Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/21pdf/21a477_1bo2.pdf
Page Number: 8.0

Cite as:  595 U. S. ____ (2022) 

5 

ALITO, J., dissenting 

Here, it is not disputed that compliance with the vaccina-
tion requirement would impose a substantial burden on re-
spondents’ free exercise of religion.  Therefore, the two re-
maining  questions  are  (1)  whether  the  Navy’s  mandatory
vaccination program furthers compelling interests and (2) 
whether the denial of respondents’ exemptions represents 
the least restrictive means of furthering such interests. 

As to the first question, I agree that the Navy has a com-
pelling interest in preventing COVID–19 infection from im-
pairing its ability to carry out its vital responsibilities, as 
well  as  a  compelling  interest  in  minimizing  any  serious 
health  risk  to  Navy  personnel.    But  the  Navy’s  summary
rejection of respondents’ requests for religious exemptions
was by no means the least restrictive means of furthering 
those interests.  This is so for at least two reasons. 

First,  all  the  evidence  available  at  this  stage  suggests
that  the  Navy  gave  no  real  consideration  to  respondents’ 
requests, and the Navy had no compelling need to proceed 
in that fashion.  I cannot believe that this Court would tol-
erate such treatment in other contexts.  Suppose, for exam-
ple,  that  a  federal  agency  processed  employee  complaints
about discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or disability 
using  a  50-step  process  in  which  rejection  was  presumed 
until the very last step, and suppose that the record showed 
that this procedure nearly always resulted in the denial of 
a claim.  We would be outraged—and rightfully so.  Why,
then,  is  the  Court  willing  to  brush  aside  what  appears  to
have occurred here? 

Second, even if we ignore what the Navy did and accept
the  justification  for  the  denials  that  Justice  Department 
lawyers  later  provided  in  court,  the  relief  that  the  Court
now awards goes well beyond anything that can possibly be 
regarded as the least restrictive means of further compel-
ling Navy interests.  Focusing primarily on the Seals, the 
Government  stresses  certain  characteristics  of  Seal  mis-
sions, including small unit size, the frequent need to work