09/27/2026
Religious liberty rarely disappears all at once.
Sometimes it disappears one exception at a time.
A Connecticut Superior Court judge has dismissed the remaining claim in a yearslong challenge to the state's elimination of religious exemptions from school vaccination requirements.
Connecticut eliminated new religious exemptions in 2021.
Parents challenged the policy, including under Connecticut's Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Then, in 2026, Connecticut lawmakers expressly provided that the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act does not apply to school and child care immunization requirements.
The remaining lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.
Supporters argue these vaccination requirements protect children and communities from preventable disease.
Critics see something different: a troubling precedent for religious conscience when it conflicts with government policy.
What happens when your sincerely held religious convictions collide with the requirements of the state?
Religious liberty means very little if it only protects beliefs government officials find convenient.
Real conviction eventually costs something.
Popularity. Opportunities. Relationships.
Even conflict with your employer, school, industry, or government.
So how should Christians respond?
We respond with informed, lawful, courageous, peaceful, prayerful engagement.
Know what the law says.
Read legislation before sharing outrage about it.
Contact your representatives.
Participate in the process.
Vote according to your own informed convictions.
And understand that religious liberty isn't merely a Sunday morning issue.
It affects education.
Employment.
Leadership.
Corporate policy.
Parental responsibility.
Christians cannot become so afraid of controversy that we stop paying attention when questions of conscience enter the public square.
"Peter and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than human beings!'" — Acts 5:29
That verse is a reminder of where our ultimate allegiance belongs.
Jesus Christ.
So get informed.
Pray.
Engage.
Speak respectfully.
Defend religious liberty consistently.
And stop assuming someone else will protect freedoms you are unwilling even to understand.
When your faith eventually costs you something, will it still be your faith?
To read the full story, please visit: https://bit.ly/4AAxvyj
Paul M. Neuberger
https://lnkd.in/p/eb3dxtFF