Legislation pits religious freedoms against employer rights

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11 thoughts on “Legislation pits religious freedoms against employer rights

  1. Maybe this bill has come about because those who claim to have sincerely held religious beliefs don’t actually have religious beliefs.

    “Micah Beckwith is a pastor in Noblesville and outspoken in conservative political circles. Earlier this year, he started getting messages from people looking for a way out of the COVID-19 vaccine when their work started voluntarily requiring it.

    “I’ll spend an hour on the phone, every other day it seems like, with people who are just bawling, they’re crying, they’re just saying, ‘I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to turn,'” he said. “‘And then I heard about you.'”

    Beckwith said many of them can’t necessarily articulate their resistance to vaccination in terms of faith. But they do deeply believe the vaccine isn’t right for them.

    “These people aren’t crazy,” he said. “These people are great people, they just tend to say, Hey, I just have a little bit of hesitancy here and I don’t think it’s right that I’m being forced to take this.”

    So Beckwith helps them frame those beliefs as faith. He estimates he’s helped thousands of people craft letters requesting religious vaccine exemptions, supported by scripture from the Bible.“

    https://indianapublicmedia.org/news/what-laws-say-about-religious-exemptions-and-how-indiana-lawmakers-could-change-them.php

    1. So you’re attacking the length of the quote rather than the content. I welcome your advice on where I should cut next time.

      I personally think this shows another flaw in what the House wants to do. IMO, here’s a pastor saying out loud that he’s running a vaccine exemption mill – call him up, tell him the shot’s not for you, he’ll slap some verse around it and you’re good to go because you’re “great people” and you “aren’t crazy”.

      If I were running a business, and I started getting form letters from the same pastor, I’d sure want to be able to make a call and you know, see how sincerely held those religious beliefs might be. Does the individual in question even attend the church in question, or any church at all? Do they take medicines that also might have some of the same ethical issues as the COVID vaccine? Have they refused vaccines or flu shots in the past?

      All of that will be illegal in the state of Indiana. Whatever the individual says goes. No one is allowed to question each other’s beliefs. If we’re no longer going to have have organized religion, that we can take and pick and choose from whatever we want, I guess this means that we’re a godless country and we’re just worshipping ourselves.

      Here’s another article. I won’t quote from it in case I offend you based on how long my quote might be, but it’s also useful context.

      Few religions ban vaccination, but that counts little for religious exemptionshttps://api.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/oct/06/anthony-fauci/few-religions-ban-vaccination-counts-little-religi/

    1. Is it possible? Could it be probable that one can experience ultimate inner peace(“shalom”) and freedom from personal prejudices and bias decisions by adopting or adapting to this beautiful and loving way of life?
      Can you imagine living in this kind of world?…
      Matthew 7:1-5
      The Message
      A Simple Guide for Behavior
      7: 1-5 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.“

    2. Matthew (and the rest of the Bible) was also written during a time in which people with the contagious plague of leprosy were banished to a life of isolation so as to not infect the rest of society.

      I missed the verses where Jesus commanded all to let the lepers infect everyone. Can you quote me those?

  2. Joe B., please drop the mic and walk off stage. Bravo.

    I am deeply religious, I generally vote Republican (except when someone named “Trump” is running) and I think Rep. Lehman isn’t looking more than 3 feet ahead of himself on this issue. Yes, getting vaccinated is a personal choice, but no, you don’t have the right to infect other people (no matter their faith) in the workplace because of your personal beliefs. Either arrange to work from home or find a new job that allows you to work from home. Final thought, actually a question: While I know bad reactions are happening, just how many people are hospitalized right now due to a bad reaction to the COVID vaccine vs. the sick due to not vaccinated?

  3. So I don’t have to prove or show that I don’t have Ebola, meningitis, measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tuberculosis, hepatitis, shingles, MRSA, Chicken Pox, cold/flu, etc. to go to work, out to eat, a concert or travel nationally but all the sudden with Covid-19 which for the most part is only very dangerous for specific groups I can have my right to privacy and choice taken. Interesting don’t you think! p.s. Natural Immunity here!

    1. “A study over the weekend showed that neutralizing antibodies among people previously infected with Alpha (panel E), Beta (panel F), and Delta (panel G) completely failed to attach to Omicron. Those that were infected + vaccinated (or vaccinated + infected) had a strong response to Omicron (panel H).

      But just like vaccines, neutralizing antibodies isn’t the full story. So it’s important to look at “real world” data. A week ago, a South African study found reinfection rates were 3 times higher with Omicron compared to Delta. This past Friday the UK confirmed with their own analysis: Of 329 individuals identified with an Omicron infection in this period, 17 (4.9%) were linked to a previous confirmed infection. This equates to an Omicron reinfection rate of 3-8x higher than Delta.”

      https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/omicron-update-dec-13

    2. Don’t try David B.

      There is only the Joe B. approach to healthcare. The media and career politicians support Joe B and his talking points as well.

      Phi Variant up next.

      Politicians and major IDNs don’t want this to end.

  4. The religious exemption thing seems just like another smoke screen for a party whose whole platform at the national level is to just obstruct what ever the current administration is doing.

    This is a coldly calculated political strategy by an unscrupulous party to sabotage the US with no thought for the number of people killed or the economic damage. All of this is to just win re-election because at the national level, when things go wrong, no matter who is to blame, people will blame the current administration. Out and out SABOTAGE!

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