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Religious Exemptions?

Religious Exemptions?

Last updated on: August 12, 2021 at 8:37 am by Matthew Distefano

Religious Exemptions? 2021-08-12T08:37:07-06:00 Matthew Distefano

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Beginning in September, the state of California will be requiring all medical professionals to get the COVID vaccine if they want to continue working in the field. This is big news, and say what you want about government mandates, I’m kind of happy about it because my wife is an RN, which means she’ll be safer at work.

Some people, however, aren’t so happy about it. In fact, the other day, my wife overheard someone from our former church asking about religious exemptions. Now, hear me when I say this: I attended this church for over 10 years, so I know there is nothing in their theology that says they can’t get vaccinated. This person just didn’t want to get the jab, and was conflating their conservative politics with “religion.”

This says everything you need to know about the state of evangelicalism in America.

What is sad about this is that these people – the same people who helped raise me and were raised alongside me in the church – preached love and compassion and care for the vulnerable, but now only seem to care for themselves. They don’t want to get vaccinated. They don’t want to wear a mask. They don’t want to social distance. They aren’t willing to budge on any of it because it is inconvenient.

And look, like I said in yesterday’s article, I understand having reservations about putting things in your body. I get skepticism. I get hesitancy. But again, just be honest about it. Instead of hiding behind “religious exemptions,” just come out and say, “I don’t trust the scientists who made this stuff.” Now, given that this person is a medical professional themselves, that raises a bigger issue, but at least they would be honest about the situation. Asking for a “religious exemption” from a faith tradition I know has no such thing is to make a mockery of the faith.

Perhaps this is one reason why my boy Keith Giles wrote his book Jesus Untangled. Our faith has become so tangled in politics that the two have become opposite sides of the same coin. And now, people are just making theological shit up to justify their political stance. Just ask yourself what makes a conservative Evangelical these days. You can find anomalies, of course, but I bet at least 75% would include Trump support, anti-vaccination, anti-mask, and a hardline stance against any abortions regardless of medical circumstances. But again, given that I grew up in the same type of church these folks come from, I know that none of this has to do with the faith itself. It’s all politics.

So, I would be really curious to be a fly on the wall of the meeting where this person asks for a religious exemption. I’d love to hear the biblical justification for not getting vaccinated. Actually, given my personality type, I don’t know if I would. I’m sure it would drive me up a wall, just like it did when my wife came home and told me about this story.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I just needed to vent a little.

Until next time.

If you wanna get to know me better, please follow me on social media. I’m pretty active on all platforms:

Also, if you’ve been digging my work on here, and want to see me be able to continue writing as close to full-time as humanly possible, please take a look at my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/mjdistefano. Even $1 a month helps bigly!!!

About Matthew Distefano

Matthew is a best-selling author, blogger, podcaster, long-time social worker, and hip-hop artist. He is an outspoken advocate for nonviolence, happily married, with one daughter. Outside of writing, his interests include gardening, hiking, and European football. He lives in Northern California You can read more about the author here.

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