(Pew Research Center) In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, every state in the United States has issued guidelines or orders limiting social interaction. But these rules don’t always apply evenly when it comes to in-person worship services and other religious gatherings.
In fact, only 10 states are preventing in-person religious gatherings in any form, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of recent state-level regulations. The list includes California, where a group of churches are suing Gov. Gavin Newsom in federal court over what they claim is a violation of their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion. A federal judge last week rejected their request to hold services.
Roughly a third of states (15) are allowing religious gatherings to continue without any limit on their size.