After high-profile delays and disputes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to release a roadmap soon for reopening religious organizations during the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, the CDC published guidelines for a variety of other institutions and programs, and administration officials said none would be issued for faith-based groups.
But during a visit to Michigan yesterday, President Trump indicated that plans had changed. “I said, ‘You better put it out,’ and they’re doing it,” he said of the CDC. “We got to get our churches open.” Churches are “essential” and “so important to the psyche of our country,” the president added.
Trump, who had hoped to have churches and the country back open by Easter, said on Thursday, “People want to be in their churches. It’s wonderful to sit home and watch something on a laptop, but it can never be the same as being in a church or be with your friends and they want to have it open and I think that’s going to be happening very shortly.” The president also blamed “a lot of Democrat governors” for keeping churches closed and for not treating churches “with respect.” Read More
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Trump slams governors, demands they open houses of worship ‘right now’
President Trump is doing churches no favor by urging governors to relax restrictions on large church gatherings. He is playing to the evangelical wing of his base which has been agitating against state and local restrictions on such gatherings.
But if churches that do not take adequate measures to safeguard their congregations and communities become the epicenter of new clusters of COVID-19 cases and deaths as has been the case in Arkansas, California, Georgia, and Texas, do not expect him to share the blame. It is well documented that he is adept at shifting the blame from himself to others. The governors, church leaders, and the churches themselves will bear the full brunt of the blame.
Church leaders who have committed themselves to proceed with caution in reopening their churches should stay the course. States that are reopening are already seeing an uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. One study suggests that COVID-19 may be out of control in as many as 24 states. Public health experts are warning that we can expect a second and even deadlier wave of COVID-19 in the fall.
It will be far more damaging to the psyche of the United States if churches open prematurely, become major spreaders of COVID-19 in their communities, and are forced to close again. They will lose the trust and confidence of their communities, which they may never regain.
President Trump's rhetoric is politically-motivated. He is seeking to present himself as the champion of the free exercise of religion in the United States and to retain the support of the evangelical wing of his base. His reelection prospects, not churchgoers' physical and spiritual well-being, is his prime consideration.
Some readers may disagree with this analysis but I believe that it is a fair and accurate one, based upon President Trump's past actions.
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