Poll: Majority of voters say churches should not be treated like essential businesses

A majority of voters say churches should not be treated like essential businesses, according to a new Hill-HarrisX poll.

Fifty-seven percent of registered voters in the May 27-28 survey said churches should not be treated like essential businesses and should be required to stay closed until the restrictions have been lifted.

By contrast, 43 percent said churches should be treated as essential and allowed to remain open.

The poll found Republican voters to be more likely to designate churches as essential, at 59 percent. Meanwhile, 69 percent of Democratic voters and 60 percent of independent voters said they should not be treated like essential businesses.

Likewise, older voters were more inclined than their younger counter-parts to call churches essential.

Calls to reopen churches for services have been mounting among religious groups.

President Trump supported these calls in declaring churches essential last month, urging governors to allow gatherings. 

The Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 961 registered voters May 27-28. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.16 percentage points. 

—Gabriela Schulte