COVID-19 restrictions and religious liberty are still at odds

As we near the one-year mark since the United States began balancing COVID-19 protocol and civil liberties, the debate over how to achieve them both is ongoing, as are the lawsuits.

Late Friday night, the Supreme Court partially granted an application for injunctive relief in two cases, South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom and Harvest Rock Church v. Newsom. Now California Gov. Gavin Newsom must end the state’s total ban on indoor worship and let religious spaces reopen at 25% of occupancy, though the state can continue to ban singing and chanting indoors.