A California church on Monday went to court over $350,000 in fines it received for violating the state’s coronavirus worship restrictions.
The church, Calvary Chapel in San Jose, argued that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders, as well as local restrictions, place an undue burden on the free exercise of faith. The church has been meeting in-person since May and received a fine every time it violated orders limiting congregations to 100 people. The church’s pastor, Mike McClure, said that no members of the church have tested positive for the coronavirus.
“There are people who are accusing us that we are trying to kill people, that we don’t care about people,” McClure told his congregation on Sunday. “That’s the farthest thing from the truth.”
McClure, in May, told reporters that he was “never again going to close the doors, ever” after President Trump demanded that governors nationwide allow churches to resume in-person services.
Santa Clara County, where the church is located, was granted a temporary restraining order against Calvary Chapel while the lawsuit is underway. The order requires the church to follow coronavirus restrictions until its case is decided. The case arose last week when the county claimed that the church, which typically attracts 600 people, poses an “imminent risk of a super-spreader” event.
California has faced some of the fiercest battles between churches and governments over how worship should be conducted during the pandemic. The state has both weathered and prosecuted multiple lawsuits related to restrictions on services and gathering size.
In September, San Francisco Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone declared that the restrictions, which in some cases still limited services to 10 people, were “mocking God.” Up to that point, the Catholic Church, which is one of the largest churches in the state, had been relatively compliant with its orders.
