Teleforum

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended Americans’ daily lives. What one day people took for granted, like going to church, was the next day potentially deadly and prohibited by law. In response to the pandemic, state and local officials ordered entities such as non-essential businesses and churches to close. But as churches tried to adapt to uncertain circumstances by offering drive-thru and drive-up services, some were required to stop these activities. As the public-health situation improved, some officials required churches to remain closed, even as they allowed business establishments to open. These situations involving churches and their freedom to operate prompted lawsuits and drew the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice.Outside of church, too, religious citizens have faced unique challenges. For example, Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian humanitarian organization, was asked to remove the field hospital it set up in New York City because of its leader’s views on same-sex marriage and other social issues