When our nation's founders guaranteed freedom of religion in the First Amendment, they intended that government should never define or enforce religious orthodoxy. It was never their intent that vacuous claims of religious offense should exempt people from laws that are necessary to achieve compelling government interests. Yet this seems to be the issue in question in the suit by health care workers for exemptions to rules at hospitals and clinics that require them to get vaccinated against COVID-19 ("State health care workers sue over mandate," Sept. 29). The rules apply to all health care workers at facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding.

These regulations have the clear secular intent to protect health care clients against exposure to the virus. In the current interpretation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, courts are accepting claims of "sincere religious belief" without question. The vaccination requirements, however, were enacted without bias against any religious beliefs. Today there is abundant reason to suspect that the motivation for opposition to the vaccine requirement is entirely political.

The sincerity of claims of religious beliefs cannot be beyond question. What is the claimant's religion that forbids vaccination? If the belief is individual rather than institutional, has the claimant ever received any other inoculations?

There is no alternative to vaccination that remotely approaches its effectiveness in preventing COVID infection. The demands for religious exemption should be rejected.

George Francis Kane, St. Paul

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I am appalled that health care workers are challenging the requirement to be vaccinated. As a patient I would expect all of the staff in a clinic, hospital or care facility to be vaccinated. Actually I would have expected that to have been the case for the last six months.

Judy Gibson, St. Paul

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How sad and dispiriting it is to watch thousands of health care workers, most of whom did yeoman's service attending to COVID-19 patients throughout the pandemic, fired from their life-saving jobs because they refuse the vaccine mandate. Estimates indicate that 16% of these folks, deeply familiar with the reality of the virus, will not submit to the mandate by their employer. Leave aside their motives. The practical effect on our nation's health care is that we are already experiencing a serious shortage of qualified medical personnel to address the nation's needs. Meanwhile, we have the secretary of Health and Human Services acknowledge that at least 20% of the hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants crossing our nonexistent southern border each month arrive with undiagnosed diseases. Never mind the reality that we have absolutely no idea of their backgrounds, legal or otherwise. We have promised them the full panoply of free government services. Is this a country serious about its existence?

Mark H. Reed, Plymouth

MASKING IN SCHOOLS

Not all Walz's fault

I absolutely agree with the general sentiment expressed by a Sept. 27 letter writer regarding the importance of wearing masks to protect children from contracting COVID. However, I am not sure why she ends her letter by saying that "it's time for the governor to stand up and do his job." I think that Gov. Tim Walz would agree 100% that there should be a mask mandate in all schools. However, from the first day he exercised his emergency powers, he faced demands to resign, threats to impeach him, and personal threats against him and his family. The Republican members of the Legislature demanded that he surrender his emergency powers. I think it is unfair to dump the blame on his shoulders.

Kathleen Breen, Shoreview

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As a licensed short-term substitute teacher, I do not disagree with the substance of the Sept. 27 letter regarding masks and other safety precautions in schools. However, one of the writer's statements makes incorrect assumptions. At the end of the letter, the executive and judicial branches of the Minnesota state government are lumped together and referred to as "politicians who value re-election" over the safety and education of Minnesota students.

I am also a licensed attorney. Judges in Minnesota are not politicians. They are not affiliated with a political party and are held to a standard that requires them to make decisions based on the law and the facts without regard to re-election concerns. This standard significantly distinguishes the judicial branch of the Minnesota state government from the other two branches and requires clarification.

Cindy Hazelwood Lutz, Eagan

MASKING IN GENERAL

The better of your choices

When will this end? I am almost past the point of caring anymore if someone is anti-mask, anti-vax, anti-whatever. There is only one way COVID will leave us. I studied epidemiology in graduate school, and am amazed at how many people toss around the term "herd immunity" like they understand what it means (or my favorite — "heard immunity"). Until the vast majority of us either get COVID or are vaccinated, this will go on and on. And, no one knows what the exact number is — 75%? 90%? Let's quit arguing about that. We are all tired. Please. Get vaccinated. Or, get COVID. I would prefer you get vaccinated.

Ron Pearson, St. Paul

COVERAGE

The unacceptable reality: Sports are best; ignore the rest

It's fall, and students are once again being reminded by the media that sports are the most valued activity in high school. Media coverage for high school sports vs. any other activity is ridiculously unbalanced. Even average football teams get more coverage than theater, band, debate, DECA and academic olympiads combined. For instance, the Minnesota High School Mathematics League State Tournament hosts some of the brightest minds in the state, yet rarely gets any media coverage. How many people even know Minnesota has an All-State Math Team that competes nationally? The three co-captains are all National Merit Scholar semifinalists with perfect ACT scores who volunteer their time to help younger students excel in math. I guess what they're missing is hockey hair.

We know participation in sports increases grades, overall school participation, and team building skills, but so does band, robotics, theater, academic olympiads and DECA.

Unfortunately, it's not just the media giving students this message. Gov. Tim Walz named a day for Minnesota's Olympic gymnast and his Twitter posts are full of kudos for athletes, but he has ignored Minnesota students who were national winners in speech and debate, a gold-medal-winning member of the U.S. physics team, and winners of the U.S. Science Bowl. I can't find any recognition from him for our state's National Merit Scholars since he's been in office. Might this play into why our nation ranks 31st for math literacy in the world and eighth for reading? Kids are consistently shown that sports are valued over academics.

Rena Erickson, Lake Elmo

DOLLAR TREE

Mantra inflation

Reading the Sept. 30 article "Dollar Tree to buck $1 buys all mantra" reminded me of when I was growing up in south Minneapolis. We had a dime store (Woolworth) nearby on Franklin Avenue. That didn't mean that everything in the store was a dime. In fact, I once bought five cents' worth of peanuts.

Eleanor Hattery, Northfield, Minn.

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