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As churches across the country avoid in-person worship services, a historian and sociologist of religion in American life sees parallels to a previous pandemic. Historian John Schmalzbauer draws encouragement from the fact churches survived the 1918 influenza pandemic as the coronavirus outbreak continues.
The idea formed on a day when all the news headlines were dire. Days later, The Associated Press started its daily series “One Good Thing” to reflect the unheralded sacrifices made to benefit others that normally wouldn’t make a story, but maybe always deserved one.
A federal judge signaled that he believes there's a good chance that Kansas is violating religious freedom and free speech rights with a coronavirus-inspired 10-person limit on in-person attendance at religious services or activities and he blocked its enforcement against two churches that sued over it.