Supreme Court Stops California From Banning Indoor Worship While Allowing Indoor Shopping

In a Friday night 6-3 injunction responding to emergency petitions from two California churches, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion that California’s restrictions against worship services have gone too far. The court gave a short, unsigned opinion demanding California lift its restrictions on in-person, indoor church services while allowing California to keep banning singing and limiting attendance to 25 percent of church buildings’ capacity.

The decision allows churches to present evidence in lower courts that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lockdown rules violate the First Amendment and other antidiscrimination measures by limiting their operations in ways that other institutions are not, such as the ability to meet indoors. The court’s injunction applied to two cases, South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom and Harvest Rock Church v. Newsom. Both churches challenged Newsom’s orders banning indoor worship while allowing indoor shopping, haircuts, manicures, and Hollywood productions.

“[I]f Hollywood may host a studio audience or film a singing competition while not a single soul may enter California’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, something has gone seriously awry,” noted Justice Neil Gorsuch in a concurring opinion.