As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
In the last article, we saw the Court determined public health considerations cannot run roughshod over religious liberty concerns. Justice Gorsuch, who seemed particularly outraged, quipped the Constitution does not take a sabbatical during a pandemic. However, Justices Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan disagree. They wish to continue to defer to Governors and public health orders.
This past Wednesday (25 November 2020), the Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) barred restrictions on religious services in New York that Gov. Cuomo had imposed to combat COVID-19. The vote was 5-4. If the late Justice Ginsburg were on the bench instead of Amy Barrett, it would have gone the other way.
This is not a permanent decision. Justice Kavanaugh explains:
“When asked if they agreed with the statement, ‘If the government told us to stop gathering in person for worship I would want my congregation to defy the order,’ 34% of respondents who participated in the October survey agreed (with 16% strongly agreeing). By contrast, 21.8% of Americans surveyed in March said that they agreed (with 10.7% strongly agreeing).” - CPost
“…in July 2016, the president of Russia signed a package of “antiterrorist laws” that became known by their co-author name as the Yarovaya Laws. In practice the so-called anti-terrorist laws turned out to be anti-missionary and even anti-church laws.” - C.Leaders
“Jackson County, Ind., can enjoy its holiday cheer, at least for now. A federal appeals court on Thursday hit pause on a lower court order that found a Nativity scene in front of the county courthouse unconstitutionally promoted Christianity.” - WORLD
“Reaction to Gov. Andy Beshear’s request to halt indoor services for houses of worship over the next three to four weeks ranged from disappointment to compassion from a variety of Kentucky Baptist pastors.” - BPNews
“…a new survey shows that most Americans share Justice Alito’s assessment of faith in the public square, with surprisingly strong support among the generation thought to be the most secular.” - Acton
The current COVID pandemic has affected almost every area of life in America, including normal church activities. Most churches cancelled every meeting initially, with some opening up partially and others completely after awhile, while still others remained closed. In many cases, these decisions were made by the churches themselves, but for others, decisions were forced upon them by governmental edict. Details vary from state to state and the situation highlights the issue of religious freedom with special focus upon the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
“[Scalia] held that the Constitution does not allow religious adherents to violate a ‘neutral law of general applicability,’ by which he meant a law that applies to everyone and does not favor or disfavor people based on their religion or lack thereof.” - The Conversation
“The latest report on government restrictions and social hostilities in 198 nations follows the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.” - C.Today
Discussion