Getting an employer to approve a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine has been challenging for many Americans. According to the Washington Post, thousands of federal workers have applied for religious exemptions. The battle over religious exemptions has put faith leaders between the government and private employers.
Anti-vaxers denied religious exemptions
Reporter Teryn Gregson posted a message on Instagram after being fired by the PGA Tour.
In October, Washington State University fired football coach Nick Rolovich after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Rolovich was denied his attempt to obtain a religious exemption,” a CBS Sports anchor said.
Tori Jensen, a former nurse, was escorted by security at Kaiser Permanente after the hospital denied her religious exemption request.
“God speaks to me clearly, and he gave me a lot of peace with my decision,” Jensen told Fox 5 in San Diego.
Republican governor sides with anti-vaxers, clergy
To counter private companies from doing this to employees in Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly (R-KS) signed a bill to grant religious exemptions with no questions asked.
Despite the politics, Pastor Kelly Nelson at My City Church stands firm on her beliefs.
“In these vaccines, in their research or in their development. At some point, in their journey, they used aborted fetal stem cells. And so that has been the main sought religious exemption,” Pastor Nelson said.
Do the COVID-19 vaccines contain aborted fetal cells?
“Decades ago, scientists decided to use fetal tissue to start the cell lines we use to test drugs today,” Dr. James Lawler, an Infectious Disease Expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, wrote in a blog post.
“Current fetal cell lines are thousands of generations removed from the original fetal tissue. They do not contain any tissue from a fetus,” said Dr. Lawler, a practicing Catholic whose thinking aligns with the Vatican and bishops.
Organized religions that do not oppose vaccines
For example, Pope Francis told parishioners in a public service announcement that getting the vaccine is “an act of love.”
According to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, most Christian denominations do not oppose vaccines. The same is true for those of Jewish faith.
“And even in the most orthodox side of Judaism, the most traditional aside, there’s been no issue whatsoever with taking vaccines,” said Dr. Abe Unger, Rabbi at New Synagogue in Palm Beach, Florida.
Democratic governor doubles down on COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) said, “there are not legitimate religious exemptions because the leaders of all the major religions have said there is no legitimate reason.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says “there are not legitimate religious exemptions” to vaccine mandates. pic.twitter.com/De6ZZlGqCq
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 27, 2021
What does the federal law say?
According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it’s unlawful to discriminate against someone based on religion. Still, the law also gives employers the right to deny exemptions as well.
Employment Law Attorney Emily Smith-Lee at SLN Law in Massachusetts used two examples to explain how the law works.
“If you are a frontline health care provider, and you’re requiring all of your employees to be vaccinated, you may be able to argue that it places an undue burden on your business to exempt somebody from that requirements because you’re patient-facing frontline health care and need your employees to be vaccinated,” Smith-Lee said. “If you run a, you know, largely remote software coding operation, and somebody has a religious objection, it may not be an undue burden to allow them not to be vaccinated and continue to work remotely.”
Is there a legitimate argument for religious exemptions?
The short answer is yes. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, religious objections to vaccines don’t have to stem from an organized religion. It applies even if an employer believes the person’s religious beliefs are “new, uncommon” or “seem illogical or unreasonable to others.”