Discussions have been raging on for over a year now on whether masks should or should not be worn, especially in schools.
That debate took a twist as a Michigan Catholic school claimed in a lawsuit that the requirement to wear masks interferes with "God's image and likeness."
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The original lawsuit filed by Resurrection School in Lansing, Michigan, said that mask mandates interfere with Catholic education.
"Unfortunately, a mask shields our humanity," the lawsuit said. "And because God created us in His image, we are masking that image."
"Masks also make us anti-social," the lawsuit said. "They interfere with relations. As the Catholic faith teaches, we are relational beings."
Now a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati is hearing the appeal for the school and two other parents. Initially, a U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan denied the school's request for a preliminary injunction to stop the mask mandate in October 2020. The school filed the appeal within 48 hours.
The mask mandate for Michigan has since been dropped, but with the spread of the Delta variant, some schools across the country are ready to have kids in classrooms with masks.
The CDC currently says that students and teachers who have been vaccinated do not need masks or booster shots. However, recently a pediatricians group has recommended that all students wear masks this upcoming school year.
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At least nine states will not see this happen as Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Vermont have enacted legislation prohibiting districts from requiring masks in schools, CNN reported.
In its lawsuit, Resurrection school had two parents, Christopher Mianecki and Stephanie Smith, join the lawsuit. The parents said that their children had difficulties breathing and paying attention in class because of the mask.
The school argued that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer imposed sweeping, unbearable restrictions when the pandemic started in March 2020. However, in October, the Michigan State Supreme Court deemed her actions to be unconstitutional. She then began issuing directives in accordance with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Fox7 reported.
On Wednesday, Republican lawmakers killed a law that Whitmer used to impose COVID-19 restrictions, according to Fox2. Now the governor can not hold emergency powers when an emergency is declared for more than 28 days without legislative approval.
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The lawsuit highlights the battle between religious leaders and health officials over COVID-19 restrictions across the country. State and local restrictions on indoor worship, put in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19, were in place for most of the pandemic.
Most religious organizations followed the restrictions while they were in place; however, several churches fought them. These churches argued that their constitutionally protected freedom of religious expression was being violated.
The U.S. Supreme Court had struck down the outright ban in a case brought by California churches. They did, however, leave capacity limits in place and the ban on singing or chanting.
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Across the country, cities have been taking different approaches to how they will handle the decision to mask or not to mask.
In Illinois, a school board meeting was held in Barrington where both parents and students who attend the district's eight elementary schools expressed their opinions on the face coverings, WGN-TV reported. Some students reportedly wore shirts that read, "please don't make me wear a mask."
At the moment, Illinois is recommending schools work with public health officials to make their own decisions on whether or not to enforce masks.
In Detroit, public school students will likely be required to wear a mask unless an entire room is vaccinated, Fox7 reported. An identification system is being put in place, perhaps by wearing lanyards, to tell who has been vaccinated, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said.
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Administrators in Pittsburgh are proposing that public school students and staff wear masks indoors. This will allow them to protect younger students, and due to Delta variant concerns, spokeswoman Ebony R. Pugh said.
The universal masking will also protect privacy for those who have not been vaccinated, she said.
Most schoolchildren and teachers in Kansas will not be required to wear masks; however, the state's largest district, Wichita, made masks optional starting on July 6, Wichita Public Schools spokeswoman Susan Arensman said.
The district surveyed parents before announcing its reopening plan.