Coronavirus

“those with lower family incomes (53%) are more likely than those from middle- (38%) and high-income households (30%) to have experienced high psychological distress at least once since March 2020” - Pew

“Religious groups criticized government-mandated public health measures in 54 countries (27% of all analyzed), often stating the rules were a violation of religious freedom.” - Pew

“A respiratory disease has spread far and wide. Conflicts at home and abroad pose dire challenges. The public is overwhelmed by questions of what to read and whom to trust …. I am describing mid-18th century Britain.” - The Conversation

“Confidence that the pandemic was getting better plummeted in July, as more Americans now say the situation is getting worse (45%) than better (40%), according to Gallup.” - Lifeway

“… among churches that posted their sermons, homilies or worship services online between Aug. 31 and Nov. 8, 2020, two-thirds posted at least one message from the pulpit mentioning the election. But these rates varied considerably among the four major Christian groups” - Pew

“Nearly 100 mostly unvaccinated teenagers and adults connected to a camp and conference recently held by the Illinois-based multi-campus The Crossing Church have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reiterate his call for residents to get vaccinated.” - C.Post

“Half of young people (ages 13 to 25) thought their faith communities had done well managing the COVID pandemic even though 90% reported receiving no personal contact from clergy.” - RNS

“The National COVID-19 Church Attendance Project (NCCAP) represents our efforts to try to see the bigger picture.

“Smith started Friendly Neighbor Epidemiologist, a Facebook page, in March 2020 … Since then, the page, written in Smith’s friendly, informational voice, has grown to more than 96,000 followers. About half are evangelical Christians, she said. But threats and pushback have also followed” - C.Today

“…while the focus here is on church attendance, it’s logical to conclude that individuals who felt comfortable going back to weekend worship were also more willing to engage in other social activities. It is therefore difficult to isolate whether church attendance was the vector that most likely spread the infection” - The Conversation