Houses of worship are closing, forced by the government or not

Houses of worship across the state began announcing they were shutting down services Friday, with several citing a call from Gov. Gavin Newsom to cease all gatherings of more than 250 people. A national emergency declaration by President Donald Trump stopped short of ordering an end to large gatherings but set the stage for greater federal action.

It is unclear how binding Newsom’s order is though the point might quickly become moot as houses of worship quickly announce voluntary shutdowns. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said it was excusing all parishioners from attending Mass at least through the end of the month.

Grace Community Church, the Sun Valley mega church whose services draw 8,000 people each Sunday, also announced it was shutting down services, though smaller Bible study groups would continue to meet. The church said it would continue to livestream sermons over the internet.

Newsom declared a state of emergency on March 4. He followed up with more measures last week, including issuing an executive order on Thursday that suspended open meetings laws and allows the state to commandeer property, among other provisions.

It was widely reported Newsom issued a ban on meetings of more than 250 people on Wednesday. However, the statement from Newsom’s office said “mass gatherings should be postponed or canceled,” not that they were ordered canceled.

“The people in our lives who are most at risk — seniors and those with underlying health conditions — are depending on all of us to make the right choice,” Newsom stated in the news release.

But the announcement from Grace Church that it was canceling in-person services appeared to imply the closing was mandatory.

“We have been ordered by the state authorities to limit gatherings to 250 people or less, which means we are unable to meet together,” read a Friday morning email to members.

What churches and other religious organizations do now could be important in slowing the spread of the virus. The month of April is filled with important religious holidays. The Jewish commemoration of Passover begins April 8. For most Christian denominations, Good Friday is April 10 and Easter is April 12. Orthodox Christians celebrate a week later. The month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan begins the evening of April 23.

It is also possible churches that stay open could face legal liability if they are implicated in transmission. A large church in South Korea already has.

According to numerous news reports, more than half of victims in South Korea are members of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which claims more than 300,000 members. Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon sued the church’s leaders on March 2 “for murder, injury and violation of prevention and management of infectious diseases.”

On Friday, a Lutheran church in Wisconsin announced three of its members had the virus, and at least one had attended services recently. It may, however, quickly become untenable to pin liability on a particular church, given most experts agree the virus is already far more widespread than limited testing has so far uncovered.

Constitutional scholars generally seem to agree the president and some other public officials have broad rights in the event of a declared emergency. That is exactly what Trump did on Friday, before a live national audience from outside the White House.

Trump said the action will open up $50 billion in federal money to fight the crisis and soon make is easier for people to be tested. During his comments, he said he was recommending a stop to large gatherings, but stopped short of ordering such a move. While Trump is not yet taking full advantage of his powers, he may still do so if the crisis grows worse.

“Use of emergency powers in this pandemic can be legitimate for measures grounded in science and public health and when consistent with the need to protect the health, safety, and civil liberties of us all,” Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, said in a statement. “The ACLU will be watching closely to make sure any use of emergency powers in response to the pandemic is grounded in science and public health, not politics or discrimination.”