there are mask mandates with different levels of strictness and requirements? At which point does the personal decision to wear a mask, when not strictly mandatory, become a "religion or a political statement"? Are mask mandates elsewhere religious or ideological decisions, rather than debatably effective public health decisions? Leaving aside the question of whether masks are or are not effective (and if so, to what extent, under what conditions, etc.), I think that it's disingenuous to dismiss the decision of people who wear them as an irrational or ideologically motivated choice. Many of them honestly believe (rightly or wrongly) that scientific evidence supports that using a mask is an effective way of either preventing their own infection or community spread. It is in the nature of human society that we don't meticulously research every rational decision we make, but rather rely on general approximations and societal consensus. I think that talking about wearing face masks as a religious or political statement is in itself a political statement.