Legal experts suggest churches should be cautious about providing documentation to help people get around mask and vaccine rules.
Some Christian leaders have spoken out alongside the public officials, doctors, and other community figures who are helping people circumvent COVID-19 precautions.
An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. A pastor at a California megachurch is offering religious exemptions for anyone morally conflicted over vaccine requirements. And Louisiana’s attorney general has posted sample letters on his office’s Facebook page for those seeking to get around the governor’s mask rules.
While proponents of these workarounds say they are looking out for children’s health and parents’ rights, others say such stratagems are dishonest and irresponsible and could undermine efforts to beat back the highly contagious delta variant.
Mask and vaccine requirements vary from state to state but often allow exemptions for certain medical conditions or religious or philosophical objections.
Just as health experts question the guidelines for determining whether a child’s condition would merit an exception to mask requirements, some Christian legal experts say it is “troublesome” to require churches provide documentation for a person’s religious exemption.
“A church would want to be cautious regarding who would be providing such support. Would it be coming from the elders as a whole? The pastor? One leader?,” said Erika Cole, a Christian and attorney based in Maryland. “The question of who would have the authority to provide such support is another issue that would have to be considered.”
In Oregon, Superintendent Marc Thielman of the rural Alsea School District told parents they can sidestep ...
from Christianity Today Magazine
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