Some U.S. pastors, advocacy groups are mobilizing against COVID-19 vaccine mandates

U.S. pastors, advocacy groups mobilize against COVID-19 vaccine mandates From the outside, First Harvest Ministries in Waveland, Mississippi, could almost be mistaken for a storage shed were it not for the steeple. Tom Hals Reuters

Oct 14 (Reuters) - From the outside, First Harvest Ministries in Waveland, Mississippi, could almost be mistaken for a storage shed were it not for the steeple.

From the modest building however, Shane Vaughn, the Pentecostal church's pastor, has helped spearhead an online movement promoting personal faith as a way around workplace COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

He posts form letters for U.S. workers seeking religious exemptions that have been downloaded from his website around 40,000 times, according to a screen shot of web traffic he shared with Reuters.

"This is the only way out," said Vaughn, 48, of the letters, which he makes available for free, that mix Biblical scripture with warnings to employers of legal fallout if they are disregarded.

As the Biden administration prepares a federal vaccine mandate and more states and companies impose them to help accelerate the pandemic's end, letter-writing efforts by religious leaders are being reinforced by legal advocacy groups such as Liberty Counsel.

The organization said it has sent more than 100 letters to companies including United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL.O) and Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) vowing litigation if they improperly reject religious exemption requests. ...