NEW YORK (AP) – Republicans are more likely than Democrats (49% to 21%) to believe that prohibiting in-person church services during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent poll by The University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Nearly two thirds of Democrats (58%) said in-person services should not be allowed during the current crisis as compared to around one third of Republicans (34%). The number of people who thought such services should be allowed with restrictions was less divided among party lines with 48 percent of Republicans in favor to 38 percent of Democrats. However, three times as many Republicans (15%) as Democrats (5%) felt in-person services should be allowed without restrictions, according to the poll.
Many churches have resorted to drive-in services during the pandemic. Nearly two thirds (59%) of Republicans said that prohibitions on such services are a violation of religious freedom while only around one third of Democrats (30%) agreed. Thirty-eight percent of Republicans said drive-in services should be allowed without restrictions, while only 18 percent of Democrats agreed.
Daniel Bennett, associate professor of political science at John Brown University, argued that some Democrats might have responded more positively to restrictions on church services because evangelicals – a major aspect of President Trump’s voting base – were more against such regulations.
“It’s a gut reaction to say, ‘Oh, you’re for this – I have to be against this,’” Bennett told the Associated Press. (AP)
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