page_title: Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
section_title: Religious services
hierarchical_section_title: Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States / Religious services
caption_attribution_description: English: Chaplain 1st Lt. Philip O'Neill prepares for a virtual mass. Following the directions of the President and Governor Ricketts, in response to the CoronaVirus pandemic, the base chapel here is changing the format of all worship services from in-person to virtual worshipping.
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has had far-reaching consequences in the country that go beyond the spread of the disease itself and efforts to quarantine it, including political, cultural, and social implications.
context_section_description: Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many churches, mosques, synagogues and temples have suspended religious services to avoid spreading the disease. Some religious organizations offered radio, television and online services, while others have offered drive-in services.
  Despite the pandemic, many American religious organizations continue to operate their food pantries. Churches offered bags filled with meat and toilet paper rolls for needy families. Many mosques have closed for prayers but continue to run their food banks. The National Cathedral of the United States, which belongs to the Episcopal Church, donated more than 5,000 N95 surgical masks to hospitals of Washington D.C., which were in shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other churches, such as the Church of the Highlands, an evangelical Christian megachurch, have offered free COVID-19 tests in their parking lots.
  Some state orders against large gatherings, such as in Ohio and New York, specifically exempt religious organizations. Colorado Springs Fellowship Church insists it has a constitutional right to defy a state closure order. Evangelical college Liberty University of Lynchburg, Virginia, moved its classes online but called its 5,000 back to campus despite Governor Ralph Northam's order to close all non-essential businesses. On March 13, 2020, Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church issued a statement that would be updated no later than the start of Holy Week, which directed "the local churches of any size and other ministries in the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to suspend in-person worship and other gatherings of more than 10 people for the next two weeks." In the state of Kansas, the Democratic governor, Laura Kelly responded to a prime source of spread of the disease by banning religious services attended by more than 10 people. In April, Texas churches were meeting while following social distancing guidelines after Texas Governor Greg Abbott joined more than 30 governors who had already deemed religious services "essential". A federal appeals court ruled that Kentucky churches must be permitted to hold drive-in church services.
caption: A chaplain at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska conducts a virtual mass via phone.
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