Gov. John Carney gives a briefing. Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that…
Nevada defends cap on church services
FILE – In this April 12, 2020, file photo, Norma Urrabazo prays while wearing a face mask before speaking at an Easter drive-in service at the International Church of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings…
US bishops ask Supreme Court to protect Catholic foster agency in Philadelphia
The Supreme Court. (Shutterstock via CNA) In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. bishops argued that a Catholic agency should not be banned from participation in the Philadelphia foster care system due to its beliefs on marriage. “The Catholic Church serves orphans through adoption and foster care…
Nevada defends cap on church services; sheriff won’t enforce
Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a legal battle with leaders of a rural church. (File: KRNV) RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a…
COVID-19 v. the Constitution: The Conflict Continues
The extraordinary measures designed to slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to cause constitutional clashes. My last post ’s opening hypothetical about members of a congregation being ticketed for attending church services has now become a reality, and the Supreme Court has given its first hint on how it…
Nevada defends cap on church services; sheriff won’t enforce
FILE – In this April 12, 2020, file photo, Norma Urrabazo prays while wearing a face mask before speaking at an Easter drive-in service at the International Church of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas. Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings…
US bishops ask Supreme Court to protect Catholic foster agency in Philadelphia
Washington D.C., Jun 4, 2020 / 04:27 pm ( CNA ).- In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. bishops argued that a Catholic agency should not be banned from participation in the Philadelphia foster care system due to its beliefs on marriage. “The Catholic Church serves orphans…
Nevada defends cap on church services; sheriff won’t enforce
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s lawyers are stepping up their defense of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s 50-person cap on religious gatherings in a legal battle with leaders of a rural church who say it violates their constitutional right to exercise their beliefs. Attorney General Aaron Ford is urging a federal judge…
US bishops ask Supreme Court to protect Catholic foster agency in Philadelphia
Washington D.C., Jun 4, 2020 / 04:27 pm MT ( CNA ).- In a brief filed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. bishops argued that a Catholic agency should not be banned from participation in the Philadelphia foster care system due to its beliefs on marriage. “The Catholic Church serves…
Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Pandemic Restriction on Church Services
The Story: The Supreme Court recently rejected a challenge to a California pandemic policy restricting occupancy in churches to 25 percent of building capacity or no more than 100 attendees. The Background: South Bay United Pentecostal Church and their senior pastor, Bishop Arthur Hodges III, sought an injunction to prevent…
Delaware governor to back off religious worship restrictions
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow,…
Delaware governor to back off religious worship restrictions
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow,…
Delaware governor to back off religious worship restrictions
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow,…
Carney to back off Delaware religious worship restrictions
DOVER, Del. — Democratic Gov. John Carney plans to back off restrictions he imposed on church worship to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, state attorneys told a federal judge Tuesday. Carney planned to issue new guidance regarding communities of worship either later Tuesday or Wednesday that could narrow, or…
Chief Justice Upholds CA COVID Restrictions Because FFS Grocery Stores Aren’t Churches
(Image via Getty) “Assuming all of the same precautions are taken, why can someone safely walk down a grocery store aisle but not a pew? And why can someone safely interact with a brave deliverywoman but not with a stoic minister?” asks the 6th Circuit in an opinion quoted by…
Supreme Court weighs California’s limits on church crowds during pandemic
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington.(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is set to decide on a religious freedom claim from a south San Diego County church that wants an exemption from California’s COVID-19 rules, which limit large…
Citing right to religious practices, Madras HC rejects plea against breaking coconuts on devotees’ heads
A Hindu devotee with his body pierced with skewers and walk through a road as he takes part in a religious procession during Aadi festival at elephant gate road, in Chennai. (Photo | EPS, R.Satish Babu) CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday rejected a plea to prevent people from…
Adultery as criminal offense ruled unconstitutional (update)
Taipei, May 29 (CNA) Provisions in Taiwan’s laws that treat adultery as a criminal offense have been ruled unconstitutional and declared invalid effective immediately, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) announced Friday. Hsu and the Constitutional Court determined that the laws that punish adultery infringe on the privacy of…
Pritzker lifts ban on worship services starting Friday
Move comes amid lawsuits and possible U.S. Supreme Court review SPRINGFIELD – People in Illinois will be allowed to attend worship services starting this weekend without fear of prosecution as the state enters Phase 3 of Gov. JB Pritzker’s “ Restore Illinois ” reopening plan. Pritzker made the announcement during…
U.S. Supreme Court asked to intervene in California’s ‘biased’ shutdown of churches
Worshippers gather at South Bay Pentecostal Church in a 2019 photo posted to Facebook. SAN DIEGO, California, May 25, 2020 ( LifeSiteNews ) – Southern California’s South Bay Pentecostal Church has petitioned the United States Supreme Court to intervene and issue an emergency injunction against Governor Gavin Newsom’s shutdown of…
Government Staying Out Of Religious Instruction Is Not Granting An ‘Exception’ To Churches
The U.S. Supreme Court (by Joe Ravi via Wikimedia – CC-BY-SA 3.0) Other than the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable government searches, I would argue no other constitutional guarantee is more abused or more intentionally distorted in the modern era than the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause . Before I get…
Judge finds Oregon governor’s coronavirus restrictions on religious gatherings ‘null and void’
A Baker County judge on Monday granted a preliminary injunction to 10 churches, including Elkhorn Baptist in Baker City, who sued the governor. The judge ruled Gov. Kate Brown’s restrictions on religious gatherings “null and void’’ because her emergency order due to the coronavirus pandemic had exceeded its 28-day limit.…
How fundamentalist religion has made the policy response to COVID-19 so much worse
This spring, the novel coronavirus pandemic has raised the issue of the relationship between the blindest kind of religious faith and rational skepticism — this time in two countries that think of themselves as polar opposites and enemies: Supreme Leader Ali Khameini’s Iran and Donald Trump’s America. On the U.S.…
Greenville County Schools employees reminded about lawsuit restricting participation in graduation prayer
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. — Greenville County School District is reminding district employees about a court order that prevents them from participating in prayer at graduation. It’s an order the district is appealing. On Friday, the district posted the following on its e-bulletin board. "Court Order on Participation in Prayer at…
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Argument On Whether ‘Ministerial Exception’ Covers Lay School Teachers
Whether the Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses prevent civil courts from adjudicating employment discrimination claims brought by employees against their religious employer, where the employee carried out important religious functions, is the question presented in two consolidated cases before the U.S. Supreme Court: Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru,…