Americans Oppose Religious Exemptions From Coronavirus-Related Restrictions

Pew Forum ^ | 8/7/20

[marshmallow]

Few regular worshippers say their congregations are operating normally, and most support the precautions being taken

A new Pew Research Center survey finds that U.S. adults overwhelmingly say houses of worship should be required to follow the same rules about social distancing and large gatherings as other organizations or businesses in their local area. About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) take this position, four times the share who think houses of worship should be allowed more flexibility than other kinds of establishments when it comes to rules about social distancing (19%).

On this question, Americans seem to align with two recent Supreme Court orders, which rejected lawsuits claiming that state restrictions on worship violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom. At the same time, many state and local governments have carved out exemptions for religious institutions from pandemic-related restrictions.

Among U.S. Christians, about three-quarters say churches should be subject to the same rules as other businesses. Evangelical Protestants express the most support for giving houses of worship more flexibility, but even in this group, a 62% majority says houses of worship should be held to the same standards as other businesses and organizations (see Chapter 1 for more details). And while Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party are substantially more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say houses of worship should be required to follow the same social distancing rules as other organizations, a two-thirds majority of Republicans also express this view.

In addition, amid reports that some clusters of the virus have been tied to religious gatherings, many Americans who regularly attend religious services express support for instituting a variety of restrictions and modifications at their own places of worship. At the time the survey was conducted (July 13 to 19), only......

[Persevero]

Are we asking for exemptions?

We can sing at Chevys or along with the radio at Walmart. So we can sing in church.

We can go to a huge funeral for liberal icons. So we can assemble at church.

And if people don’t like the first amendment there is a process to change it. In the meantime don’t deny me my first amendment rights. Thanks.

[yuleeyahoo]

a 62% majority says houses of worship should be held to the same standards as other businesses and organizations

This is outright deceptive, since a lot of states are holding churches to much higher standards than businesses. See Nevada for example.

[richardtavor]

Screw polls. They don’t mean a damp thing.

[hanamizu]

“We can go to a huge funeral for liberal icons. So we can assemble at church.”

---

No, no, no. Like ‘mostly peaceful’ protests, the Wuhan CCP virus is known not to spread at packed funerals for liberal icons. In fact the virus makes a point of avoiding such things. Don’t be a science denier.

[richardtavor]

Screw polls. They don’t mean a damp thing.

[HighSierra5]

Being 62% wrong doesn’t make it right.

[Pollster1]

My church worships outdoors for now - by choice. We don’t need an exemption for that, but we should not be under more restrictions than Home Depot.

[facedown]

bull

[egfowler3]

Has anyone noticed that the face-masks being sold in local stores are Made in China???

Do you also remember how the sources of those masks were caught contaminating the masks being sent to America.

Could the new cases be coming from the masks Made in China?

Something to think about.

[Jan_Sobieski]

False choice. Churches are limited to 25 people, while casinos can have 50% capacity. This is not equal