John Adams said that, “Nothing is more dreaded than the national government meddling with religion.” That sentiment is just as relevant today as it was over 200 years ago.
Religious freedom varied in the colonies; some tolerated dissenting views more than others. But our Founding Fathers understood the idea that religious freedom was vital to our nation’s survival. Their experience with religious oppression led them to enact the First Amendment.
But today that freedom is again under attack. On September 9, President Joe Biden announced a sweeping vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees, telling millions of Americans, “Our patience is wearing thin, and your refusal has cost all of us.” The White House deployed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create and enforce the mandate — a mandate that the Biden administration has all but admitted is the “ultimate workaround” to force millions of Americans to choose between vaccination, weekly health testing, or unemployment. And this mandate targets not only large businesses but religious organizations such as Christian schools and nonprofit organizations as well, forcing them to intrude on their employees’ personal health decisions.
Simply put, this is an attempt by the federal government to commandeer employment decisions for larger employers, including religious organizations — an action odious to the First Amendment. The Biden administration is trying to regulate how religious organizations handle employment decisions.
It is well established that the First Amendment gives special solicitude to religious organizations. The point of the religious autonomy doctrine is to prevent government control and manipulation over religious institutions and to avoid governmental interference with religious missions. Just last year, the U.S. Supreme Court in Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru re-affirmed the well-established doctrine that the federal government has no power to police hiring practices of religious institutions.
OSHA exists to protect employees from toxic substances or hazards. Now, OSHA is doing something it has never done before: directly setting qualifications for certain employees who want to teach or serve at religious schools or nonprofit organizations. This kind of interference directly violates religious autonomy. My employer, Alliance Defending Freedom, is standing up to this unlawful overreach by representing organizations that face the threat of crushing and expensive administrative burdens that impose a substantial burden on their freedom.
This challenge is not about whether the COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective, or ethically produced. Many people of good faith, including myself and a number of those working for our clients, have chosen to be vaccinated. And others have refrained for reasons of conscience, health, or personal choice. But here, this challenge is about the federal government’s blatant abuse of power.
The Founding Fathers understood the problems of government involvement in religion. That understanding remains true today. The federal government should not meddle in the employment affairs of religious institutions.