The voters in Texas overwhelmingly supported a measure stop the government from taking action against religious services, as they did during the pandemic last year.
“Proposition 3, which will add a clause to the Texas Constitution forbidding state or local authorities from prohibiting or limiting religious services, garnered 62.4 percent of votes, according to unofficial results from the Texas secretary of state,” the Roys Report said.
Texas Constitution, is amended by
adding Section 6-a to read as follows:
“This state or a political subdivision of this
state may not enact, adopt, or issue a statute, order,
proclamation, decision, or rule that prohibits or limits religious
services, including those conducted in churches, congregations,
and places of worship in this state by a religious organization
established to support and serve the propagation of a sincerely
held religious belief.”
Read more on the amendment here.
“The TCCB supports these propositions to protect religious liberty and freedom to worship and promote the health and well-being of the vulnerable and elderly. We urge you to vote this Tuesday to get this legislation across the finish line,” the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops stated on their website.
John Greiner leads the Glorious Way Church in Houston and said the church should be the place where people go to get healed. “There’s lots of churches and some don’t believe in healing. … They should be free to close if that’s what they want to do, but I don’t think that the government should impose that upon any group at all,” he said.
One of the bill’s original co-authors was Republican Scott Sanford, who is also a pastor, told the Baptist Press in October: “We felt this needed to be addressed, and we think this bill is a biblical and constitution way to address it,” Sanford said. “It’s very practical that ministries need to have the stable and legal environment in which to operate. Now from a church perspective, if there is a flare-up in the virus or if another pandemic or something else comes along, we have the assurance of knowing we’ll be able to continue on.”
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—By CNJ Staff