Parents Failed To Show Sincere Religious Anti-Vaccine Belief

In an administrative decision handed down last month, the New York State Education Department affirmed the denial of a religious exemption from state immunization requirements because parents seeking the exemption failed to show they had a sincerely-held religious belief in opposition to immunization. In In re Appeal of M.W., (NYSED, March 20, 2019), the Commissioner held that the general statements submitted by petitioners regarding their religious beliefs were insufficient to show a sincerely-held religious belief. The students and their family were members of the Temple of the Inner Flame. They argued:

Due to the spiritual beliefs of my families [sic] religion, [the students] cannot receive any medical vaccines.  They are a foreign substance that is not naturally found in the body.  We consider our bodies a temple of God that should be treated as such.

WKBW News reports on the decision.