Can Government Officials Treat Church Differently than Secular Gatherings?

            The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday concerns freedom of religion and how this freedom has been impacted by state and local politicians. Religious freedom was protected today when District Judge Gary Sharpe ruled against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. It seems that the governor and mayor endorsed the racial justice protests while simultaneously limiting the size of church services. According to Judge Sharpe, politicians must treat religious and secular activities equally.

The State argues, in overly-simplistic fashion, that the challenged laws only incidentally impose a burden on religious exercise, and they are neutral and generally applicable, and therefore, only rational basis need be shown, which is self-evident: preventing the spread of COVID-19…. The State was silent with respect to the mass race protests….

Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio could have just as easily discouraged protests, short of condemning their message, in the name of public health and exercised discretion to suspend enforcement for public safety reasons instead of encouraging what they knew was a flagrant disregard of the outdoor limits and social distancing rules…. They could have also been silent. But by acting as they did, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio sent a clear message that mass protests are deserving of preferential treatment.

            The suit was filed by Catholic churches and Orthodox synagogues in upstate New York alleging that their First Amendment rights had been violated. The judge agreed with them. The results of the suit are that “New York officials can no longer impose limits on indoor, in-person religious gatherings.”


            Cuomo and de Blasio are not the only liberal politicians who acted more like dictators than mayor or governors and sought to block Americans from exercising several of their First Amendment and Second Amendment rights. President Ezra Taft Benson and Elder David A. Bednar are just two prophets who have warned against governmental overreach. This video  has remarks from both Benson and Bednar as well as from an ancient American prophet named Moroni warning against secret combinations that seek to overthrow freedom. It is powerful and plain as it tells Americans to wake up.