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Private universities navigate religious vaccination exemptions

Universities implement varying vaccination mandates.
Private universities navigate religious vaccination exemptions
Photo courtesy of Unsplash/Courtesy

Christian universities across the United States approached the coronavirus vaccine mandates differently. Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, chose not to mandate the vaccine according to its immunizations page whereas Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, has mandated that all students be vaccinated. However, Creighton is in the midst of a lawsuit from its students for mandating the vaccine.

RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION

According to Harvard Law Review, religious exemptions highlight the protection of religious beliefs in the U.S. by allowing people to make healthcare decisions based on their convictions.

“In the Civil Rights Act of 1964 under Title Seven, [it] actually does say that you can have a religious exemption from the vaccine, under what is known as a “sincerely held belief” [which] has always been the standard,” junior political science major Richard Villarreal said. “So, if you have a sincerely held belief, you could technically be exempt.”

However, California does not have a religious exemption, but does have a medical exemption clause in its health code. Coronavirus religious exemptions fall under “Any other disease deemed appropriate by the department” in section 11.

PERSONAL CHOICE, NOT A MANDATE

A common precedent for mandated vaccines is Jacobson v. Massachusetts, wherein the Supreme Court held that Massachusetts legitimately exercised its power to protect the public health and safety of its citizens through health mandates. 

On Dec. 11, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted vaccinations for emergency use to combat COVID-19, but Villarreal remains skeptical. 

“I think that getting the vaccine has to be a personal choice that everyone has to make,” Villarreal said. 

BIOLA STUDENTS AND THE VACCINE

Biola strongly recommends the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the university’s Coronavirus Response website. However, clinical nursing students and nursing faculty are required to receive a vaccine to participate at certain clinical sites. Students enrolled in international study abroad programs are also required to receive the vaccine.

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About the Contributor
Charlotte McKinley
Charlotte McKinley, Freelance Writer
Charlotte McKinley is a senior Journalism and Public Relations major who loves the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Stewart Hall, and the oxford comma (unfortunately). Whenever I tell people I’m from Spokane Valley, WA, they inevitably ask me how far from Seattle I am, so I’ll cut to the chase: I’m closer to Montana than I am to Seattle, and no, I don’t go to Seattle regularly. The PNW will always be my home, no matter where I go. I’ve been involved with the Mixed Martial Arts and Jiu Jitsu community for nine years now and am looking forward to making my career writing for the MMA and BJJ community after I graduate from Biola with my degrees in Journalism and Public Relations. If you’ve been with me in class, you know that all of my class projects tend to revolve around the Ultimate Fighting Championship and that community. My favorite thing about being a journalist is that I get to write people’s stories and tell it to people who wouldn’t have known about it otherwise. Interviewing people and hearing their story is a real honor, so the responsibility to accurately tell their story to others is a heavy one, but a privilege to bear.
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