Posted on 12/20/2021 6:55:58 PM PST by marshmallow
WASHINGTON – More than 12,000 military service members refusing the COVID-19 vaccine are seeking religious exemptions, and so far they are having zero success.
That total lack of approvals is creating new tensions within the military, even as the vast majority of the armed forces have gotten vaccinated.
The services, urgently trying to keep the coronavirus pandemic in check by getting troops vaccinated, are now besieged with exemption requests they are unlikely to approve. Meanwhile, troops claiming religious reasons for avoiding the shots are perplexed because exemptions are theoretically available, yet seem impossible to obtain.
Caught in the middle are chaplains, who must balance the desire to offer compassionate care and guidance to personnel with the need to explain a complicated process that may well be futile. They also must assess requests from those who may be using religion as an excuse to avoid a vaccine that, while credited with preventing needless deaths, has become politically charged.
(Excerpt) Read more at spokesman.com ...
It hasnt been used for travel since Sept ...
keeping the pandemic in check by vaccination.
vaccine has prevented needless deaths.
the opponents are politically charged.
Such balanced reporting.
The Brandon Media would be having a litter of kittens every five minutes.
All for something that is 99.9% survivable.
Nothing but complete and utter B.S.
It is not about the “virus”...
Just tell them you’re a Muslim and that you’re taking names for your ACLU attorney who’s petitioning to work pro-Bono for street cred. End of story.
How can the government deny a religious exemption? Once the government says a religious accommodation is available, they can’t say “oh, that is not religious enough”. They are specifically forbidden from passing laws respecting an establishment of religion under the 1st Amendment.
Government agencies should not be in the business of judging whose religious convictions are valid enough.
A chaplain is not adequate to determine if someone is making a valid religious exemption or not. It is an individual choice. And for Catholics especially the church is re-enforce that point. About all the chaplain could do would be to confirm that person is a member of a church, therefore eligible to use a religious exemption. How does a chaplain approve a religious exemption for somebody who may not be of the same religion, or a common religion?
Remember when J&J had a CDC approved vaccine?
Pepperidge Farms remembers.
The Chaplain only reviews the request and forwards his thoughts to the CO. The CO endorses the request with a recommendation, either for approval or disapproval. That request is forwarded to the first Flag Officer in the chain of command, who disapproves the request.
FWIW, in 30 years, I never saw a religious exemption approved for a vaccine. Not once. And that included the years John Paul II was Pope, and he was vehemently opposed to vaccines that were tested with fetal stem cell lines. This is not a new stance for the military.
"In all his activity a man is bound to follow his conscience in order that he may come to God, the end and purpose of life. It follows that he is not to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his conscience. Nor, on the other hand, is he to be restrained from acting in accordance with his conscience,especially in matters religious".
This goes so far as to say a man can reject any policy that, in his own opinion, violates his conscience. There is no way military leadership can accept such a policy.
Well, they have to. There is a tradition of conscientious objection. Anyway, the church allows refusal so any Chaplin that refuses to accept that refusal is absolutely wrong. Shame on them, shame on the military for not respecting individual religious beliefs. And shame on soldiers for surrendering their religious beliefs to the military and compromised chaplains.
The Chaplains have no authority to approve a religious exemption. The first Flag Officer in the chain is the decider.
The "tradition" of conscientious objection is discharge.
This discusses Republican leverage with respect to military vax mandates:
You are a lying leftists stooge.
I think you misinterpreted the post
Yes, let every service member out of the military if that is what it takes to refuse the experimental vaccines. I have no problem with that. The military should respect this refusal, else, if it is too many people, then change their policy. Very simple really.
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