A Florida megachurch shut its doors to in-person services this week — not because it wanted to protect its members from the coronavirus, but because its pastor, the Rev. Rodney Howard-Browne, had been arrested.
“I actually have no choice at this juncture but to shut the church down this Sunday,” Howard-Browne said during his radio show on Wednesday. “I have to do this to protect the congregation — not from the virus but from a tyrannical government.”
Howard-Browne was arrested after violating Florida’s social distancing guidelines, which are enforceable via the police powers that are not prohibited to the states by the Constitution, and encouraging his 4,000-plus church members to attend an in-person service. What followed was an important debate about the church, the state, and the relationship between the two.
The Florida megachurch claims it adhered to the White House’s health standards — hand sanitizer was reportedly made available, and attendees were required to maintain a safe distance from each other. Even so, it’s difficult to justify Howard-Browne’s irresponsible actions given the highly contagious and potentially fatal nature of COVID-19. But Howard-Browne has tried to do just that, arguing Florida law enforcement did not have the legal right to arrest him or shut down his church.
Ultimately, this fight will need to be settled in court, but, at first glance, Howard-Browne appears to be in the wrong. The state government does, indeed, have the right to force his church to shut its doors for the same reason it has the right to demand businesses and other organizations temporarily close, too. If a state closure order only targeted churches, it would almost certainly be deemed unconstitutional. But Florida’s closures are not exclusive to religious organizations; they apply to every single group gathering considered “nonessential.”
And therein lies the problem: By labeling churches and other houses of worship “nonessential,” it seems our state governments have also assigned a value to religious groups and the faith to which they cling.
Texas is one of the exceptions: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott issued an order on Tuesday declaring churches “essential” and allowing them to reopen with limitations and the expectation that they will continue to hold services online instead of in-person to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
As a Christian, I agree with Abbott that the church is an essential institution that provides an invaluable service. And, like many other Christians I’ve interacted with over the past few weeks, I’m concerned that seemingly disposal businesses, such as beer distributors in Pennsylvania, cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco, and abortion clinics in the majority of states, have been given the states’ seal of approval, while churches have not. Clearly, the standard for what does and does not preserve and aid the public health varies, which means it can be changed.
And it should be changed if this nationwide shutdown continues because the longer this shutdown lasts, the more influence leaders such as Howard-Browne, who very clearly does not have the best interests of his congregants in mind, will gain. The public is jealous of its liberties, and even a temporary deprivation can breed discontentment and anger.
There is also a very real concern that the temporary closures could result in permanent abuse. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has already threatened to close, forcibly and permanently, houses of worship that violate the city’s shelter-in-place order. This is clearly unconstitutional, but de Blasio’s emergency powers must have convinced him it’s possible.
A religious exemption has always been prudent, but recent events suggest that it has now become necessary. With this exception comes responsibility. Just because a Texas church can hold an in-person service this Sunday does not mean that it should. Indeed, Abbott’s executive order strongly states that “houses of worship must, whenever possible, conduct their activities from home or through remove audio or video services,” even though they have been deemed essential.
The church is responsible for the spiritual and physical well-being of its members. It is also responsible for its own public witness, and reopening services at the risk of exposing a community to the coronavirus will do more to damage that witness than anything else right now. Howard-Browne tarnished that witness when he defied the government’s requests and endangered the public’s health. And it is this loss of public trust, more than any temporary closure, that threatens the church’s long-term “essential” status.
