• Outspoken church officials are advocating for the right to worship in person on Easter Sunday, despite orders prohibiting mass religious gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
  • In a recent case study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends that Americans “avoid gatherings” like religious services, a church in Chicago played a significant role in community spread.
  • “God will shield us from all harm and sickness,” Reverend Tony Spell, pastor of the evangelical Life Tabernacle Church in Louisiana, told Reuters. “We are not afraid. We are called by God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America’s borders. We will spread the Gospel.”
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Churches around the country are fighting stay-at-home mandates to open their doors for Easter Sunday services, much to the dismay of public health officials.

While several religious entities including the Roman Catholic Church are transitioning to virtual services in the form of live streaming, television broadcasts, and radio sermons, some congregations plan to meet in person this weekend. In states like Louisiana and Texas, outspoken church leaders are advocating for the right to worship in person, despite orders prohibiting mass religious gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Their defiance comes even as churches have been demonstrated to serve as significant hotbeds for the spread of the virus. A recent case study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked a church’s role in community spread in Chicago, after individuals showing symptoms of COVID-19 attended a service in February.

“US residents should adhere to CDC recommendations for social distancing, avoid gatherings, and follow stay-at-home orders when required by state or local authorities,” the CDC wrote in its report.

Reverend Tony Spell - pastor of the evangelical Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rogue, Louisiana - told Reuters "Satan and a virus will not stop us," when questioned about his plans to hold in person services at his church, where he expects 2,000 attendees.

"God will shield us from all harm and sickness," Spell told Reuters. "We are not afraid. We are called by God to stand against the Antichrist creeping into America's borders. We will spread the Gospel."

Others, like Reverend John Greiner of Glorious Way Church in Houston, Texas, had initially shifted Easter services to a digital format, before backtracking and deciding to open for in-person services. According to ABC News, Greiner has positioned hand-washing stations around the premises and rearranged pews to allow for social distancing.

"We can't do what God called us to do on livestream," Greiner told ABC News.

Still, experts say social distancing efforts like Grenier's are not enough and continue to discourage group outings. Krys Johnson, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Temple University, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that churches are particularly high-risk venues due to wide age variations of congregants, which tend to include elderly community members.

"While a lot of churches have been cognizant about steps like removing holy water to prevent transmitting the disease, the environment is not conducive to social distancing - we're talking to one another, touching the pews, worshipping together," Johnson said. "Church is often also where we see our elders, and those are the people we need to be protecting the most."