A new Pew Research Center survey finds that U.S. adults overwhelmingly say houses of worship should be required to follow the same rules about social distancing and large gatherings as other organizations or businesses in their local area. About eight-in-ten Americans (79%) take this position, four times the share who think houses of worship should be allowed more flexibility than other kinds of establishments when it comes to rules about social distancing (19%).

On this question, Americans seem to align with two recent Supreme Court orders, which rejected lawsuits claiming that state restrictions on worship violated the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom. At the same time, many state and local governments have carved out exemptions for religious institutions from pandemic-related restrictions.

Among U.S. Christians, about three-quarters say churches should be subject to the same rules as other businesses. Evangelical Protestants express the most support for giving houses of worship more flexibility, but even in this group, a 62% majority says houses of worship should be held to the same standards as other businesses and organizations (see Chapter 1 for more details). And while Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party are substantially more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say houses of worship should be required to follow the same social distancing rules as other organizations, a two-thirds majority of Republicans also express this view.

In addition, amid reports that some clusters of the virus have been tied to religious gatherings, many Americans who regularly attend religious services express support for instituting a variety of restrictions and modifications at their own places of worship. At the time the survey was conducted (July 13 to 19), only 13% said their house of worship should be open to the public just as it was before the outbreak

More than eight-in-ten attenders think their own congregation should either be closed altogether (28%) or open only on a modified basis (57%), with this latter group broadly endorsing precautions such as requiring people to stay 6 feet away from each other (51%), requiring masks (44%), limiting the number of people in attendance at any one time (41%) and limiting communal singing (29%).

Source: Pew Research Center

Lacy’s company lets churches broadcast live and recorded sermons and events through their websites, social media platforms like Facebook, and streaming platforms like YouTube and Roku. The company provides customer service to help digitally unsure pastors get services online, often using computers and video equipment they already have in the church or at home. It also offers a range of options such as multilingual digital Bibles that parishioners can access, live chats and prayer requests that can be facilitated by church volunteers, and even automated messages to check in on members who may not have virtually attended in a while.

StreamingChurch.tv isn’t the only religion-focused streaming service. Some religious leaders may prefer to do business with those who share their spiritual philosophies, and some are wary of broadcasting through mainstream platforms like YouTube or Facebook.

Source: Fastcompany.com

All the women interviewed for the book felt the spiritual benefits of niqab-wearing, which makes them feel closer to God and deepens their practice of Islam. But wearing it in public often subjected them to Islamophobic, racist and sexist street harassment.

Research confirms that Muslim women who wear Islamic dress in non-Muslim majority countries are frequently subjected to abuse. In a 2017 American study of 40 Muslim women, 85% reported verbal violence and 25% had experienced physical violence. Wearing the niqab, the most conspicuous form of Islamic dress, is most dangerous. Eighty percent of British niqab wearers interviewed for a 2014 report by the human rights group Open Society Foundations had experienced verbal or physical violence.

Now, in an unexpected turn of events, people across the West are jogging in face masks and grocery shopping in bandannas tied across their mouths. That’s making public life in the niqab much more pleasant, say Muslim women.

Fashion designers are even trying to make face coverings look stylish – an effort that has Muslim women long perceived a security threat rolling their eyes on social media. Even some non-Muslims are interested in the niqab as a means of protecting against coronavirus…

Source: The Conversation

After an initial delay, French authorities issued an official order on April 2 banning the washing, embalming and other forms of funerary preparations employed by many religious groups.

“Epidemic situations are not new to the Muslim faith,” said Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the French Council of Muslim Faith (CFCM), in an interview with FRANCE 24. “We had to inform the faithful of these exceptional rules.”

One of the most important is the suspension of rituals such as washing and preparing the body for burial. The argument for these suspensions, Moussaoui explained, is very simple: “It’s the preservation of the life of the person who performs these rituals.”

Source France24

In France, the Grand Great Mosque of Paris and its new rector, Chems Eddine Hafiz, did not wait to set an example for the other 4,000 mosques and places of worship in France. He took the initiative and had the courage to call on all Muslims in France to pray at home to avoid the spread of the virus, citing Qurʼānic verses and prophetic hadiths in his press release. In the latter, he calls on Muslims to be careful and supportive along with their fellow citizens to fight this virus which is threatening the lives of all citizens.

Some imams close to the Muslim Brotherhood have criticized the rector’s decision to cancel prayers and close mosques because the virus had not yet spread widely. Events have proven the correctness of the rector’s decision to listen to President Emmanuel Macron from the start of the crisis.

Most imams see this virus as a divine test for all humanity, including Muslims, to return to the path of righteousness.

Source: AsiaNews.it