Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law banning state agencies and public officials from closing houses of worship.
The Republican governor announced he had approved the bill on Tuesday, tweeting, “The First Amendment right to freedom of religion shall never be infringed.”
I just signed a law that prohibits any government agency or public official from issuing an order that closes places of worship.
The First Amendment right to freedom of religion shall never be infringed.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 15, 2021
The legislation comes after the widespread closure of churches, synagogues, and mosques as COVID-19 spread across the United States. Services deemed “nonessential,” including houses of worship, were shut down as states implemented lockdowns in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus in March 2020.
Abbott reopened houses of worship later that month by executive order, designating them essential services.
Republican state Rep. Scott Sanford, the legislator who introduced the bill, argued the closure of churches was a violation of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion and that houses of worship “provide essential spiritual, mental, and physical support in a time of crisis.”
At the height of the first wave of COVID-19, multiple pastors were arrested after holding services in violation of local COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.
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Churches and synagogues fought back against the orders. The Supreme Court in November blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restrictions on church attendance limits after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn sued the governor, ruling that the regulations “cannot be viewed as neutral because they single out houses of worship for especially harsh treatment.”
