A religious exemption template

Let me know how it goes

Boy, the mandates are coming down, aren’t they? We went from “two weeks to slow the spread” to “no money for you” in just 17 months. I’ve been asked by so many what I think a good religious exemption looks like, so I’ve written one, pieced together from several different sources. If you do decide to use this template, report back and let me know how it goes. The first blank is for your name, and blanks two, three and four are the corporation’s name.

My (not legal) advice:

1. Don’t get specific about your religion because it is not only completely unnecessary, but there aren’t any top leaders of organized religions willing to go to bat for you. Even the ol’ trusty Christian Scientists refuse to rock the boat. The nutty Pope (don’t come at me) thinks vaccinating yourself is an act of love for others, while some Catholic Bishops have asked that exemptions be honored— not that they’re willing to sign one. If your employer asks what religion you belong to, or requests that a priest or pastor sign your exemption, inform them you are aware of your rights and that Title VII does not require that your sincerely held religious belief be one of an organized or recognized religion.

2. Don’t list any personal or philosophical objections, such as the government minding its own business or how you don’t vaccinate for jack shit and you’re not about to start now. This will disqualify your exemption. Keep it simple, and keep it religious.

3. Don’t include any medical reasons for not getting the vaccine. Medical exemptions are a different issue, and covered by the Americans for Disabilities Act. If you want a medical exemption, have your doctor write a vague one.

4. Don’t write a novel, especially a novel about COVID and whether you think it’s a hoax or a part of the Great Reset or how the vaccines are failing in Israel. HR doesn’t care, and it only gives them ammo to question you. Keep it short.

5. I would not cite Biblical passages because you are leaving yourself open for an argument about interpretation, and it is again, completely unnecessary.

Some additional HR sources for further reading are here and here. Read here for Pfizer and Moderna using fetal cells for “proof of concept” in early development, to demonstrate how a cell could uptake mRNA and produce SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and this Reuter’s “fact check” of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine that splits hairs between fetal cell DNA and fetal cell lines, as if that makes it all OK. Here is an interesting letter from the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference where they bend themselves into pretzels to A-OK the vaccine, and here is a handy chart that includes other COVID vaccines that may soon get FDA approval, although they count the mRNA vaccines as not “using” fetal cells.

If your exemption is denied, you will be threatened to be fired. This is not the end of the road. For your sake, and for all the rest of us, you must be willing to litigate. You can easily find a plaintiff’s employment law attorney who has faith in your case and will take you on contingency (meaning they will collect 30% of your winnings plus fees as their payment if you win), but the first step is mediating at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission local to your town. EEOC mediation costs you nothing, so don’t let yourself down by skipping it. If the EEOC believes in your case, they will say so, and if it’s a great case, they’ll even take it on.

The exemption:

I, _________________________________, do hereby swear and affirm that my religious beliefs and practices, which result in this request for a religious accommodation within ________________________’s vaccine mandate, are sincerely held. The development, production, and/or testing processes of the currently federally authorized vaccines subject to ________________________’s mandate, as well as the existence of the fetal tissue industry, are contrary to my religious tenets and practices. Each of the currently available vaccines in question are developed or tested with HEK-293 and/or PER.C6 fetal cell lines, which originated from aborted fetuses. Partaking in a vaccine made from or tested in cell lines derived from aborted fetuses makes me complicit in an action that violates my religious faith. As such, I cannot, in good conscience and in accord with my religious faith, take any such vaccine at this time.

On this basis, I am asserting my rights to an exemption from ___________________’s vaccination requirements under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (42 U.S. Code § 2000e), which prohibits discrimination against a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance.