The pandemic restriction on holding Bible studies and prayer meetings in homes has been lifted in California.
The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 order late Friday, Los Angeles Times reported.
Those who favored of lifting the ban include conservative Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Barrett and Neil M. Gorsuch.
On the other hand, liberal Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen G. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. have dissented.
The court order was the response to a case filed by a Bible study group in Santa Clara County. The plaintiffs include Karen Busch, Ritesh Tandon, Pastor Jeremy Wong, Julie Evarkiou, Connie Richards, Dhruv Khanna, Frances Beaudit, Maya Mansour, Terry and Carolyn Gannon.
The lawyers for the group argued that "'house church' fellowship is just as indispensable to their faith as attending Mass is for a Catholic. Yet for over a year now, California has completely prohibited or substantially restricted those 'gatherings' and many others."
Noting that California opened public businesses while restricting religious gatherings, the conservative justices said that state regulators have violated the First Amendment's protection for religious freedom.
"California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise, permitting hair salons, retail stores, personal care services, movie theaters, private suites at sporting events and concerts, and indoor restaurants to bring together more than three households at a time. The 9th Circuit did not conclude that those activities pose a lesser risk of transmission than applicants' proposed religious exercise at home," the justices stated.
But Kagan criticized the decision.
"California limits religious gatherings in homes to three households. If the state also limits all secular gatherings in homes to three households, it has complied with the 1st Amendment. And the state does exactly that: It has adopted a blanket restriction on at home gatherings of all kinds, religious and secular alike .... California need not ... treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons - and thus unlike at-home secular gatherings ....The law does not require that the state equally treat apples and watermelons," she said.
California has announced about relaxing its restrictions effective April 15, allowing theater performances, indoor concerts and other private gatherings. But people are still urged to continue wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. They also have to be tested or show proof of full vaccination in order to attend gatherings.
The state, with a population of 40 million, has already administered about 19 million doses of vaccines, having nearly 6.9 million people fully vaccinated. Currently, only individuals belonging to the age group of 50 and above are eligible for vaccines. But citizens aged 16 and older will not be eligible until April 15.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has been vaccinated himself, receiving a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. He also encouraged others to get the vaccine, stating that unless more people get vaccinated, they would not be able to achieve herd immunity and return to normalcy - echoing what Dr. Anthony Fauci, CNN medical analyst Leana Wen and the Biden administration says.
