Sample COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemption Letter
Posted by Matt Postiff December 29, 2021 on Matt Postiff's Blog under Society
December 29, 2021
Re: COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemption
To Whom it may Concern,
As a follower of Jesus Christ and one who sincerely adheres to His teachings, I believe that following my conscience is integral to my free religious exercise—not only as respects the United States Constitution, but as required by God, who is the highest authority.
Christianity teaches that the conscience is part of the make-up of every human being; that God endowed it with certain basic moral knowledge; that it guides the individual in deciding what he should do when something bothers his conscience; that the conscience is informed by religious teaching and study; that it is influenced by information of all sorts that the individual encounters; and that it cannot be safely violated because purposeful violation of the conscience damages its future healthy function and constitutes disobedience to God.
Christian teaching about the conscience importantly includes that each person must be fully convinced in his own mind before taking a course of action (Romans 14:5). The Bible warns against taking an action that violates the conscience. It also warns against violating the principle that "whatever is not of faith is sin."
There is no such thing as a denominational or church-wide conscience. The operation of the conscience is necessarily an individual matter because the conscience is influenced by each person’s own experiences, culture, knowledge, etc. It cannot rightly nor practically be dictated in all details by any religious organization. In our own church, we have people of different views about many matters, including that of vaccination in general and the COVID-19 vaccination specifically. Neither the pastor nor the church doctrine dictates such matters. In sum, my convictions are my own and not necessarily represented by others identifying as Christians. I am personally responsible to God my judge for my own actions (Rom 14:4).
In accordance with my sincerely held religious belief, my conscience is not clear about taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, I claim a religious exemption at this time from the requirement to be vaccinated.
Sincerely,
Your Name