Pastor Robert Jeffress takes part in the Celebrate Freedom Rally alongside then-President Donald Trump. Olivier Douliery - Pool via Getty Images
A Texas megachurch preacher refuses to allow his congregation to be exempt from COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
According to him, there is no religious reason for refusing a shot.
According to the AP, religious exemption letters are increasingly being used as a loophole to avoid vaccine mandates.
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The Associated Press reported that as Republican lawmakers rage against President Joe Biden’s sweeping vaccine mandates the Associated Press reported religious exemptions are being more widely used as a loophole to avoid getting a COVID-19 vaccination.
The Associated Press reported that a Trump-loving preacher at a Texas megachurch had declared that there was "no credible religious reason" to turn down a shot.
The Rev. Robert Jeffress, a pastor of the 12,000-member First Baptist Church, Dallas, said to the news agency that neither he nor his staff "offer" exemption letters or encourage members of their congregations to seek religious exemptions from the coronavirus vaccine mandates.
Jeffress wrote in an email that "Christians who are concerned by the use a fetal line for the testing vaccines would also need to abstain the use Tylenol and Pepto Bismol as well as Ibuprofen if they are sincere about their objection."
Jeffress once suggested that he would vote to elect former President Donald Trump rather than someone who embodies Jesus' teachings. He is one of many religious leaders who recently opposed religious exemption letters.
According to the Associated Press, leaders of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America stated Thursday that religious exemptions were not allowed in Orthodox Church for her faithful for medical reasons.
The news agency also reported that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have both stated that they do not support exemption letters.
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However, not all churches agree with this view. According to The Associated Press, some Catholic bishops, such as those from The Colorado Catholic Conference have made it easier for priests to oppose the vaccine on religious grounds. They posted online templates that allow them to sign a letter.
According to The Washington Post, a pastor in Tulsa even stated that he would sign a letter of exemption for religious reasons if people donated to his church.
A senior fellow at the Freedom Forum in Washington for religious freedom said that religious exemptions will likely be the focus of intense legal battles over the next few months.
Charles Haynes, an email sent to The Washington Post, stated that "Vaccine mandates are expanding in schools and workplaces. There is bound to be more litigation about the issue of religious exemptions.
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