The weakness in the Supreme Court’s late-night ruling in favor of two New York religious organizations is that it affirms a form of defective reasoning known as “false equivalency.” This kind of flawed logic claims an equivalence between a bicycle shop and a place of worship, ignoring significant differences between the two venues. This defective reasoning has been used in a number of cases that religious organizations have brought to court, arguing that the state or local public health authorities were imposing unwarranted restrictions on the practice of religion. The failure to make the distinction between bicycle shops and the like and places of worship will affect the safety of places of worship.
This ruling will encourage churches and other religious organizations that are lax in implementing preventive measures to reduce the transmission of the COVID-19 coronavirus to become even more incautious and careless and those which are implementing such measures to relax their vigilance. The result will be more super-spreader events at churches and clusters of new cases traceable to churches. States and counties that are experiencing spikes in new cases are already having difficulty in securing the cooperation of the public in the implementation of measures intended to reduce infection rates. This ruling will also add to the challenges that they face.
The community on the outskirts of which I live and where I attend the local state university has a bicycle shop and numerous places of worship. The bicycle shop is located near the university and repairs as well as sells bicycles. While the community has a large number of bicycle enthusiasts, one seldom sees many of them in the bicycle shop at one time. They rarely stay at the shop for any length of time. On occasion one may see a small group of bicyclists with their bicycles outside the store. While a customer who is not wearing a face mask or maintaining at least a six-foot distance from an infected customer or store employee might contract the COVID-19 coronavirus, the risks are fairly low.
On the other hand, the risks of contracting the virus at one of the community’s places of worship is much higher, depending upon which place of worship one attends. Some churches have been complying with the governor’s recommended safety guidelines for churches; others have been ignoring these guidelines. Elsewhere in the state religious organizations have taken the governor to court and received rulings in their favor, rulings which from a public health standpoint contribute to the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in the state.
In those places of worship where the risk of exposure to the COVID-19 coronavirus is the highest, churches are not placing a limit on the number of attendees at a worship service or other gathering at one time. Attendees are not encouraged to wear face masks, social distance, and observe other state and county recommended preventive measures. Worship services and other gatherings often last more than an hour. The Sunday morning schedule will not differ from what it did before the pandemic with adults and children attending Sunday school as well as worship services. Attendees may be in the building for several hours, frequently in the same room. Due to the cold weather windows and doors will be closed. Worship services and even Sunday school classes will involve activities like singing and loud taking which have been implicated in the airborne transmission of the virus. People experiencing mild symptoms associated with the virus will attend worship services and other gatherings. In a county that has been red-zoned due to its high incidence of infection, these churches are playing with fire.
In those places of worship where the risk of exposure to the virus are the lowest, churches are limiting the number of people in attendance at worship services and other gatherings at one time and requiring them to register beforehand. They are requiring attendees to wear face masks, social distance, and observe other preventative measures. They are limiting the length of worship services and other gatherings. They are taking steps to ensure that rooms are adequately ventilated. They have dialed back such activities as singing and loud talking or have placed a temporary moratorium on them. They ask people who are sick to stay home. They offer online services for those who are not yet comfortable attending church or who are elderly or have pre-existing conditions. They recognize people’s safety concerns and respond appropriately to them. Due to the rise in new cases across the state and in the county, they have temporarily suspended worship services and other gatherings on the recommendation of the governor. They are doing all that they can to keep their congregation and the community safe.
See also:
Major shift at Supreme Court on Covid-19 orders
In a 5-4 ruling, Supreme Court sides with religious groups in a dispute over Covid-19 restrictions in New York
Supreme Court Blocks New York’s Worship Service Restrictions
High court blocks NY coronavirus limits on houses of worship
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