Quote: So is a "religious exemption" technically favoring one over another by law?
I think one could make that argument. But only specifically with respect to Amendment 1.
Quote: ...actions or negligence that is harmful to others is not protected, even by the 1st Amendment...
Refering to the Covid vaccine specifically however, I'm not convinced that an unvaccinated person is any more likely to cause harm to others than a vaccinated one. None of the vaccines seem to be very effective at actually preventing infection or transmission. Otherwise the CDC, WHO,etc. wouldn't' still be insisting that folks still need to wear masks in many situations regardless of their vaccination status. If that is , or even might be, the case, an exemption on any grounds, religious or otherwise is justified, and
forcing someone to get vaccinated (with these specific drugs}is not justified, regardless of any one particular individual's reason, religious or anythig else.
The "religious exemption" is a bit of a red herring IMO. Arguing about that with respect to the Covid shots completely misses the point,
Sort of like most of the legal decisions that use the 1st Amendment to allow or disallow some religious practice or other, misses or deliberately distorts the purpose of the amendment, which was to prohibit the establishment of a state sanctioned religion. Nothing else.