On Monday, Governor Whitmer issued an executive order in response to coronavirus that said "all assemblages of more than 50 people in a single indoor shared space and all events of more than 50 people are prohibited."
Later in the week, the order was updated to add a part that reads: “A place of religious worship is not subject to penalty under section 3 of Executive Order 2020-11.” Section three of the original order said that "a willful violation of this order shall constitute a misdemeanor."
That means that churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples will not be penalized with a misdemeanor if they violate the rule to keep assemblies under 50 people.
"The limit still applies, but a place of religious worship is not subject to penalty," Whitmer
spokesman Tiffany Brown told the Free Press Friday.
In a Facebook post, Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, thanked Whitmer for the update to the order, writing:
"People have a God-given right to assemble and worship, and that right is secured by both the United States and Michigan Constitution."
Chatfield added:
"I believe that as Christians we also have a duty to love our fellow man and play our role within society. My recommendation is to find ways that you can abide within the order to the best of your ability."
Dennis Lennox, a member of an Episcopal Church in Detroit, said he welcomed the update to the executive order that gives churches an exemption from being penalized.
“It is imperative that constitutional rights and liberties — particularly the fundamental right to worship almighty God — aren’t impeded by the response" to the spread of coronavirus, Lennox said.
"Decisions about religious services should be fully made by spiritual authorities without pressure by temporal authorities."
At Fulcrum7, we believe that the Governor of Michigan got this one right, on the basis of religious freedom. We believe that other states should do likewise.
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"Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's” (Matthew 22:21).