79% Americans Support Social Distancing Guidelines For Houses Of Worship

One of the cruelties of the coronavirus is that it has led places of worship to not only strip away in-person religious traditions, but also modify or eliminate community gatherings all at a time when the faithful — still reeling from the effects of an unrelenting pandemic — need them most.

Americans rejected the idea that state restrictions on worship violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom,  the study finds.

Among U.S. Christians, about 75% say churches should be subject to the same rules as other businesses.

The pandemic has led some church leaders to worry about whether families will return to church when in-person services resume, as Church membership has already fallen sharply over the past two decades, and an increasing number of Americans say they have no religious preference. 

Only 13% Americans said their house of worship should be open to the public just as it was before the outbreak.

Some 54% Americans say they have not changed the amount of money they donate to their house of worship since the start of the coronavirus outbreak.

On August 4, The New York Times reported that, about a month ago, Catholic churches were permitted to reopen in New York City, and churches have fought to reopen in other parts of the country, too.