Supreme Court Prevents New York from Enforcing Limits on Church Attendance

On 25 November 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of New York could not limit church and synagogue attendance.  Read this article at the Religion News Service.

We have been tracking developments on government restrictions on church attendance since the Covid-19 pandemic began, and you can browse several past blog posts if you are interested (here, here, here, here, here).  This ruling differs from the previous court rulings and reflects a recent shift in the ideological make-up of the Supreme Court.

The judges in the majority argued that places of worship, even in areas very hard hit by Covid-19, had been singled out for attendance restrictions and that the New York regulations were harsher on religious groups than on other organizations, such as grocery stores and pet shops.  If you are interested in the legal arguments, you can see the post at Religion Clause.

How this ruling affects government restrictions on religious gatherings in other states remains to be seen.  Current state guidelines in California allow for different types and sizes of religious gatherings depending on what "tier" of Covid-19 outbreak is experienced within the county.  Orange County has "widespread" outbreak, so it is currently in the "purple" tier which has the most restrictions.  Churches are allowed to meet "outdoor only with modifications."  You can see the different restrictions by tiers on state government web site here (scroll down to the link for "Places of worship and cultural ceremonies."