An Oklahoma pastor is encouraging people to donate to his church in Tulsa, Oklahoma in order to get his signature on religious exemptions from coronavirus vaccine mandates.
Jackson Lahmeyer is a 29-year-old pastor who leads Sheridan Church with his wife. Sheridan has an estimated 300 membership attending in-person. He is also an investor in real estate and a potential Republican challenger to Oklahoma senator James Lankford in 2022. Lahmeyer attracted attention last week when the pastor encouraged people to become online members of his church in exchange for religious exemptions.
In order to be accounted as an online member of Sheridan, Lahmeyer says that an individual must stream services through the platform and donate at least $1 dollar to the church. “I’m willing to sign it no matter what,” Lahmeyer said. “But I want it to have weight. In order for it to carry any weight, you have to be an online member of our church.” Anyone can download the form if they wish from the Sheridan website or from Lahmeyer's 2022 campaign website. The pastor told the Washington Post that about 30,000 people downloaded the religious exemption form within two days, showing an enormous interest in such exemptions. However, Lahmeyer stated that he preferred to sign sheets of online members.
However, some religious freedom experts expressed skepticism. Charles Haynes, senior fellow for religious freedom at the Freedom Forum, told the Post that Lahmeyer's attempt to sell such exemptions is on a shaky ground constitutionally and that he is really selling a "bogus idea if you need one." Haynes argues that If an individual wants a religious exemption, they just have to express that they hold the relevant belief sincerely.
