Court Rules Against a California Church's Appeal

When COVID-19 first the U.S., many state governments -- including California's government -- issued orders that religious groups must cancel all in-person church meetings because of fears that COVID-19 would be transmitted among religious church-goers.  While some states issued blanket prohibitions, other states did not place any restrictions on churches, and still others states were in between -- see here.

Although most Americans were okay with churches being restricted like other (secular) organizations and business, some think that religious groups should be have special permission to meet during the pandemic -- see here.  Given the disagreement, it should not be surprising that some parties have initiated legal challenges to government-issued orders.  One of these challenges was made months ago from a church in California, called Harvest Rock Church, which argued that the California governor's order treats secular organizations more favorably than religious groups.  They lost this argument in court, appealed the decision, and just last Thursday, another court ruled against their appeal in a 12-1 decision.  See this write up at the Religion Clause blog here.

The court's Thursday ruling explains that the state of California is treating religious groups like comparable secular events that have large groups congregating together, such going to movies or attending sporting events, and that the church did not sufficiently counter the government's claim that going to church is riskier than other secular activities like going shopping that are allowed.  In short, the church did not provide enough evidence to overturn the earlier ruling.

Churches in California are now able to meet in person with safety measures in place and restrictions on capacity, but that does not mean that the issue is dead.  Churches can still choose to contest the current situation by claiming that the current restrictions still inhibit the free exercise of religion.

This episode demonstrates how the practice of religion is situated within social and legal contexts.  The right to meet as a religious group is a protected one to be sure, but the realization of that right can depend on exigent circumstances.  The same is true of other protected rights, such as the freedom of speech.  Moreover, these rights are continually negotiated and contested.