Three California churches are taking legal action against Gov. Gavin Newsom over his effort to fight the spread of COVID-19 by prohibiting singing at holy places.
The evangelical congregations insist Newsom is infringing on their spiritual liberty by requiring them to stop singing and shouting throughout indoor services, according to a claim filed Wednesday in federal court in Sacramento
” To prohibit group singing and chanting is to efficiently restrict corporate Christian worship,” the problem states.
California’s health department upgraded its guidelines for holy places on July 1, including new constraints on singing and chanting. The guidelines discuss that these activities “negate the threat reduction attained through 6 feet of physical distancing” given that there is a greater chance that COVID-19 will spread through “polluted exhaled droplets.”
” Consider practicing these activities through alternative techniques (such as web streaming) that guarantee private congregation members carry out these activities individually in their own houses,” the standards state.
But the Northern California churches– Calvary Chapel of Ukiah, Calvary Chapel of Fort Bragg and River of Life Church in Oroville– don’t value the federal government telling them how to worship. The churches are looking for an injunction versus the health department’s ban in a suit that names Newsom and 3 health authorities as defendants.
The problem estimates several Bible verses showing that “singing and praying aloud” are essential parts of praise. Houses of worship are being unfairly singled out, the churches declare, since singing and chanting have not technically been prohibited in other indoor locations, such as mall, child care centers and schools.
The lawsuit tries to paint Newsom as a hypocritical for supporting Black Lives Matter protests while prohibiting singing and chanting at indoor praise services. If a demonstration were to happen indoors, singing and shouting would be enabled there, the churches argue.
Newsom’s workplace did not right away respond to HuffPost’s ask for comment.
According to The Washington Post, the White House requested that change.
The California churches are being represented by 3 conservative Christian legal defense group