West Virginia's Religious Exemptions for School Vaccinations
The West Virginia Department of Health has acknowledged that families seeking religious exemptions to school vaccination policies do not need to provide detailed explanations of their beliefs.
The Department does not require any extrinsic evidence that the belief system is reasonable, logical, comprehensible, or part of a traditional orthodox religion.
To apply for a religious exemption, families only need to provide basic information, including the student's name, school, parent's name, and mailing address, along with a statement indicating their request for a religious exemption.
The Department of Health considers these applications as a self-evident statement of the families' sincerity, according to an affidavit from Justin Davis, interim commissioner of the state Department of Public Health.
Author's summary: West Virginia's health agency has a lenient policy on religious exemptions for school vaccinations.