The legal battle between California churches and COVID-19 restrictions continues in 2024, raising crucial questions about public health and religious freedom.
Category: COVID-19
Explainer: Supreme Court’s OSHA and HHS Vaccine Mandate Decisions
Both the OSHA and HHS vaccine mandates provided for religious accommodation which would be enforced through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Without a Federal OSHA requirement, RFRA may only apply to HHS cases.
Biden OSHA vaccine mandate raises constitutional concerns
On Saturday, November 6, the 5th Circuit suspended enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate. The Biden administration does claim direct power to force the general public to receive the vaccine, but it intends to do so through employers. Last week, via the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the administration issued…
Court refuses to block Maine mandate that allows medical but not religious exemptions
The United States Supreme Court refused to issue a preliminary injunction to temporarily block a Maine rule requiring certain healthcare workers to take the COVID-19 vaccine or lose their jobs or medical practices, allowing for medical but not religious exemptions.
On the Vaccine and Religious Liberty
We have received more contacts from readers about the COVID-19 vaccine than any other since we went live in 2008. This is understandable because most religious liberty issues only affect a few people, but almost everybody reading this is being asked to take “the jab” or potentially face some dire consequences. I read in…
COVID-19 and Texas – Of Vaccines, Abortion, Privacy and Bodily Autonomy
Two major stories about what power the government has to control what happens inside a person’s body are making headlines this week. The Courts are Unlikely to Require Religious Accommodation When it Comes to Avoiding the COVID-19 Vaccine The Delta variant of COVID-19 has been wreaking havoc around the world – and part of the…
Biden administration and Klobuchar bill to restrict freedom of speech online
Citing health and safety concerns, Minnesota Senator (and erstwhile presidential candidate) Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill on Thursday, July 22, 2021, dubbed “The Health Misinformation Act of 2021” that would hold tech companies responsible for allowing misinformation about vaccines and other health issues to spread online. In other words, if you say something about COVID-19 or vaccines or anything else that could be seen as “incorrect,” big tech would now have an obligation to censor you.
California agrees to stop enforcing restrictions on churches and to pay church attorney fees
After a year of litigation, the state of California is ordered to back down and pay the attorney fees of a church that had to defend its civil right to meet.
California lifts location and attendance limits on churches following Supreme Court ruling
Following Friday’s Supreme Court ruling, California has lifted restrictions on the number of attendees and location of religious services.
LA County recognizes churches are constitutionally exempt from stay-at-home order
The language of the new Los Angeles COVID restriction specifically exempts religious gatherings as a matter of constitutional right.