Supreme Court Rules California Must Allow In-Home Religious Gatherings - Forbes

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Topline

The Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 margin late Friday that California's coronavirus-related restrictions on gathering in private homes violated constitutional rights on the free exercise of religion, the latest ruling from the high court that prohibits authorities from enforcing limits on religious services.

Key Facts

Five conservative justices agreed that California’s restrictions banning any type of gathering in private homes of more than three households violated the Constitution by treating "comparable secular activity more favorably than at-home religious exercise."

The justices noted that a lower court, the Ninth Circuit, "did not conclude" that permitted secular activities such as indoor dining and movie theaters "pose a lesser risk of transmission" than religious exercises in a private residence.

The challenge was brought by a pair of Santa Clara County pastors who said the state's restrictions prevented them from meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer sessions.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's three liberal judges—Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor—in dissenting.

Contra:

In a dissent that was joined by Breyer and Sotomayor, Kagan wrote: "California need not, as the [majority] insists, treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons — and thus unlike at-home secular gatherings, the obvious comparator here," adding, "the law does not require that the State equally treat apples and watermelons."

Key Background:

Last summer, Gov. Gavin Newsom prohibited indoor worship services in areas with the highest level of coronavirus transmission and hospitalizations. Multiple lawsuits were filed challenging the restrictions. Prior to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, the court allowed Newsom to restrict attendance at religious services. However, in November, after Amy Coney Barrett replaced Ginsburg, the court barred New York from enforcing strict attendance limits on places of worship. In early February, the court ruled that California could not enforce its ban on indoor church services, asserting it was discriminatory because it applied more stringent standards to places of worship than to retail stores and other businesses. (However, the court did say the state could limit indoor attendance at services to 25% of building capacity.) "We appear to have a state playing favorites during a pandemic," wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch in one of several majority opinions of that case, adding that California "obviously targets religion for differential treatment."