Download This PaperCoronavirus and Church Closures: Will the COVID-19 Gathering Bans Survive Free Exercise Challenges?
21 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2020 Last revised: 4 May 2020
Date Written: April 18, 2020
Abstract
Churches have been closed in America. This statement seems surprising given the broad protections for the free exercise of religion. However, the world is experiencing a highly-contagious strain of coronavirus referred to as COVID-19. To battle this global pandemic, public officials have implemented emergency orders to slow the spread of the virus and save lives. These gathering bans limit the amount of people who can assemble in one location effectively closing businesses and cancelling social and religious gatherings.
Many have questioned the legality of the government closing churches. With each gathering ban being unique, this article attempts to provide a framework to analyze whether the church closures violate free exercise protections. Part I will look at historical examples of church closures during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic. Part II will review the current legal framework for the free exercise of religion. Part III will examine some specific free exercise cases that have arisen from the gathering bans, and Part IV will analyze the gathering bans chances of surviving free exercise challenges.
Keywords: COVID-19, Coronavirus, Free Exercise, Religion, Church Closure, Pandemic, Freedom of Religion, First Amendment, Gathering Ban
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