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Capitol Hill Baptist Church, DC Settle Religious Liberty Suit BY TOM STRODE
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he District of Columbia has agreed to pay $220,000 in legal fees in a settlement with Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC). The settlement comes nine months after a federal court ruled the government could not prohibit the Southern Baptist congregation from meeting outdoors with proper safety measures in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The July 8 settlement agreement followed an October 2020 decision by federal judge Trevor McFadden to block enforcement of DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s restrictions on religious gatherings. McFadden ruled the district’s limitations during the pandemic “substantially burden” CHBC’s free exercise of religion and likely violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). In the settlement, DC agreed to pay $210,000 to the law firm WilmerHale and $10,000 to First Liberty Institute, which both represented the church in the suit.
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CHBC, which resumed holding corporate worship in its auditorium May 2, is “thankful for the Lord’s provision to be able to gather” in other locations before returning to its own building, said Justin Sok, a church elder, in written remarks. “We praise him for the kindness to be able to use our own building again,” Sok said. “We continue to pray for our mayor and leaders that they would lead with wisdom.” Daniel Patterson, former acting president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said, “A pandemic is no excuse to run roughshod over religious liberty. While it never should have had to go to these lengths, Capitol Hill Baptist Church has rightly prevailed. “Throughout the pandemic, CHBC served as a model for how to engage local authorities,” Patterson said in written comments. “Throughout the process, I know this local congregation like many others served their community with faithfulness. With this chapter now closed, my hope is that DC officials will see this church as a valuable partner serving the Capitol Hill community.” The ERLC worked during the pandemic to provide guidance to state and local officials regarding religious liberty considerations. In the settlement, DC agreed to “not enforce any current or future COVID-19 restrictions to prohibit CHBC from gathering as one congregation” in the district. It also agreed to “not impose restrictions on CHBC that are more restrictive than the restrictions on comparable secular activities, as defined by the Supreme Court.” The settlement specified the agreement is not an admission the district government violated federal or DC law. The church, which had a Sunday morning attendance of about 1,000 before the pandemic, filed suit in September 2020 after the DC government rejected its request for a waiver from Bowser’s order despite the church’s commitment to require social distancing and the wearing of masks outdoors. At the time, the order restricted
