Results: Noncompliance

On 3/30/2020, Rodney Howard-Browne was arrested and later released on $500 bail in Florida on charges of unlawful assembly and violation of a public health order. Howard-Browne is pastor of the River at Tampa Bay, a megachurch who refused to suspend large Sunday gatherings during the states safer-at-home order, put in place to limit the spread of the COVID-19. Despite several warnings by government officials that any gathering at the church must be fewer than 10 people, the livestream of the previous day's three-and-a-half-hour service showed scores of congregants packed closely together. While Hillsborough Sheriff Chad Chronister called Howard-Brownes actions "reckless", the pastor and his lawyer claim that his arrest was "discriminatory against religion and church gatherings." Have you read this story in the news?

A California megachurch has found itself in legal trouble after public health officials connected it to 71 cases of COVID-19, one of them resulting in death. The church's senior pastor has been hospitalized and two others are critically ill. Still, leaders say they have been unfairly blamed for failing to take action to stop the spread among church members. Bethany Slavic Missionary is a Pentecostal church near Sacramento, and is at the center of one of the largest outbreak clusters in the country, said county health officials. "While we know that the church as a whole has ceased to meet and the leadership is hosting online services, we have been told by multiple sources that there are large groups that continue to meet in homes, despite the public health order to not gather with anyone outside of household members. These gatherings have been directly linked to the clusters of cases in the community," the health department said. Have you read this story in the news?

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pennsylvania-based evangelist Jonathan Shuttlesworth of Shuttlesworth's Revival Today ministry has downplayed the seriousness of the outbreak and railed against church leaders who closed facilities in order to prevent the spread of the virus, calling them "sissies" and "losers" and "a bunch of pansies" with "no balls." He said they should instead be holding mass gatherings to demonstrate the power of their faith. He assured those who donated to his ministry that they would receive "supernatural protection from every sickness and disease there is, and that includes coronavirus." He also intends to hold a large, outdoor Woodstock-like Christian gathering on this Easter Sunday in defiance of stay-at-home orders. Have you read this story in the news?

Given the significant influence these religious leaders have over large numbers of people, and the inherent trust many give to them as spiritual authority, do you think they should face stricter consequences than the average person does for violating social distancing laws?

Do you think religious groups should be exempt from all social distancing laws?