Worshippers, Stay Home. It's the American Way.

Across the nation, stay-at-home orders have quieted downtowns, schools, theaters, and stadiums. But one kind of gathering space—the house of worship—has proven especially contested ground. Directives to suspend religious meetings have met with both resignation and protest. Suggestions to live-stream services at home have satisfied some worshipers but frustrated others who insist that communal prayer is essential. 

But it hasn’t always been this way. For much of American history, worship at home—in addition to or even instead of church—has been the rule rather than the exception. By staying home in this crisis, American worshipers might well revive and reinvigorate the longstanding tradition of household religion.