Days after churchgoers filed a lawsuit against coronavirus restrictions in Virginia limiting in-person religious gatherings to 25 people, Gov. Ralph Northam told Christians ahead of Christmas that they “don’t have to sit in the church pew for God to hear your prayers. But this year we need to think about what is truly the most important thing. Is it the worship or the building? For me, God is wherever you are. You don’t have to sit in the church pew for God to hear your prayers. Worship with a mask on is still worship. Worship outside or worship online is still worship.”
The governor then suggested that churchgoers had contributed to the spread of the virus in Virginia. “Quite frankly, we know that a lot of the spread is coming from this because these individuals that are in a place of worship and contract the virus then go out to their place of work or to the grocery store or the convenience store or wherever and that’s how this is spread,” he said.
Amber Athey, an opinion columnist with The Spectator, criticized Northam for taking “a shot at churchgoers” and for “arrogantly explaining to Virginia residents how they are supposed to understand their relationship with God.”
“As many people of faith will tell you, the act of gathering is indeed a very important part of worship. Catholics believe, for example, that Jesus Christ is actually present during the Mass. For them, the Eucharist cannot be received during a Zoom call,” she wrote.
Athey quoted Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, as telling her, “Gov. Northam’s comments are a mixture of shameful ignorance and gross anti-religious bigotry. The worship of God has always had a public dimension. For Catholics, the physical reception of communion is central to the practice of our faith.”
Three churchgoers from Culpeper County filed a lawsuit against Northam’s coronavirus restrictions recently, according to NBC29, which said, “One of the plaintiffs is a nurse and an essential worker who says she feels church gatherings should be considered essential.”
One of the plaintiffs, Ronald Lee Young, is a pastor of Alum Spring Baptist in Culpeper. “Northam’s restrictions are reducing the number of people worshipping,” Young was quoted as saying. “He is taking away our freedom of assembly.”