In an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy was asked if he was concerned that people would abuse religious and other exemptions to vaccine mandates:
Murthy: "We've got to be vigilant there and make sure they're using them in the spirit that they are intended, instead of abusing them or asking for exemptions where they don't apply. That's going to be an area that we continue to monitor."
In a recent editorial published in The Stream, Dave Kubal of Intercessors for America stated the surgeon general's words "should be deeply alarming." He continued:
"The Biden administration is making itself judge and jury on who gets a religious exemption and who doesn't, whose beliefs are 'sincerely held' and whose aren't."
In an interview with American Family News, Kubal says this is one example of the government targeting people of faith when it comes to the coronavirus mandates.
"Those of us who would like to 'enjoy,' as they say, a religious exemption from this mandate would be required to be monitored. That's absolutely frightening," he tells AFN. "If somebody is granted this religious exemption, what kind of monitoring [are they planning]? What does that look like – and what kind of pressures will be put on people?"
Kubal pointed out in his column this isn't the first time that people of faith have seen government discrimination during the pandemic, specifically noting that California regulations on closings in early 2020 targeted churches more so than they did movie and television studios. An unprecedented power grab by federal, state, and local officials, he warns, could be laying the groundwork for even more authoritarian government actions.
"The biggest question in all of this is: What is next? This medically mandated procedure that is forced upon the population could be a stepping stone – likely will be a stepping stone – for greater governmental control of us in the future," he predicts.
But he addresses the Christian response, saying it could very well be "our Esther moment."
"We've got to pray – because we've got to have the power of God with us when we do things. But we've got to act in this day," he urges. "Acting in this day could be everything from protesting to joining the many class-action suits fighting against this mandate."
His column concludes with a call for unity among believers in defense of their God-given liberty – and for resistance to "tyrannical hypocrisy."
