Blatant religious discrimination in the midst of a pandemic

Catching up on the news today, I witnessed two overt instances of discrimination against the religious (I think).  Fortunately, there are plenty of people who record interactions between people, which make it easy to see what’s going on. Both of these videos are approximately a minute long.






The way I see it, there are 3 categories of people when it comes to mask wearing.  There are mask wearers, those who unintentionally do not wear masks, and those who intentionally do not wear masks.  I think those who intentionally do not wear masks fall into two categories:  Those who intentionally do not wear masks for medical/health reasons (and I’d love for any medical professional readers to share what sorts of conditions would create risks such that a person could not even wear a loose-fitting bandana).  Then there are those who intentionally do not wear masks for religious reasons. 


Everyone is religious, and it ultimately is the god or gods one worships which drives a person’s decisions and behaviors.  Now, I’m not certain that the reason these two persons in the videos are not wearing masks is not due to a health or medical condition, as the videos are short, but neither claims a medical exemption, nor is there any other information available (currently) to support a medical exemption.  I’ve also considered if I am setting up a false dichotomy by positing that there are only two categories of people who do not wear masks, but I don’t think so (again, if you think there is another category of people who do not wear masks, leave a comment).  Consequently, I’m asserting the reason these two persons are not wearing masks is due to their religion.  Due to their religious belief, the woman was denied dental services, and the man was removed from Costco and was fired from his job.  Sounds like blatant religious discrimination to me.


Does it seem right that these people should incur these consequences simply for worshiping their god?  What about their first amendment rights?  Or are our first amendment rights abridged due to the pandemic?  This article provides a wealth of information on first amendment rights and COVID-19, indicating that there is no public health exemption to the first amendment.

https://www.thefire.org/first-amendment-news-251-public-health-and-the-first-amendment-in-the-age-of-covid-19/


What do you think?

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