Culture wars, meet the coronavirus.

In the nation’s latest religious freedom battle, church leaders in numerous states — from New York to Oregon — are clashing with governors over how and when to resume in-person gatherings.

President Donald Trump entered the fray today, saying he has deemed houses of worship “essential.” He called on states to allow the reopening of churches, synagogues and mosques despite lingering concerns over the spread of COVID-19, according to The Associated Press.

Just one example of the debates happening nationally: The Boston Globe reported on Thursday’s front page that Gov. Charlie Baker allowed Massachusetts worship gatherings to resume because he knew courts might force his hand.

In California, more than 1,200 pastors have vowed to hold in-person services May 31, defying Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to the Los Angeles Times. The U.S. Justice Department has warned the state that its coronavirus rules might violate religious freedoms.

In Minnesota, Catholic and Lutheran churches have informed Gov. Tim Walz of their plans to begin meeting again despite his executive order limiting religious services to 10 people, the Star-Tribune reported. Church groups are divided on the governor’s order, according to the newspaper’s religion writer, Jean Hopfensperger.

“It’s hard to see how under any reading of the First Amendment the Mall of America can be allowed to reopen while churches must keep their doors closed to all but a handful,” the Wall Street Journal said in an editorial.

In related news:

* Federal guidance for reopening houses of worship was put on hold after a battle between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House, the Washington Post reported earlier this week.

* The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has unveiled plans to phase in worship services, according to Salt Lake Tribune religion writer Peggy Fletcher Stack.

* Religion Unplugged’s Liza Vandenboom reported last week on a megachurch pastor’s “Peaceably Gather” petition drive calling for Sunday reopenings.

Power Up: The Week’s Best Reads

1. On the first Sunday congregations could reopen, a church called Hopeful Baptist lived up to its name: Washington Post religion writer Michelle Boorstein did a really nice job with this feature on a Virginia congregation. And she also did her best to avoid potential exposure to the coronavirus.

“The church was working hard on logistics,” Boorstein told me in an email. “They had a team of deacons do a run-through the day before. They’d marked off the seating with yellow stickies and X-marks on the driveway/parking lot/walkup. They had many deacons in masks and gloves helping with everything, so they were very prepared.

2. The religious roots of Trump’s magical thinking on coronavirus: CNN Religion Editor Daniel Burke explores the role of the president’s religious upbringing in his response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CNN’s fascinating thesis is that Trump long ago “learned how to craft his own version of reality, a lesson he learned in an unlikely place: a church.”

“It's called the ‘power of positive thinking,’” Burke writes, “and Trump heard it from the master himself: the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale, a Manhattan pastor who became a self-help juggernaut, the Joel Osteen of the 1950s.”

Continue reading “Faith vs. COVID-19: Restrictions prompt clashes over churches reopening,” by Bobby Ross Jr., at Religion Unplugged.