The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary filed a petition on Nov. 5 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit against the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to block President Biden’s enforcement of a mandate requiring employees of private employers be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“It is unacceptable for the government to force religious institutions to become coercive extensions of state power. We have no choice but to push back against this intrusion of the government into matters of conscience and religious conviction,” said Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary.

“This seminary must not be forced to stand in for the government in investigating the private health decisions of our faculty and employees in a matter involving legitimate religious concerns,” Mohler said.

Biden’s order is set to go into effect on Jan. 4, 2022.