Churches, Don't Let the Government Trample on Your Rights in the Name of Fighting Coronavirus
Article by Tyler O'Neil in "PJMedia":
As President Donald Trump
declared a national emergency over the coronavirus, state and local
governments have leaped into action, prohibiting large gatherings and in
some cases even mobilizing the National Guard to
combat the spread of the virus. Yet even in this time of crisis,
Americans still have constitutional rights — and some governments have
arguably already trampled on those rights.
In order to equip churches in this trying and confusing time, the religious freedom law firm First Liberty released an essential guidance document.
"Unlike
other, voluntary restrictions self-imposed by organizations such as the
NCAA or the NBA, state-mandated restrictions carry the power of law,
violating them may lead to legal consequences," the guidance notes.
First Liberty presents three important pieces of advice.
First,
churches and other religious institutions "should continue to serve
their local communities." The guidance encourages churches to persist in
"acts of mercy, providing shelter, or simply being a source of
encouragement and peace in times of crisis," carrying on a proud
tradition of religious contributions to American life. Before worrying
about asserting their rights, churches "should continue to be a source
of strength through service to their local community, especially as
their communities may be particularly burdened during this pandemic."
Second,
the guidance notes that "evenly applied restrictions may be
permissible. The government may not substantially burden the free
exercise of religion unless it has a compelling reason for doing so, and
even then it must use the least burdensome approach that achieves that
compelling interest. Temporary action to reduce the spread of a global
pandemic is almost certainly a compelling reason, so long as the
government is not treating religious institutions unfairly compared with
how it treats other comparable gatherings."
The
government may not engage in religious discrimination by requiring that
each religious service has no more than 250 persons, for example, but
failing to prohibit the same for secular gatherings.
Finally,
the First Liberty guidance notes that "extraordinary state action to
limit the peaceful gathering of American citizens must be
temporary. Permanent restrictions on the peaceful assembly of American
citizens—and especially those gathered to exercise their religion—
violate the U.S. Constitution and are not permissible."
The
government may use extraordinary measures to prevent the spread of the
coronavirus, but those measures must be applied equally and they must be
temporary. Churches should be on the lookout to make sure that their
rights are not infringed.
However,
churches and other religious institutions cannot be more focused on
their rights than on their central calling. Churches best prove their
value to society by serving others and by preaching the gospel. Indeed,
the coronavirus should remind churches
that the ancient Roman plagues in the 160s and 250s A.D. proved central
to the rise of Christianity — because Christians, unlike their pagan
neighbors, cared for the sick and dying, exposing themselves to the
disease but also keeping people alive and forming closer social bonds.
The important work of following Jesus' example of charity — not
asserting legal rights — enabled the church to grow by leaps and bounds.
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