The Justice Department’s recent decision to weigh in on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) stay-at-home order poses a fundamentally important question: If governments rightly consider physical nourishment an “essential” service, should not the spiritual sustenance that churches can provide receive at least equal consideration?
The Justice Department intervened after the pastor of the Lighthouse Fellowship Church in Chincoteague, Va., received a criminal charge for holding a service that 16 people attended, more than the limit of 10 set out in Northam’s order. Its brief noted that the congregation abided by social distancing guidelines and that other establishments — including liquor stores and big-box retailers — do not have to abide by a 10-person limit on gatherings.
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