There's no way to judge that as religious or not, or as sincere or not,' says Kira Ganga Kieffer, a doctoral candidate in religious studies at Boston University, where she's writing a book on vaccine skepticism in America.īut there is a legal basis for employers to assess sincerely held religious belief. 'Sincerity is like, what's true in your heart. The idea of evaluating sincerity is particularly thorny. Patrick's Catholic Church in Los Angeles in April. 'Employers are being flooded with these requests, and are having to evaluate them in large numbers,' says Alana Genderson, an attorney specializing in labor and employment law at the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.īecause employers are wary of wading into assessing questions of religion and personal belief, Genderson says 'employers feel more comfortable judging undue hardship, and whether there is an accommodation where the person would not be a direct threat to others.'Ī person receives the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at St. The Pope has declared getting vaccinated 'an act of love.' Evaluating requests for religious exemptions is thorny Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and the Catholic Church have all issued statements saying that their religion does not prohibit members from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. No major religion has come out in opposition to the COVID-19 vaccines. The health care system says more than 95% of its employees are now vaccinated, with 5% exempt for religious or medical reasons. Last month, Valley Health terminated the employment of 72 employees, out of a workforce of more 6,000, due to noncompliance with its vaccine mandate. Hart and Watson say others they know had their exemption requests rejected.

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