On November 25, the Court (with its newest member, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett) decided Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. The tables were turned just six months later. “Although California’s guidelines place restrictions on places of worship,” opined Chief Justice John Roberts, “those restrictions appear consistent with the Free Exercise Clause.” Under the Court’s guidance, the notion that religious freedoms might outweigh temporary emergency public health measures seemed largely settled. The Court rejected a church’s First Amendment claim against California’s COVID-19 assembly limitations impacting multiple enterprises. Supreme Court on in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Such was the finding initially by the U.S. Supreme Court Divisiveness on Free Exercise Rights As a result, content-neutral emergency laws are constitutional so long as they promote communal health and do not unjustifiably target specific religious groups or locales. However, religious free exercise does not include rights to engage in harmful behaviors, such as child abuse or spreading infectious diseases. It is a demanding proof that many routine laws cannot survive. Under RFRA, general laws burdening broadly defined religious exercises must be (1) supported by government’s compelling interests and (2) furthered through least restrictive means. Exclusions from existing, non-COVID vaccination requirements already apply to (1) child day-care enrollment (2) school attendance (3) matriculation at institutes of higher education (4) specific occupations and (5) interstate travel.Įxisting exceptions are legally premised on a respect for sincerely held religious beliefs via judicial interpretations of the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and corresponding legislative enactments (federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act and state equivalents). Fueled by reckless misinformation, extensive government distrust, and divergent political ideologies, vaccine hesitancy runs rampant.Ī national vaccine push coupled with rising mandates may lead many Americans to claim potential violations of religious freedoms absent accommodations. Other mandates may surface as immunization increasingly becomes one’s active pass to work, travel, or attend public activities. Some private health care employers are already requiring vaccines among employees and volunteers. National guidelines do not mandate COVID-19 vaccinations among specific groups, but state/local-based requirements are possible. For decades, people have resisted being told, cajoled, or required to be vaccinated. Millions of other Americans may resist vaccinations for additional reasons.įueled by reckless misinformation, extensive government distrust, and divergent political ideologies, vaccine hesitancy runs rampant. Some populations (children and immuno-compromised persons, for example) are ineligible or unfit candidates. Vaccines for All-But Are All Willing to be Vaccinated?Īssuring rapid, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines presupposes that every American can and wants to be vaccinated. Immunizations will be administered through multiple distribution points undergirded by safety monitoring and substantial public education. “The United States will spare no effort to ensure Americans can get vaccinated quickly, effectively, and equitably.” He conservatively promised 100 million free vaccinations for Americans in his first 100 days in office, and pledged to purchase 200 million more doses by summer. President Biden seeks to address these failures. Yet the December 2020 rollout of two initial, FDA-authorized vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna has been tepid and chaotic. Operation Warp Speed, launched by President Trump, helped produce efficacious vaccines to combat most variants of COVID-19. Notable among these goals is a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign. Mobilizing federal agencies, resources, and personnel in a “ war-like” effort, the strategy centers on seven premier goals to quell the pandemic through best practices led by science and data, not politics. Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue Topic Transatlantic Policy Network on Religion and Diplomacy.Towards a Global Culture of Safeguarding. Religion and the Crisis of Displaced Persons.Politicization of Religion in Global Perspective.The Geopolitics of Religious Soft Power.
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