Supreme Court rejects Nevada church plea to overturn attendance limit

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court rejected a request from a Nevada church to block enforcement of state restrictions on attendance at religious services.

The big picture: Restrictions on places of worship to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus have become politically divisive. Churches across the U.S. have been challenging state restrictions in court.

• Chief Justice John Roberts ruled with the court’s four liberal members to make a majority.

The state of play: Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley in Nevada argued that the state treated houses of worship more harshly than the state's casinos, restaurants and amusement parks.

• Capacity in those businesses was cut by 50% based on fire-code capacities, unlike congregations that had to adhere to a 50-person limit.

The other side: “A public health emergency does not give governors and other public officials carte blanche to disregard the Constitution for as long as the medical problem persists,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote.

Flashback: The court considered a similar objection from a California church in May, but also rejected the case by the same 5-to-4 vote.

Go deeper: God and COVID-19