Life Hangs in the Balance: Weighing Coronavirus Church Closings Against the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act

On March 27, the Hillsborough County Emergency Policy Group unanimously issued an order restricting the gatherings of non-essential businesses and services. The Rev. Rodney Howard-Browne responded that he would only cancel church services for the Rapture and that pastors who canceled services were pansies. After holding church services on March 29, Howard-Browne was arrested for unlawful assembly and violating the public health emergency order. This paper analyzes how Florida's strict RFRA statute would likely apply to such an act.

Life Hangs in the Balance: Weighing Coronavirus Church Closings Against the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act Academic Article