It isn’t unreasonable in this country to believe that firmly held religious tenets will get one out of the consequences of damned near anything. Some exemptions are likely good, peyote used in Native American rituals, even the birth control stance of Little Sisters of the Poor is likely the right decision (in law) if one wants to support the first, one almost has to support the latter.

There are tougher ones, where a parent denies a minor a needed blood transfusion to save their lives, where we expect the government to take control of the decision away from the parent, the right end to a dangerous path. But there is nothing remotely religious about the COVID vaccination, it is entirely political. And yet, one California church now wants to extend that religious-based exemption to other businesses, so that their congregants don’t face any consequences for their decision from their own employers, no matter who they are. From C&L:

Pastor Greg Fairrington seemed pretty pleased with himself and the turnout at Destiny Christian Church in Rockland, California. Unfortunately for Fairrington and the misguided souls who expect his letters to mean they won’t lose their jobs that is not how things work in the real world. Much more below:

Here we go. Pastors are now starting to pitch written “Religious Exemptions” to circumvent vaccine requirements, and threatening to sue employers who refuse to recognize them. This report is from Sacramento. pic.twitter.com/MD4wj0jaAI

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 17, 2021

Right, this policy may face damnation before it even gets off the floor:

During Sunday service, Pastor Greg Fairrington of Destiny Christian Church explained his reasons for offering the exemption letters.

“You have the freedom to choose, and nobody should be able to mandate that you have to take a vaccine or you lose your job. That’s just not right, here in America,” Fairrington said.

State workers, teachers and health care workers in California are facing requirements to show proof that they have been vaccinated or to take regular tests for COVID-19 if they cite religious or medical exemptions.

It is highly unlikely to work and not just because a church would likely need to show some deeply rooted tradition against vaccinations and not a decision tailor-made to fit this political climate:

As noted by Leslie Gielow Jacobs, a professor at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, the law does not require employers to keep employees on the job if they can’t perform the tasks expected. So if your job requires interaction with the public and you are unvaccinated it really doesn’t matter if you have a piece of paper or not.

A private company cannot hire-fire you based on religious beliefs alone. But if those beliefs impact the way one does their job, then it is illegal. If a UPS driver said that her religion didn’t allow her to interact with men without her brother or father beside her, that person cannot perform the job. This is not much different.

And it’s all political bullshit anyway.

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of LeftScoop.news. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.