The Supreme Court Reveals Its Doubts About Religious Freedom, by David Mills

It was a quick decision not to overrule state law and lower courts, produced under the gun. A bare 5 to 4 majority supported the state against the church. Not exactly a big deal for religious freedom, but it could give us a sign of a coming big deal.

On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to overrule California’s limits on religious services. Like other gatherings of their sort, they could fill at most 25% of their occupancy limit. Even then the law limited them to 100 people at a time.  The case is South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, Governor of California. You can read the majority and minority opinions here. They’re not long. Just five pages, and clearly written too.

As the Alliance Defending Freedom noted, the decision was “procedural in nature, narrow in scope. The court simply chose not to grant temporary relief on an emergency motion.” That’s true, but not exactly the point. All the justices, pro and con, believe the law must treat churches fairly. That’s the problem.  …

Read more here:  stream.org/the-supreme-court-reveals-its-doubts-about-religious-freedom/