Religion always shows up in the discussion whenever a pandemic emerges. An individual’s faith is a very big part of their identity and when governments try to keep their citizens safe through limiting groups and indoor gatherings, they believe that this directly affects how they show and practice their faith. “In Texas, about 50 people contracted the virus after a pastor told congregants they could once again hug one another. In Florida, a teenage girl died last month after attending a youth party at her church.” (New York Times July 8, 2020.) This is an example of how religious leaders in a community are deemed more reliable and more trustworthy for news than the official Center for Disease Control which has mandated social distancing between everyone who is not in the individual’s or family’s immediate household. The CDC has been warning Americans since the pandemic was announced, that places of worship could become hotspots for positive Covid-19 cases and in several cases, this has become a reality. In California houses of worship have become hotspots for spikes of positive cases. “A person who later learned they were positive for Covid-19 attended a California religious service on Mother’s Day, exposing 180 other people to the novel coronavirus, according to local health officials.”(CNN.com May 17, 2020.) This is another prime example of how the pandemic can spread so quickly. It isn’t just California having this issue of communities of faith going back to in person services in abundance.
In Mexico City back in 2008 during their influenza outbreak, the government received a lot of backlash from their citizens for shutting church doors to stop the spread of influenza. Not even a week later the Basilica, a catholic church of a larger congregation and given special privilege’s by the pope, was back open to the public for prayer. “It’s now open. And on Friday, visiting the Virgin was all that was on 19-year-old Nayelli Telles’ mind. “This is more important than anything,” she said as she walked into the Basilica grounds. “I come here every Friday, and I’m here like always.” Plus, she said, “I don’t believe in the illness. I don’t believe it.”(Relying on religion in uncertain times. McClatchy – Tribune Business News) This is a very common belief from those who believe that their faith will protect them from all outside evils including disease. This belief comes out strongly in people of faith during times of misfortune and strife which can include pandemics.
What has appeared throughout my research is that the churches themselves as institutions tend to follow the government mandated regulations and rules for the health and safety of their congregation. In most cases, it is the church members who vocalize against the shutting down of in person prayer and worship. In most minds’ outdoor, radio, televised and virtual services are not the same as attending services inside a place of worship and do not hold the same appeal. In fact, in a recent survey on whether people would go back to in person services after the pandemic is over, “Pew Research Center found that twice as many, 10%, expect to attend church more regularly after the pandemic than expect to attend less often, and 85% don’t expect to change their habits.” (Closed doors, virtual services and lawsuits: Here’s how the pandemic has affected religion in chicagoland. TCA Regional News).
A contrast I found to the church’s adherence without protest to the government’s mandated regulations during Covid-19 is that once religious communities see a decline in cases or cases are not nonexistent in their town or city. “While thousands of churches, synagogues and mosques across the country have been meeting virtually or outside on lawns and in parking lots to protect their members from the virus, the right to hold services within houses of worship became a political battleground as the country crawled out of lockdown this spring.” (New York Times July 8, 2020) Religious communities have been advocating for in person services since the states have started to come out of lockdown. Some states have had to re-enter lockdown due to another spike in cases. “More than 650 coronavirus cases have been linked to nearly 40 churches and religious events across the United States since the beginning of the pandemic, with many of them erupting over the last month as Americans resumed their pre-pandemic activities, according to a New York Times database.” (New York Times July 8, 2020).
In comparison to this, the same trend happened back during the 1918 Influenza pandemic, as the numbers of flu cases declined, “churches started to argue for a lifting of the ban. On October 25th, an opinion piece on the Friday edition of The Star argued that churches should be transferred from the prohibited to the regulated class of gatherings, such as war workers in factories.” (How DC Churches Responded When the Government Banned Public Gatherings During the Spanish Flu of 1918). Once signs that the pandemic was slowing down and hopefully stopping, churches immediately changed their viewpoint on obeying the government regulations. Back then it was declared that prohibiting church gatherings was considered a threat to religious liberty. The same statement is being made today by churches in some states. One specific state where this is happening is New York. Both the Brooklyn Diocese and an Orthodox Jewish organization have sued the state. “The applications both said Mr. Cuomo’s restrictions violated constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion,” (New York Times Nov. 26, 2020). What is interesting about the two statements was that in 1918 the focus was on churches becoming a part of the essential businesses sector in order to hold mass. In 2020 the focus is on how the regulations are a threat to religious liberty.
The main mode of communication that wasn’t word of mouth for churches in 1918 was ads in the local newspapers. “The Saturday, October 5 edition of The Evening Star listed all of the church services for the following day. Most headings simply stated: “no services.” Some churches listed longer messages in their newspaper advertisements, explaining their choice to gather outdoors instead.” (How DC Churches Responded When the Government Banned Public Gatherings During the Spanish Flu of 1918). This was a great way for communication to happen in the past. Today most churches have their own online newsletter and a form of online messaging to send out notices to their parishioners.
Today we have the technology to live stream and record services, a luxury unavailable to those who lived through pandemics in the past. In Chicago, “The Rev. Dr. Fulton Porter III, of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, said his biggest challenge initially was getting older parishioners on board with technology so they could stay connected. The pandemic expedited that process. Porter’s church has even gained four new members while conducting only virtual services, which he says is significant for a smaller African American Episcopal church.” (Closed doors, virtual services and lawsuits: Here’s how the pandemic has affected religion in chicagoland. TCA Regional News) The Covid 19 pandemic has given churches the push to explore new worship platforms that they wouldn’t have previously considered. Reverend Porter mentions that through his virtual services that he has gained members that he might not have reached otherwise. The concern churches have about transitioning their older parishioners to virtual services is that they will not be able to reach them and will not be able to help them continue their faith. This is especially a big concern for those where at least half of their community identifies this way. The benefits though of being able to offer virtual and accessible services outweigh the negatives because currently it is safer to not meet in groups, especially for those who have weakened immune systems and are more at risk for Covid-19.
In conclusion, the churches’ compliance with government mandated regulations during times of pandemics has not changed over the years. They continue to adhere by them and to try their best to still offer services to their communities to bring them hope and stability in their faith. Churches continue to hold mass and advocate for their faithful to their local governments. Their main focus still centers on bringing their communities together through faith and worship. The methods may be evolving in how religious services are being broadcasted, but they are becoming safer and more accessible for everyone.
Works Cited:
Anderson, J. (2020, Sep 13). Closed doors, virtual services and lawsuits: Here’s how the pandemic has affected religion in chicagoland. TCA Regional News Retrieved from http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu/docview/2441945502?accountid=8117
Beith, M. (2009, May 03). Relying on religion in uncertain times. McClatchy – Tribune Business News Retrieved from http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu/docview/456020859?accountid=8117
Dakin Andone and Artemis Moshtaghian. (2020). A person who was Covid-19 positive attended a church service and exposed 180 people, officials say. Retrieved 2 December 2020, from https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/17/us/covid-19-mothers-day-church-exposure/index.html
Pandemic tests the faith of believers, churches and communities. (2020). Retrieved 2 December 2020, from https://news.usc.edu/176318/faith-spirituality-religion-believers-churches-covid-19-pandemic-usc-experts/
Conger, K., Healy, J., & Tompkins, L. (2020, Jul 08). Churches were eager to reopen. now they are a major source of coronavirus cases. [with graphic(s)]. New York Times Retrieved from http://unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu:2048/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.unh-proxy01.newhaven.edu/docview/2421192901?accountid=8117
How DC Churches Responded When the Government Banned Public Gatherings During the Spanish Flu of 1918. (2020). Retrieved 2 December 2020, from https://www.9marks.org/article/how-dc-churches-responded-when-the-government-banned-public-gatherings-during-the-spanish-flu-of-1918/
Splitting 5 to 4, Supreme Court Backs Religious Challenge to Cuomo’s Virus Shutdown Order. (2020). Retrieved 2 December 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/us/supreme-court-coronavirus-religion-new-york.html?searchResultPosition=2
