Many Americans are claiming religious exemption from President Joe Biden’s recent announcement regarding new COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The new expectation requires large companies to ensure that their workers are vaccinated. In response to the administration’s new requirements, roughly 2,600 Los Angeles Police Department employees are exercising their rights by claiming that they cannot get vaccinated for religious purposes. This line of reasoning seems to be sweeping the nation, as companies in Washington State and Arkansas have reported backlash for religious purposes from their workers as well.
Biden’s newest mandate will require over 1oo million American workers to get vaccinated. The administration shared that they know there will be people who object to the new mandate, but they believe that enough people will adhere to the mandate to “save lives.” Companies that fail to comply could be facing $14,000 in fines per violation. Biden asserts that at the very least “we’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated workers.”
This opens a door of many questions; predominantly, isn’t the vaccine the very thing that protects vaccinated workers from unvaccinated workers? In other words, why should it matter if a vaccinated person works next to an unvaccinated person unless the vaccine doesn’t do the thing it’s famously supposed to do, which is to protect the vaccinated person from infection? Secondly, how do you prove or disprove that someone is truly exempt from the newest mandate for “sincerely held” religious beliefs?
The Atlanta archbishop says no to religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine
Thanks to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers must accommodate their employees for sincerely held religious beliefs. However, the Labor Department states that accommodations and exemptions can be denied if they inflict unnecessary strain on the employer. Moreover, religious belief can’t be founded on sociopolitical ideas; thus, employers will have a level of responsibility in determining the difference between a sincerely held belief or practice and a political ploy to avoid the latest vaccination requirements.
At the end of the day, should people be forced to lose their jobs for exercising their freedoms? Information and arguments pile up on both poles; Roman Catholic leaders have claimed that the Johnson& Johnson vaccine is “morally compromised,” while J&J has stressed that that is a baseless claim. With so much back-and-forth, it’s no wonder people are having a difficult time filtering out the truth and deciding what’s best for them.
Some states require an affidavit from a religious leader to attain an exemption, while others don’t require any such thing. Still, religious pleas are sweeping the nation as employees attempt to speak up for themselves and for freedom. Unfortunately, the response to the mandate may put many Americans out of work. Hopefully, we truly live in the land of the free, as the attempt at religious exemption screams “home of the brave.”
