Apr 19, 2020 at 12:02 AM A number of religious organizations — mostly evangelical Protestant denominations — have issued challenges to state or local "shelter in place" regulations that prohibit religious gatherings. These challenges have no legitimate position in law. Yes, the U.S. Constitution has two provisions that might seem to require religious exemptions from regulations that limit public gatherings. According to the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof … or the right of the people peaceably to assemble. …” No constitutional right is absolute; all are subject to limitations. That is why the most famous comment on First Amendment jurisprudence is Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ claim that yelling fire in a crowded theater is not protected free speech. Similarly, no church could get away with defending itself from murder charges if it sacrificed human beings as part of its faith. So what limitations are allowed to be placed on religious organizations by state and/or local governments? Before Justice Antonin Scalia’s majority opinion in Employment Division v. Smith (1990), government limits on religious freedom claims were subject to what is called "strict scrutiny." Under that rule, governments […]
