Most Troops Seeking Religious Exemption to Vaccine Mandate Have ‘Sincere Belief,’ but Rejected Anyway

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a news briefing in Washington on Jan. 28, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

Most members of the U.S. armed forces who have seen their applications for religious exemptions from the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate denied were deemed by a chaplain to have a “sincere belief,” which may lead a federal judge to block the mandate for them.

One hundred percent of the religious exemption requests that have been denied by the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard were based on a sincere belief, according to chaplains, branch officials said in recent court filings obtained by The Epoch Times.