Calvary Chapel Victory
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Calvary Chapel, a church in San Jose, California, that refused to close during the pandemic will not be required to pay more than $200,000 in fines that were imputed against them. This is a massive victory for religious freedom as other public places such as grocery stores were not held to the same restrictions in California as places of worship. Pastor McClure of Calvary Chapel refused to comply with California’s tyrannical mandates imposed on his church and congregation.
The Court of Appeals ruling states:
As we have discussed, we understand the United States Supreme Court in its most recent rulings to have clarified that public health orders placing capacity limitations on indoor public gatherings that have the effect of restricting indoor worship services are unlikely to survive strict scrutiny under the Free Exercise Clause where the same capacity limitations do not apply to all types of indoor secular activity, notwithstanding that secular indoor gatherings are also restricted. (South Bay II, supra, 592 U.S. _ [141 S. Ct. 716]; Tandon, supra, 593 U.S. at p. [141 S. Ct. 1294].)”