The President said today that if governors of the various states continue to require places of worship to remain closed, he would open them up. This is as it should be.
Consider this:
1. When social distancing and shutdown rules were at their most stringent, churches, synagogues and mosques around the country shut down. In some communities, ministers held church drive in services where the faithful sat in their own cars and were isolated from each other. In a few states, the police tried to shut these socially distanced church services down.
2. In the meantime, while it was too dangerous to go to church, the states said it was not too dangerous to go to Walmart or Target. Okay, that was for food, so it is understandable. But many who went to Walmart or other stores didn't just buy food. Nearly every state provided that liquor stores or marijuana dispensaries (where legal) were essential and could remain open. For many governors, getting high was essential but worshiping was forbidden.
3. The Constitution specifically bars the government from establishing a religion. That has long been understood to ban interference by the government from nearly all religious activities. The governors do NOT get to decide that whiskey, beer and pot come ahead of religious observance even if the states get tax revenue from the sale of liquor, etc. The government can, in certain circumstances, temporarily stop church attendance, but it can never determine that places like a dry cleaner or an outdoor restaurant or a pot dispensary or a golf course can be open but churches must remain closed.
What the President said today is both correct under our Constitution and also a great political move. The governors can't oppose this position without becoming the enemy of religious people. Will governor Northam in VA or Whitmer in MI actually try to keep churches in their states closed in the face of the President's demand to allow them to open? Literally millions of people of faith will remember such an attack on religion for years to come should the governors actually attempt it. They will also remember that it was President Trump who stood up for them.
All this being said, there can be requests that the churches conduct services in ways that will limit the exposure of the faithful to infection by the virus. People can wear masks. People can spread out so as maintain distances between those present. Singing can be limited to prevent the spread of the virus. But keeping the churches closed is just NOT going to happen anymore.
Consider this:
1. When social distancing and shutdown rules were at their most stringent, churches, synagogues and mosques around the country shut down. In some communities, ministers held church drive in services where the faithful sat in their own cars and were isolated from each other. In a few states, the police tried to shut these socially distanced church services down.
2. In the meantime, while it was too dangerous to go to church, the states said it was not too dangerous to go to Walmart or Target. Okay, that was for food, so it is understandable. But many who went to Walmart or other stores didn't just buy food. Nearly every state provided that liquor stores or marijuana dispensaries (where legal) were essential and could remain open. For many governors, getting high was essential but worshiping was forbidden.
3. The Constitution specifically bars the government from establishing a religion. That has long been understood to ban interference by the government from nearly all religious activities. The governors do NOT get to decide that whiskey, beer and pot come ahead of religious observance even if the states get tax revenue from the sale of liquor, etc. The government can, in certain circumstances, temporarily stop church attendance, but it can never determine that places like a dry cleaner or an outdoor restaurant or a pot dispensary or a golf course can be open but churches must remain closed.
What the President said today is both correct under our Constitution and also a great political move. The governors can't oppose this position without becoming the enemy of religious people. Will governor Northam in VA or Whitmer in MI actually try to keep churches in their states closed in the face of the President's demand to allow them to open? Literally millions of people of faith will remember such an attack on religion for years to come should the governors actually attempt it. They will also remember that it was President Trump who stood up for them.
All this being said, there can be requests that the churches conduct services in ways that will limit the exposure of the faithful to infection by the virus. People can wear masks. People can spread out so as maintain distances between those present. Singing can be limited to prevent the spread of the virus. But keeping the churches closed is just NOT going to happen anymore.
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