It’s disappointing that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to block Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s restriction on houses of worship was so quickly placed into partisan or ideological terms.

Six justices agreed that Cuomo’s orders limiting church attendance in red and orange microcluster zones violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. But even conservative justices did not say the state has no authority to limit church attendance. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that he does not doubt “the state’s authority to impose tailored restrictions — even very strict restrictions — on attendance at religious services and secular gatherings alike.”

Realistically, the court’s decision is not a Republican court’s repudiation of a Democratic governor. The court’s decision was a repudiation of a one-size-fits-all restriction on people’s ability to exercise their faith. The high court’s decision is a sign to Cuomo and all governors that regulating constititionally protected freedoms during the pandemic should be done with the touch of a surgeon, not the blunt force of the middle linebacker for the Buffalo Bills.

The ruling leaves room for the governor to act to protect public safety and for churchgoers to worship safely. Many churches, including many locally, have worked to limit the numbers of people in church, placed hand sanitizers throughout their buildings and taken measures to reduce person-to-person contact. Some churches, with Christmas Eve looming, have chosen to have more than one Christmas Eve service as a way to allow as many people as possible to worship while remaining safe.

Most churches have been more than willing to comply with reasonable guidelines from the government. Rather than attempt to run roughshod over them, the governor should work with them, particularly as positive cases continue to increase.

Religion is an important part of many people’s lives, particularly when so much has been taken away from so many by COVID-19.