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- A pastor encourages people to donate to his church for signed religious exemption vaccination forms.
- Jackson Lahmeyer is also a candidate for the Senate and distributes exemption forms on his campaign website.
- Lahmeyer told the Washington Post that the form has been downloaded 30,000 times in the past two days.
Those looking for proof of a religious vaccine exemption need look no further than Oklahoma pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, who offers members of his congregation a signed opt-out form.
But the exemption could cost you dearly.
The pastor of Tulsa is encouraging people to donate to his church so that they can broadcast his services and become an online member of the church, according to the Washington Post. Only then will his signed exemption “carry weight,” he told the outlet.
In a conversation Wednesday with Insider, Lahmeyer cited the impending federal mandate on vaccines for employers with more than 100 employees as a catalyst for his offer.
The legality surrounding religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines is far from uniform, with different states or organizations often requiring their own signed form. Religious freedom experts told The Post that most people probably don’t even need a signed letter from a religious leader to be exempt.
“He doesn’t really sell religious exemptions,” Charles Haynes, senior religious freedom researcher at the Freedom Forum in Washington, told The Post. “He sells a misconception that you need him.”
Lahmeyer, a 29-year-old small business owner, runs Sheridan Church in Tulsa with his wife Kendra.
In addition to presiding over a congregation and running a real estate company, Lahmeyer is also running in the Republican primary to challenge Sen. James Lankford in 2022. Earlier this year, he got the endorsement of the former national security adviser of former President Donald Trump, Michael Flynn. , who was pardoned by Trump after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.
Lahmeyer distributes exemption forms on his church website and on his Senate campaign website. He told The Post that he modeled the form after a generic document from the state of Oklahoma asking the individual to explain the religious belief that requires a vaccine exemption request.
Lahmeyer said the form has already been downloaded around 30,000 in the past two days. The Washington Post article, which Lahmeyer criticized as “fake news,” helped spur another 5,000 contacts, he told Insider.
Anyone can download the form after providing their contact details, and Lahmeyer said he will sign it for anyone.
“I’m ready to sign him no matter what,” he told The Post. “But I want him to have weight. In order for him to have weight, you have to be an online member of our church.”
According to Lahmeyer, his church’s statutes require individuals to broadcast religious services and donate at least $ 1 to be considered members online. The Post reported that Sheridan Church has around 300 in-person members.
Lahmeyer told Insider that while he would encourage individuals to first contact their own pastors and churches to inquire about vaccine exemptions, he was inspired to offer his services to anyone after realizing that many members of the clergy had chosen not to sign religious exemption forms.
The father of five told the newspaper he was not vaccinated against the coronavirus but did not consider himself anti-vaccine. He said he had had the virus before and believed that people who fell ill with COVID-19 could be treated with drugs like ivermectin, an antiparasitic and a dewormer. The United States Food and Drug Administration has warned against the use of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment.
Lahmeyer said he would not investigate anyone’s reasons for requesting the religious exemption.
“What if someone said, ‘God told me not to get vaccinated.’ I don’t know if God told them that. I’m not going to argue with this, ”he told The Post.
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