A Legacy of Complicity: How Idaho's Faith Healing Exemption Became a State's Tradition Idaho's law protecting faith healers from prosecution for neglecting their children's medical care has been in place for decades, but its origins are complex and disturbing.
The recent revelations about the Followers of Christ sect's history of preventable child deaths serve as a stark reminder that Idaho's exemption is not just a quirk of the law, but a symptom of a deeper cultural issue.
Historians have noted that the concept of faith healing originated in 19th century America, when Christian denominations emphasized spiritual healing over traditional medicine.