If you can prove that you sincerely believe in the religion you made up 10 minutes ago, then you'd get the same exemption. It's not like they gave a list of religions that qualify for exemptions.
The sincerity of the belief is a measured by the credibility of the claimant in each specific case. They are assumed to be credible by default unless the other party can show glaring inconsistencies. Even then, the guidance notes that people's beliefs change so challenging such a claim is relatively hard.
A sincerely held religious belief is basically a "get out of jail free" card (figuratively) because of the issues you point out. With the preponderance of evidence standard, all one has to do is convince the judge that their belief is more likely to be sincere than not. If one can prove that they go to church on a semi-regular basis, for example, it's nearly impossible to convince a judge that the belief is insincere.
lotsofpulp|4 years ago
Are Catholics sincere if they have sex before marriage? Use birth control? Get a divorce?
Are Jews sincere if they eat non kosher food? Muslims if they eat non Halal and drink alcohol and gamble?
Christians who use Christ to persecute others? Such as gay people who want to get married?
akiselev|4 years ago
The sincerity of the belief is a measured by the credibility of the claimant in each specific case. They are assumed to be credible by default unless the other party can show glaring inconsistencies. Even then, the guidance notes that people's beliefs change so challenging such a claim is relatively hard.
A sincerely held religious belief is basically a "get out of jail free" card (figuratively) because of the issues you point out. With the preponderance of evidence standard, all one has to do is convince the judge that their belief is more likely to be sincere than not. If one can prove that they go to church on a semi-regular basis, for example, it's nearly impossible to convince a judge that the belief is insincere.
pessimizer|4 years ago