Can government ban singing in worship? U.S. Supreme Court weighs in
Weekend Plug-in 🔌
Editor’s note: Every Friday, “Weekend Plug-in” features analysis, fact checking and top headlines from the world of faith. Subscribe now to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox. Got feedback or ideas? Email Bobby Ross Jr. at therossnews@gmail.com.
(ANALYSIS) Legal battles over pandemic-era worship gatherings rage on.
Last October’s confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett flipped the U.S. Supreme Court’s script on such questions.
The latest ruling came last Friday night: A 6-3 order stopped California’s ban on indoor worship in most of the nation’s most populous state. But the justices allowed a 25 percent capacity limit to remain.
Perhaps most interestingly, the majority said California can keep prohibiting singing and chanting. For now.
On the singing issue, the justices sang several different tunes:
• Chief Justice John Roberts: “The State has concluded … that singing indoors poses a heightened risk of transmitting COVID–19. I see no basis in this record for overriding that aspect of the state public health framework.”
• Barrett, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh: “Of course, if a chorister can sing in a Hollywood studio but not in her church, California’s regulations cannot be viewed as neutral. But the record is uncertain. … (H)owever, the applicants remain free to show that the singing ban is not generally applicable and to advance their claim accordingly.”
• Justice Neil Gorsuch, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito: “California has sensibly expressed concern that singing may be a particularly potent way to transmit the disease. … But, on further inspection, the singing ban may not be what it first appears. It seems California’s powerful entertainment industry has won an exemption. So, once more, we appear to have a State playing favorites … expending considerable effort to protect lucrative industries (casinos in Nevada; movie studios in California) while denying similar largesse to its faithful.”
• Justice Elana Kagan, joined by fellow dissenting Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor: California’s “restricted activities include attending a worship service or political meeting; going to a lecture, movie, play, or concert; and frequenting a restaurant, winery, or bar. So the activities are both religious and secular — and many of the secular gatherings, too, are constitutionally protected. In all those communal activities, California requires mask wearing and social distancing, and bars indoor singing and chanting, to reduce the risk of COVID transmission.”
After the ruling, some California churches conducted indoor services Sunday, report The Associated Press’ Christopher Weber and the Los Angeles Times’ Alex Wigglesworth and Thomas Curwen.
Meanwhile, a federal judge this week blocked New York state limits on indoor services in response to a November high court order, according to Bloomberg’s Patricia Hurtado.
For more on the reversal of California’s indoor worship ban, see Chelsea Langston Bombino’s analysis for Religion Unplugged.
Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads
1. Ravi Zacharias hid hundreds of pictures of women, abuse during massages and a rape allegation: Christianity Today’s Daniel Silliman and Kate Shellnutt cover the disturbing findings of a four-month investigation into the late Ravi Zacharias, a world-famous Christian apologist.
Silliman’s investigative reporting — previously praised here and here by Weekend Plug-in — sparked the inquiry.
In advance of the report’s release Thursday, Washington Post religion writer Michelle Boorstein delved into how Zacharias “taught his followers to ask tough questions — just not about his sexual conduct.” It’s a must read.
2. Election turmoil splits West Virginia city’s evangelicals: Associated Press religion journalists Luis Andres Henao and Jessie Wardarski have become one of my favorite tag teams.
They’ve produced exceptional, nuanced multimedia packages from Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and, now, West Virginia. And those are just the ones that I personally recall.
3. Christian pastor uses story of blind, Jewish philanthropist to teach perseverance amid pandemic: “What connected a Christian pastor in Oklahoma City with a Jewish philanthropist and author in Washington, D.C., whom he'd never met?” asks The Oklahoman’s faith editor, Carla Hinton. “Hope. Faith. Resilience.”
Hinton tells the story of a faith-filled connection between the Rev. Bob Long and Sanford "Sandy" Greenberg.
Spoiler alert: Art Garfunkel — half of the folk rock duo with Paul Simon — plays a leading role in the fascinating tale.
More Top Reads
• The digital divide is giving American churches hell (by Arielle Pardes, Wired)
• Peloton makes toning your glutes feel spiritual. But should Jesus be part of the experience? (by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post)
• Can Catholic social teaching unite a divided America? (by Francis X. Rocca, Wall Street Journal)
• Mexican census: Evangelicals at new high, Catholics at new low (by Griffin Paul Jackson, Christianity Today)
• God cares a lot about money, say faith finance groups, and maybe you should too (by Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
• It’s time to talk about violent Christian extremism (by Zack Stanton, Politico)
• Why Joe Biden's faith-based 'equity' agenda is getting pushback from religious conservatives (by Maureen Groppe, USA Today)
• No touching! Churches get ready for Ash Wednesday in a pandemic (Emily McFarlan Miller, RNS)
• Catholic schools, parishes defend federal aid as crucial lifeline (by Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter)
• Catholic schools in U.S. hit by unprecedented enrollment drop (by David Crary, Associated Press)
• For these conservatives, winning religious freedom lawsuits isn’t enough (by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
• Farmers' anger melts thanks to co-op that's bridging Amish, modern worlds in Clarion County (by Kris B. Mamula, Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
• For Latter-day Saints like Andy Reid of Kansas City Chiefs, football and faith go hand in hand (by Bob Smietana, RNS)
• Fact check: did the word ‘SATAN’ appear during The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show? (by Graham McNally, Newsweek)
Inside The Godbeat: Behind The Bylines
It’s time for a shoutout for Paul Glader, Religion Unplugged’s executive editor.
In the first of a series for Poynter.org, Glader — also a journalism professor at The King’s College in New York City and founder of @VettNews — writes about how corrections can help improve news readers’ trust.
Charging Station: In Case You Missed It
Here is where you can catch up on recent news and opinions from Religion Unplugged.
• ‘Minari’ finds faith In fertile, Arkansas soil (by Jillian Cheney)
• Were some Catholic news sites duped by Trump? (by Clemente Lisi)
• Another religious minority girl kidnapped, raped and chained up by her abductor in Pakistan (by Ewelina U. Ochab)
• Exclusive: Museum of the Bible’s ancient Hebrew prayer book likely looted from Afghanistan (by Gil Zohar)
• Were 750 Christians really massacred? The truth about Ethiopia’s recent crisis (by Desta Heliso)
• Joe Biden era puts transgender rights atop newsroom agendas — specifically religion news (by Richard Ostling)
• Think U.S. evangelicals are dying out? Depends how you define evangelicalism (by Ryan Burge)
• Indonesian government forbids state schools from requiring Muslim headscarves (by Paul Marshall)
• Link between trump ally Sen. Josh Hawley and hot 5th century Christian dispute (by Richard Ostling)
• Sign of tense times: half of protestant pastors says QAnon has reached their pews (by Terry Mattingly)
• The most powerful church outside Rome is fighting to loosen its authority (by Timothy Nerozzi)
• The military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists (by Anders C. Hardig and Tazreena Sajjad)
• Pastors charged with child sex crimes scar victims, shock congregations (by Steve Rabey)
• Documentaries on race and Christianity explore slavery, offer modern solutions (by Jillian Cheney)
• Future leader of Biden's White House faith partnerships: A look at the top contenders (by Chelsea Langston Bombino)
The Final Plug
Forgive me.
I don’t have a faith angle for this week’s Final Plug.
Believe me, I tried. I Googled to see if I could find the religious affiliation for Rod Ponton, who gained social media fame this week as the “cat attorney.” No luck.
I decided to share the now-famous “I am not a cat” video anyway — just in case somebody somewhere somehow missed it.
You’re welcome.
Bobby Ross Jr. is a columnist for Religion Unplugged and editor-in-chief of The Christian Chronicle. A former religion writer for The Associated Press and The Oklahoman, Ross has reported from all 50 states and 15 nations. He has covered religion since 1999.