(upbeat music)

- Well, welcome to "The 700 Club,"

and thanks for joining us.

President Biden's vaccine mandate

has put millions of Americanworkers into a quandary.

They don't want to take the shot

because of their religious convictions.

- The question is,

how do they go about claiminga religious exemption?

And will it be up to the Supreme Court

to decide if they have the right to do so?

Heather Sells explains.

(air whooshing)

- [Heather] For months,evangelical leaders

have encouraged followersto get the vaccine.

- Hi, welcome to "Pastorsand the Vaccine."

My name is-- With all kinds of campaigns

to encourage the faithful.

Now, the president's newpush to mandate the shot

has some in the pews opposed.

Although many denominations

and high profile evangelicalleaders support the vaccine,

a number of people of faith

also oppose it for spiritual reasons.

And they're seeking guidance

on how to claim a religious exemption.

- People are entitled toreligious accommodations,

under Title VII of EmploymentDiscrimination Law.

- [Heather] There's basic protection

for faith in the workplace,

thanks to federal lawand the constitution.

When it comes to thevaccine mandate, however,

many aren't sure how toclaim a religious exemption,

and thousands have been calling places

like the Religious FreedomInstitute for help.

- RFI, the Religious Freedom Institute

doesn't provide legal services,

but we still receivecalls with people asking,

what are they able to do inlight of their objections?

- [Heather] Legal scholars,

say the key is not a church's doctrine,

but an individual's sincerely held belief.

- The Supreme Court has made it very clear

that religious convictions,

that merit protection are individual.

I don't have to have a church behind me.

- What we wanna avoid is employers,

worst of all the federal government

becoming some sort of starchamber inquisitorial board

probing into people's religious beliefs.

If a person says, these are my reasons,

I disagree with abortion,sanctity of human life.

I know that the aborted fetalcells are part of the testing.

That should be it, that should be it,

the case closed on whether

or not they have a sincere belief.

You don't need a letter from your pastor.

- [Heather] But OklahomaPastor and Senate candidate,

Jackson Lahmeyer is doing just that.

Telling people that ifthey join his church,

he'll sign their exemption.

- It's not an anti-vaccinething, it's a pro-freedom thing.

- [Heather] Berkeley cautions people

to sort out their reasons

and avoid pursuing this exemptionif motivated by politics.

- Religious exemptionsare meant to be a remedy

to a particular kind of issue.

And just objecting to bad policy

is not what religious exemptions are for.

- [Heather] Still in the months ahead,

untold numbers could claim them.

In a telling sign, 3000LAPD employees plan to file.

And the lawsuits have already started.

The White House may have ahard time telling the courts

that OSHA has the right to mandate a shot.

- Think about what OSHA is about.

It's about chemicalexposures in the workplace,

hardhat regulations on construction sites.

This is conduct outside of the workplace

that they say must bepart of the workplace,

this is a real stretch.

- [Heather] It's unclear

how the Supreme Courtmight eventually rule,

especially with weakenedreligious protection

after the 1990 Smith ruling.

- The government can win ifit has a compelling interest,

really, really important interest.

And there's no way to accomplish that

without infringing on liberty.

And when you're looking ata pandemic and people dying,

the government is certainlygonna try very hard,

even if they're under the Tufts standard,

they're gonna argue thatwe meet that standard.

- [Heather] ] It's a high stakes fight

that could severely weaken

or empower religious libertyin the months and years ahead.

Heather Sells, "CBN News."

- Well, there's nothing like pandemics,

there's nothing like a crisis

to absolutely test ourconstitutional protections.

And in the middle of a pandemic,

you're going to find veryinteresting court decisions

on religious exemption,

and on the ability of OSHAto craft new regulations

regarding the spread of the mandate.

So OSHA right now is putting into place

things that the BidenAdministration has asked for

that any employer withover a hundred employees

has to either have a vaccinated employee

or do a weekly test.

They're now mandating

that anyone working forthe federal government

has to have the vaccine.

And so these religious exemptions

that you object based on fetal tissue,

or other objectionsthat in good conscience,

you can't get a vaccination,

those things are going to be tested.

And this isn't new in American culture.

My mother told me whenshe had Scarlet fever

way back in the 1930s,

the quarantine wasabsolute over her house.

Now, they would actuallycome in and mark the house

and say, no one could come in,

and no one could come out

because they were trying to contain

the spread of Scarlet fever.

So on this, on COVID-19,

are we going to see that kind of lockdown?

Well, we're currentlyseeing it in Australia.

We're currently seeing it in New Zealand.

We're currently seeing it in Canada.

So how much longer before it comes here?

Well, on other news,

Congress grilled administration officials

over the mounting chaos at the border,

putting the secretary of HomelandSecurity on the hot seat.

John Jessup has more on that story

from our "CBN News Bureauin Washington," John.

(air whooshing)

- That's right Gordon.

DHS Secretary, AlejandroMayorkas faced tough questions

on Capitol Hill Tuesdayover the ongoing crisis.

- How many people have been returned?

How many people have been detained?

How many people have been dispersed

to all points around America?

- Senator, I would be pleasedto provide you with that debt-

- I want them now!

Why don't you have that information now?

- Senator, I do not have that.

- More than 14,000 migrants

crossing the border this past week.

Many from Haiti, a countryrecently devastated

by a massive earthquakeand political upheaval.

The administration deportingthousands every day,

but now comes word from twoofficials that many Haitians

are being released into the United States.

Right now, at least 10,000men, women, and children

are living under the Del RioInternational Bridge in Texas.

Well, the situation at the border

is just one of several crisesfacing president Biden.

At the United Nations Tuesday,

the President addressed issues

ranging from the pullout in Afghanistan

to the ongoing pandemic.

As CBN, Senior Washington correspondent,

Tara Mergener reports,some critics thought

the President overlookedsome crucial threats.

(air whooshing)

- World leaders gathered at the UN

for the first time in two years,

despite mounting crises facingThe Biden Administration,

the President insisting America is back.

The UN Secretary-Generalkicking off the meeting

with an ominous message.

- We add on the edge of an abyss

and the moving in the wrong direction.

- [Tara] Although Biden usedhis first major UN address

to reassure the world,American leadership is strong

while promising relentless diplomacy.

- As the United States seeksto rally the world to action,

we will lead not just withthe example of our power,

but, God willing, withthe power of our example.

- [Tara] The President hopesto repair relationships

with allies after high profile issues

ranging from Afghanistan

and the U.S.drone strikethat killed civilians,

to out-of-control illegal crossings

at the U.S-Mexico Border,to the COVID pandemic.

- To fight this pandemic,

we need a collective act ofscience and political will.

We need to act now to get shotsin arms as fast as possible.

- [Tara] Critics charge Biden,

has been out of sync withclose allies including France,

angry it was left out of plans

to equip Australia withnuclear-powered submarines.

During the speech, he didnot mention China by name,

but declared the U.S. isnot seeking a new Cold War.

- United States is readyto work with any nation

that steps up and pursuesa peaceful resolution.

- [Tara] He also wants immediateaction on climate change.

- Scientists and experts are telling us

that we're fast approachinga point of no return

in a literal sense.

- [Tara] Some globalleaders remain skeptical

about America's promises,calling the U.S. disloyal.

While some critics say thespeech was better than expected,

it's unclear if Biden's words

will win the world's confidence.

- We're saying we're gonnause relentless diplomacy

and not relentless war.

Does that invite China to say,

"Well, let's talk aboutTaiwan a little bit."

Does it invite otherprovocative moves by Russia

towards Ukraine and someof its near neighbors,

if they think the UnitedStates is not willing

to use its military might.

- And I don't thinkanything in the speech today

convinced them that theBiden Administration

is anymore prepared or capable

than they thought that they might be.

And if anything, it mighthave raised more questions

about the United States.

- [Tara] Tara Mergener, "CBN News."

- Thank you, Tara.

House Democrats blocked$1 billion in funding

for Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system

in a vote to extend the debt limit

and keep the government funded.

Reportedly caving to pressure

from progressive representatives,

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

House Republican MinorityLeader, Kevin McCarthy tweeted,

"While Democrats capitulateto the antisemitic influence

"of their radical members,

"Republicans will alwaysstand with Israel."

Earlier this year, IronDome successfully shot down

hundreds of missiles firedinto Israel by Hamas.

Former Israeli Ambassadorto the United Nations,

Danny Danon, told "CBS News"the vote is a troubling sign

of the direction of the Democratic Party.

- I'm worried that thoughthe voices become louder,

we know it's not the majority,

not in the Congress, notin the Democratic Party,

but they are vocal.

We expect our allies,

and we have a lot ofallies in the Congress,

to speak against those voices.

- Democratic HouseMajority Leader, Gordon,

Steny Hoyer says he plans to fully fund

the Iron Dome in another bill.

- Well, this is a very disturbing trend

in the Democrat Party,

and it's going to, inmy opinion, increase.

This drum beat from Progressive'sto start censuring Israel,

stop the longstandingUnited States support

for the nation of Israel.

It is absolutely incredible

that we can actually have this debate.

It used to be bipartisansupport for Israel

that no matter what and nomatter which party was in power,

we could depend that Americawould stand with Israel.

Oh, this is the first time in my life

that we've seen a bill to help Israel,

help Israel defend itselfagainst rocket attacks.

They've pulled the funding out of it,

so what is Israel now going to do

to replenish the Iron Dome missiles

that they quite clearly need.

The threats, not going away.

Iran, if anything, is steppingup efforts to fund Hamas.

Hezbollah's being emboldened?

So are they going tohave rockets coming in

from Southern Lebanon as well?

They need this kind of support,

they certainly need Iron Dome.

We've stood with them for decades,

and to now pull thisout shows just how much

the Progressive's are gaining control

over the Democratic Party, isincredibly disturbing to me.

And I hope this funding is put back soon,

but this is certainly asign of things to come.