The New York Times recently proclaimed, “Churches were eager to reopen. Now they are a major source of coronavirus cases.” The since-modified headline is a gross overstatement and makes it sound as if churches have played a significant role in the spread of COVID-19. As Ed Stetzer pointed out in Christianity Today, the New York Times reported that 650 cases had been linked to churches since the beginning of the pandemic when there have been over 3 million cases in the U.S. during that time. “650 nationally out of 3 million cases is a headline looking for a story,” writes Setzer. “The real story is this: churches are gathering and remarkably few infections are taking place.” Furthermore, out of over 300,000 churches in the U.S., only 40 have been linked to COVID outbreaks. Making the argument that the majority of churches are disregarding the safety of their parishioners and becoming a major source of the virus’s spread is ridiculous.
With religious gatherings being unfairly targeted, this kind of reporting from the New York Times is dishonest and irresponsible. Churches are not compromising public safety, and they have not been a significant source of the spread of COVID-19. In the past week, there have been an average of 62,000 new cases reported per day. In other words, the number of cases per day is almost a hundred times as many as there have been linked to churches since March.
Meanwhile, places of worship have faced targeting from state and local governments throughout the pandemic. In some states, this religious discrimination is still taking place, as is the case in California where earlier this month Governor Newsom banned singing in churches. In addition to targeting from state and local governments, churches across the country have seen an uptick in vandalism and arson, including one church that was lit on fire while staff were inside. One church that was burned down in May was specifically targeted because they had reopened, with arsonists leaving a note saying, “Bet you stay home now, hypokrits [sic]” graffitied on the church parking lot. Dishonest reporting is always irresponsible, but it is especially irresponsible to wrongly inflame public opinion against churches when we are already seeing violence and vandalism.
As virus cases grow around the country, churches must be very cautious. But the low numbers of cases tied to churches make it clear that nearly all churches ARE being careful. If your church is looking for resources on reopening safely, check out this plan we put together. The rare cases of churches that have been linked to outbreaks do not justify religious discrimination or dishonest reporting. It is wrong for the media and local governments to target religious gatherings in this way, especially at a time when our nation so desperately needs the church.
