Religious Institutions Update: March 2021

Key Cases

COVID-19

Attendance Limitations on Houses of Worship Enjoined

In Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo, 983 F. 3d 620 (2d Cir. 2020), the court of appeals reversed two district courts and ruled that an executive order that limited attendance at religious services at houses of worship during the pandemic to 10 persons in "red-zone areas" and 25 persons in "orange-zone areas" was not narrowly tailored to address the state's compelling interest in stemming the spread of COVID-19 and thus violated the Free Exercise rights of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, Agudath Israel of America and affiliated synagogues affected by the capacity limits. There was no evidence of any outbreaks at the Diocese's churches or synagogue services. The governor's identification of COVID-19 transmission risks relied on broad generalizations of public health officials about inherent features of religious worship. In a red zone, businesses categorized as "essential" could