Supreme Court Sides With New Jersey Religious Leaders In Coronavirus Shutdown Case

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed with two New Jersey religious leaders who accused Governor Phil Murphy of violating their religious freedoms with his restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rabbi Yisrael Knopfler and Reverend Kevin Robinson of St. Anthony of Padua church took their grievances to the high court after two lower courts initially ruled in Murphy’s favor. The governor’s executive order, which was introduced in November, placed a 150 person cap on weddings, religious services, and funerals.

“We are getting a very clear message from the United States Supreme Court that government cannot set up any rules that apply to places of worship or worship activities, but not to other, comparable secular activities,” the religious leader’s attorney, Christopher Ferrara, expressed to The Bergen Record. “This is the very crux of religious discrimination and a blatant abuse of the United States Constitution and its amendments.”

This latest win is just one on a growing list of victories that the Supreme Court has handed to religious leaders challenging COVID-19 restrictions. The high court recently ruled in favor of a small Colorado church that sued Governor Jared Polis over similar COVID-19 regulations. They also sided with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Orthodox Jewish synagogues, who argued that Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has enacted some of the harshest restrictions through the pandemic, violated their religious freedoms.