![]() In the early 19th century, states began to institute the first vaccine mandates to stop the spread of smallpox, eventually culminating in the first compulsory vaccination law. What’s the history behind the religious exemption? The Pope also made a video telling Catholics that getting the vaccine would be “an act of love.” And the Archdiocese of Chicago instructed priests not to grant religious exemptions to their parishioners because they “go against church teachings.”Īnd while some Catholic and Evangelical leaders raised objections to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine because of how it was developed, they did not oppose vaccination overall on religious grounds.Įven religious groups who in the past have sometimes been associated with immunization resistance, like Christian Scientists, have either supported individuals getting vaccinated or at the very least advocated compliance with laws and recommendations from public health officials, said University of Virginia law professor Douglas Laycock, an expert on religious liberty. Some orthodox Jewish rabbis made a PSA encouraging Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. “If you consult religious scholars from across faiths, you will find that clergy and scholars alike are saying pretty consistently there is nothing substantively in their religion that would prevent their adherents from getting a vaccine,” said Eboo Patel, founder of Interfaith Youth Core, which has been researching vaccine hesitancy in religious communities. What do religious and faith leaders say about vaccines and religious exemptions? Other organizations and businesses may be more or less stringent in their requirements. “This may include uploading a letter from an authorized representative of the church, temple, or religious institution, as well as literature from the church, temple, or religious institution explaining doctrine/beliefs that prohibit COVID-19 immunization, ” the CPS Office of Communications said in a written statement to Curious City.īut this is by no means standardized in Illinois. ![]() In Chicago, for example, Chicago Public Schools teachers are required to provide additional documentation when they submit a request for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Additionally, the requirements and review process for receiving exemptions varies from state to state and between employers. Of course, knowing whether someone is being sincere in their religious belief is practically impossible. ![]() These exemptions are supposed to be based on an individual’s “sincerely held beliefs” that for a religious reason, they cannot get vaccinated. The rules around these exemptions differ from state to state and between public and private institutions. Religious exemptions for school vaccination requirements or workplace mandates are not guaranteed by a single federal law. And some public health advocates say it’s simply become a loophole and a relatively easy way for people to opt out of vaccine mandates. ![]() More recently some states, including Illinois, have proposed or passed legislation to limit the use of religious exemptions. Since then, the use of these exemptions has proliferated across the U.S., including here in Illinois. While resistance to vaccine mandates goes back 200 years, religious objections were not recognized by the law until the 1960s. She also wanted to know more about the history behind the religious exemptions - what sorts of legal challenges these exemptions have faced and whether or not there’s been any push to eliminate them. One Curious Citizen who has been following the rollout of these pandemic related mandates wrote to express her confusion about these religious exemptions, given that many religious and faith leaders, from the Pope to Imams, have advocated for Americans to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
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