Religious Freedom from Forced Masking in Illinois?
An easy-to-miss FAQ response winks at the First Amendment
I found an interesting admission in a September 3rd FAQ from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Opportunity (IDCO), posted via IDPH, that speaks to forced masking as a violation of religious freedom.
Take a look:
The answer to question of whether the Governor’s August 30, 2021 indoor mask order applies to churches, places of worship, and religious organizations is clear: NO, it does not.
I’m not sure how many church leaders know about this. Or how many know about it, yet are requiring masks as a condition of in-person attendance anyway, out of a misguided interpretation of “love your neighbor”. If your church isn’t mask-optional like mine is, it might be worth showing your leadership that one-word answer.
Then, keep reading for a surprising guest appearance by the First Amendment.
“The free exercise of religion is exempted from the face covering requirement.”
Most Americans understand that “free exercise of religion” isn’t limited to attending Sunday service, praying in a mosque, or attending Hebrew school at the synagogue. Since I’m not a lawyer, I won’t attempt to review case law on this subject. Suffice to say that, over time, we’ve seen court decisions, policies, and laws that either accommodate or deny religious freedom in a variety of situations.
More important is what the State of Illinois means when it says the face covering requirement doesn’t apply to the free exercise of religion. The statement goes beyond — and is even superfluous to — answering a question about churches/places of worship are included in the Governor’s mandate. Why include it in the response if the exemption isn’t limited to the institutions in the question?
Maybe the exemption means the State is finally saying the quiet part out loud: There are bona fide religious objections to government requiring people to mask (and/or government requiring businesses and institutions to require staff and customers to mask). I’d like to know more about what contexts or situations the State envisions under “free exercise” of religion exemption. Because if the law permits religious head coverings in a workplace that otherwise doesn’t permit workers to cover their heads, surely it recognizes religious arguments against compelled face coverings.
Also, if churches, houses of worship, and “religious organizations” (whatever that includes) are exempt from the requirement, then why aren’t private religious schools?
Speaking of schools, Illinois law permits religious objections to a school uniform or dress code, including dress requirements in place for student health and safety. But neither the August 4, 2021 school mask mandate, nor the associated ISBE/IDPH school guidance, acknowledge that religious objections to forced masking are permissible under the law. Why?
For 18 months, the Governor of Illinois has side-stepped such questions about his authority over people’s convictions about covering their faces The blink-or-you’ll-miss-it response from IDCO is a perhaps sign that someone in his office knows the Constitution isn’t on his side.