How easy it is to create a church these days...

[fireheart17]

Even specifically to promote your cause!

These guys are scary. They've basically created a church to get around vaccination laws, which basically state that if your child is not fully immunised by the time they hit childcare, they can't go to childcare. The only exceptions are for valid medical reasons (ie compromised immune system, vaccine allergy etc.) or religious reasons. Naturally the anti-vaxx mob over here latched onto that part and created their own church around it.

Said church does not actually "exist" per se, except in the minds of members, simply to get around the ruling.

In that case, maybe I should create the "Church of LGBT" and demand my right to hold same-sex marriages in my church

[HYHYBT]

So, if I'm reading this right and you have to have a doctor sign off whether your objection is on religious grounds or not, what (other than getting $25 out of people plus free publicity from articles like this) is the point?

[fireheart17]

So, if I'm reading this right and you have to have a doctor sign off whether your objection is on religious grounds or not, what (other than getting $25 out of people plus free publicity from articles like this) is the point?

Most places will refuse objections on philosophical grounds, it has to be medical or religious (state law prohibits discriminating on disability/illness or religious grounds, but philosophical objections is not a protected class). The church basically acts as a "general cover" to ensure that parents have the right to be dicks.

I already have one child who is not vaccinated (thankfully her mother had enough sense to let her have the Vitamin K given at birth these days) coming this year...and another child at the service with questionable immunity. This is going to be a FUN year I can tell. (I'm very glad that the company policy on this is that we take a neutral stance on the issue itself but if we get notice of a vaccine-preventable disease occurring at the school itself, the unimmunised kids must be excluded for a period of time and the parents still have to pay full fees regardless . Childhood immunisation programs over here are free...so basically the parents are paying up to $160/week to not have their sproglet immunised)

[Panacea]

What assholes like these are going to do, ultimately, is cause the elimination of religious exemptions. While I don't believe that there is any legitimate religious reason to refuse vaccination, I also believe that for some people with genuine religious beliefs (ie not making it up because their anti vax nuts) to deny them that exemption will cause more problems than it would solve. And that kind of controversy is the last thing we need to keep vaccination rates up.

What the anti vax nuts don't get is the more people they convince not to use vaccines, the more they degrade the very herd immunity that protects them . . . as evidenced by the current measles outbreak in the US.

[HYHYBT]

What assholes like these are going to do, ultimately, is cause the elimination of religious exemptions.

Probably not the people you're talking about, but there are certain varieties of religious nut who would push for expanding exemptions for exactly that reason: so that the general public and/or lawmakers will say "enough is enough" and clamp down. That way they can claim they're being persecuted.

[Andara Bledin]

Probably not the people you're talking about, but there are certain varieties of religious nut who would push for expanding exemptions for exactly that reason: so that the general public and/or lawmakers will say "enough is enough" and clamp down. That way they can claim they're being persecuted.

What's going to happen is that in order to be a religion, you'll have to have services of some sort, and an actual congregation.

California changed their rules regarding who could officiate weddings to require that a minister actually perform other ministerial duties other than just doing weddings.

[fireheart17]

What's going to happen is that in order to be a religion, you'll have to have services of some sort, and an actual congregation.

I think it may also extend to needing a major "council" of some sort, or for there to be a national register of religious leaders.

[AccountingDrone]

What's going to happen is that in order to be a religion, you'll have to have services of some sort, and an actual congregation.

California changed their rules regarding who could officiate weddings to require that a minister actually perform other ministerial duties other than just doing weddings.

I am a 'mail order minister'-done 2 weddings, a funeral, a christening and 1 impromptu counseling session [at least the couple I was lunching with both decided to unload on me ...*sigh*] <shrug> I got it to marry off a couple friends of mine and used a sort of freeform nondenominational sort of Christian service. No 'obey' in it though, just the love and honor.

[Andara Bledin]

I've got a mail order ministerial thing, too. California made those not valid for performing duties related to legal situations. Not sure when, but since I don't actually minister anything, I can't officiate weddings, either.

[fireheart17]

Over here, in order to do marriages, you need to be registered as a celebrant. Being a minister/priest/rabbi/Imam etc. does not automatically grant you the right to conduct weddings. (This is mostly to take into account the legal side of weddings)

I have more on the vaccination front, but I will post about that in a separate thread. I just hate people who play the religion card as a move to get out of legal or moral obligations.

[cindybubbles]

When it comes to vaccinations and religion, ultimately it is not the parents' or family's religious beliefs that should matter, but the beliefs of the patient in question that should. And doctors should not regard children as religious until they are old enough to go to high school.

At my Catholic high school, we've not only advocated vaccines, but we've also hosted vaccination clinics and blood donation drives inside the school's forum itself. I remember lying down on a mat after one such vaccination only to wake up to people asking if I was OK.

[Estil]

Oh its quite easy to create your own "church" or even "country" ("micronations" are rather interesting though). Now getting people to take either one seriously as such, that's a whole 'nother ball of wax