GOP bill aims to halt government restrictions on houses of worship during a public health crisis

Liam Adams
Nashville Tennessean
The Tennessee House of Representatives meets Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. Tennessee's General Assembly is meeting for a special legislative session to address COVID-19 measures after Republican Gov. Bill Lee declined to do so. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

New legislation aims to limit the authority of governments over houses of worship during a public health crisis. The bill's sponsors say it's a simple matter of constitutional rights. 

HB 1694 would prohibit state or local governments from placing additional restrictions on religious services during a state of emergency. The proposed law would apply to various disaster scenarios, but its sponsors acknowledge it's a direct response to COVID-19. 

"The bill was designed to address the situation that we had of religious organizations and churches being shut down due to COVID," Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris, said in an interview.

Tennessee state Rep. Bruce Griffey, R-Paris.

Griffey co-sponsored the bill with Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin. The House passed the measure Monday evening on a vote of 73-19. It will now move to the Senate. 

The Tennessee General Assembly considered, but did not pass, the same legislation in the October special session that led to sweeping limits on the authority of school districts, public health agencies, and businesses over COVID-19.

New COVID-19 laws:Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signs sweeping COVID-19 legislation into law

The push for HB 1694 may be a GOP effort to tie up loose ends from October, but Casada and Griffey say the bill's potential impact is significant. 

"It’s greater than COVID. It is a fundamental right that we have to assemble and to worship," Casada said in an interview. "And for the state to have the power to stop that should send shivers down the spine of liberals and conservatives."

Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin, introduced a bill that would prohibit local and state governments from placing restrictions on houses of worship during states of emergency.

To Casada and Griffey, the legislation is a no brainer. It's safeguarding what they see as existing and obvious constitutional rights. Not all see it the same, though.

Restrictions on gatherings at houses of worship during a pandemic is "not compromising freedom of religion," said the Rev. Dr. Donna Whitney, a pastoral assistant at Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville.

"It doesn’t tell me what I can and cannot believe. It doesn’t tell me what beliefs I can or cannot profess publicly," Whitney said. "All it says is that I'm not free to infect someone with a deadly virus."

Whitney, a retired physician, partners with the Southern Christian Coalition, a group that organizes Tennessee clergy to advocate for policies. 

The pandemic has also caused faith groups to think differently about community, Whitney said, noting virtual worship options many houses of worship have implemented. 

"Being church doesn’t mean showing up Sunday morning in your best clothes and calling that church," Whitney said. "It means being called to do as you must to create beloved community."

The debate at the center of Casada's bill was also the basis for two U.S. Supreme Court cases over COVID-19 restrictions in New York and California. In both cases, the court's conservative majority ruled against certain state restrictions on houses of worship. 

As the debate continues about the government's place in helping houses of worship respond to COVID-19, local Nashville churches have taken it upon themselves to respond in creative ways.

As the omicron variant surged in early January, Mount Zion Baptist Church in Nashville hosted a virtual COVID-19 town hall that featured a Q&A with Dr. Kimberly Lamar, assistant commissioner for the office of health disparities elimination for the Tennessee Department of Health, and an unexpected call-in from Oprah Winfrey. 

Lamar reviewed important COVID-19 information, including masking, testing, and infection rates across various demographic subsets. 

"I've been watching this town hall and it really brings tears to my eyes," Winfrey told Mount Zion leaders Joseph and Stephanie Walker at the virtual town hall. "I am rejoicing that you are using the magnificent platform of Mount Zion to get the message to the people and to tell them the truth."

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on Twitter @liamsadams.