Posted on 03/26/2020 7:12:06 PM PDT by lightman
There are several religious freedom issues in our responses to the Coronavirus pandemic. One is restricting access for chaplains, among others, to health care facilities and homes for the elderly, but the most contentious issue has been some governments outright bans on most religious gatherings, as in the U.K., or restrictions to groups of less than ten people. In South Korea, over half the cases are connected to the semi-cultic Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and hundreds of Protestant churches held services last Sunday despite government orders against large public gatherings.
Some have argued that such restrictions are a violation of religious freedom, while others have argued that they are responsible and legitimate government action. I believe that both positions are, or can be, correct.
ARE THESE RESTRICTIONS LIMITS ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?
On the first issue, whether these are restrictions on religious freedom, we can define such freedom in two (very probably many more) ways. One is to define religious freedom normatively as a freedom that, like all freedoms, is inherently subject to many restrictions—such as others’ rights to life or health. Here religious freedom is defined as a freedom that is, like all others, necessarily restricted by other freedoms, and also by the duties that we all must follow.
This is similar to the position taken in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights where “Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”
Such limits are often misused by authoritarian governments as a pretext for repression, but this does not mean that they are in themselves wrong. Every right is always related to other rights and may be balanced by them. If we take this approach, and if we believe that most current democratic governments’ actions are proper, then we would conclude that restricting larger religious gatherings does not violate religious freedom,
An alternative is to define religious freedom in very broad terms without including any possible restrictions in the definition. But we could then add that religious freedom may legitimately be restricted in certain circumstances but that we need to call a spade a spade and call these restrictions what they are: actual (if justifiable) limits on religious liberty.[i]
In the first position, we would say that if government actions are proper then the result it is not a real restriction of religious freedom. In the second position we would say they are restrictions on religious freedom but that they are justifiable ones.
There are risks in each of these positions but they often lead to the same practical conclusion, and many of the differences may be largely semantic. Here, the major need is to be clear about what we actually mean: several of our disputes about religious freedom stem simply from using the term in these different ways.
ARE THESE GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS LEGITIMATE?
On the second matter, about whether government action is legitimate, the key question is not whether such restrictions limit religious freedom per se, but whether these restrictions are just, proper, and constitutional.
Those who object to enforced government restrictions usually maintain that they assert the power of the state over the church, and other religious bodies, and are therefore both normatively wrong and, in America, violate the First Amendment.
However, churches and states are nearly always and inevitably intertwined. In the U.S. people often use the non-constitutional metaphor of “the separation of church and state” as shorthand for the First Amendment itself, and usually as a simple if naïve restatement of the respective different authorities of these bodies, ultimately reflecting Pope Gelasius’ description of the two swords in his 494 AD letter to the Emperor Anastasius:
“There are two powers, august Emperor, by which this world is chiefly ruled, namely, the sacred authority of the priests and the royal power…. If the ministers of religion, recognizing the supremacy granted you from heaven in matters affecting the public order, obey your laws, lest otherwise they might obstruct the course of secular affairs by irrelevant considerations, with what readiness should you not yield them obedience to whom is assigned the dispensing of the sacred mysteries of religion.”
But at times the loaded word “separation” is taken in a literal sense to mean that these two bodies can somehow be sealed off from one another, and neither has any authority over the other. But church and state are not two atoms that never touch: they interact with each other according to their own jurisdiction. As Gelasius noted, the emperor has supremacy in temporal matters, which members of the church should follow, and the church has authority in the “sacred mysteries of religion,” which the emperor should follow.
Each has authority according to their respective missions. For example, churches have criticized and denied communion to politicians who they believe are violating church teachings, and it is not, so far, in dispute that a church can decide for itself who may receive communion. This is an authority over politicians: not the power of the sword but a discipline over the sacraments. Our secular age may regard this as minor opprobrium, but many politicians with eyes on polls may take it more seriously. It is the power not of the sword but of the word.
On the other side, a government may legitimately close buildings, including church buildings, if a fire marshal properly pronounces the structure unsafe. Even in actually constructing church buildings, churches do and must follow government fire and building codes. They accept proper government restrictions on the nature of their sanctuary.
Church and state have a legitimate authority over each other in their respective spheres as long as they do not seek to usurp the proper role of the other. A church cannot try to take over governmental power or use physical coercion. A government cannot dictate a church’s doctrine or mission.
Governments internationally, and federally within the U.S., have imposed widely varying restrictions, and there certainly can be arguments about the range and prudence in each particular case. But, as a matter of principle, I believe that in western democracies most of the disputed government actions around the coronavirus are necessary ones, somewhat like the fire marshal writ large. Such restrictions are for a limited time, even if we do not now know what that time limit is. They also do not single out the church—these are rules to be applied to almost any gathering. And they do not seek to usurp church teachings or mission.
Each individual case needs prudential judgement but, in principle, I believe that restrictions on religious gatherings are legitimate government actions, and that churches and others should as a matter of conscience comply with them.
Paul Marshall is Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at Baylor University, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the Religious Freedom Institute, and a contributing editor of Providence.
[i] Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights can be read to support this position also.
If the Governor says "10" they want to go one better and restrict to 5.
The Catholic Bishop of Harrisburg PA has just announced today that there will be no public Masses for Holy Week or Easter.
What a false Shepherd!
CPAC proves you scoff at your own peril. CPAC was a petridish of virus.
Bookmark
And the Diamond Princess proves that most people who are exposed don’t get sick, and that most who get sick recover.
Sucks to be the small percentage who get really sick but that is no reason to effectively place North America under the Interdict.
Jesus at one time told the disciples to flee Jerusalem....was he wrong?
<<<
Paul Marshall is Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at Baylor University, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and the Religious Freedom Institute, and a contributing editor of Providence.
What a false Shepherd!
At the end of the are still guided by prudence. There are sixty priests in Italy who have died from this virus; it would be pointless to needlessly expose the priests or the people of the Harrisburg Diocese to this kind of a threat.
Sucks to be the small percentage who get really sick but that is no reason to effectively place North America under the Interdict.
I don't think it's a fair comparison; I'm pretty sure that the average age of a cruise ship passenger is lower than the average age of a churchgoer by decades, particularly in a post-Christian country as ours.
The premise here is that the church can’t meet without being dangerous.
That is a false premise.
If we can walk up to Starbucks, got to the liquor store, have our oil changed, get an abortion, stop at the pharmacy for meds or makeup...
We can meet for church.
We can wear masks and keep six feet apart and be outside and etc. we can still meet. More safely than we can go to Costco.
When there’s a will there’s a way.
Some churches say that meet in rental areas that are closed, or
If it’s raining...they maybe can’t at least that day. But they can recommend other churches to visit that so have outdoor space etc.
Also at high risk can certainly stay home just as they are avoiding the store etc they can live stream or what have you.
This can be done. I refuse to give up church attendance. Live stream is NOT the same thing although I appreciate it for shut ins.
“Jesus at one time told the disciples to flee Jerusalem....was he wrong?”
That depends in part, if the 401Ks went up or down.
Yes! Of course they do.
The First Amendment is being shredded right before our eyes on an hourly basis.
Free exercise of religion and assembly...the rest soon following.
Look at the underground Catholics in Red China, they're forbidden by law from assembly and attending their (real) Masses, yet they do so anyway, under threat of arrest and imprisonment.
“Fleeing Jerusalem” is not equivalent to “cancelling the worship of God.”
Jesus was warning of the coming destruction of the Temple. Temple worship would be over; Christian worship consisting of preaching, prayer, sacraments, etc - “the gathering” (not the live streaming) superseded temple worship.
Which is why the church has met all over the world since Jesus rose and not on Temple Mount.
Ha!
Really? Not at my church.
I’m a Christian in the SF Bay Area who has attended the same “megachurch” for 20+ years.
I’m fine with its temporary closure. I approve of it. It’s a crowd like any other crowd right now. I’m taking the quarantine seriously, and I haven’t left my house except the daily walk in my neighborhood for 2 weeks, and likely won’t go anywhere by car until May.
So my church is providing online services which is fine, and in the meantime I can read my Bible and talk to my Christian friends and family members. This Sunday I understand we are invited to get wine and bread ready in our kitchens and the church will take communion together, online. Sounds good to me.
These are times to be flexible and not whine. This too shall pass and soon enough we will be back in our crowded congregations (and sporting events, etc) again.
This is not anti-religion from the states/counties; it is just sensible. Everything is closed right now.
I agree with you 100%
If your conscience is clear then what am I to say.
Our opinions differ.
I think you are free to do what you believe God wants your to do. We all work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
While freedom of religion is not absolute - you cannot sacrifice your children for instance - yet there must be a very substantial reason for restrictions. This is claims in the case of Covid, but where is the consistency?
What would be the reaction is a consensual religious practice - lets say the Lord's supper - was shown to be responsible for 82% of new HIV cases aged 13 and older among men (despite only representing approximately 4% of the male population ), and (historically) a greatly increased incidence of other infectious diseases and premature death, being the primary cause of over 700,000 Americans, and despite decades of attempting to tame it into being "safe"?
No doubt that if allowed at all as a right, it would not be promoted, but highly restricted and dire warnings would be constantly issued disuading all from it.
However, what is promoted is a certain practice that has such stats. For according to the CDC (chart), in 2017 male to male sexual contact was the mode of transmission in 93% of new HIV cases among male youth aged 13 to 24, and MSM accounted for 82% of diagnoses among males and 70% of all new HIV diagnoses, and 2 out of every 3 diagnoses in the United States. Which is despite only representing approximately 4% of the male population).
And which practice (historically) has resulted in a greatly increased incidence of other infectious diseases and premature death. And which practice is primarily responsible for more than 700,000 people with AIDS having died since the beginning of the epidemic - despite decades of attempting to tame it into being "safe." (Worldwide, 77.3 million people have contracted HIV and 35.4 million have died of AIDS-related illnesses since the beginning of the pandemic in 1981: https://health.usnews.com/conditions/hiv-aids/articles/hiv-statistics.)
Trying to ask where is the consistency here? And see
Poll, Do you think the extended severe restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are too extreme?
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