Poll: Partisan split over virus-era restrictions

Republicans are more likely than Democrats (49% to 21%) to believe that prohibiting in-person church services during the COVID-19 pandemic violates religious freedom, 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%). Those who thought such services should be allowed with restrictions was less divided, with 48% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats in favor. More Republicans (15%) than Democrats (5%) felt in-person services should be allowed without restrictions, according to the poll. (Associated Press)