Letter to the editor: Safer ways to exercise religious freedom

I would like to thank those who choose to exercise their religious freedom by attending services at their church. Thank you for potentially exposing yourselves to covid-19 and possibly passing it on to family, friends, co-workers and others. Thank you for likely extending stay-at-home orders and increasing the number of those infected and those who die from it. I’m sure their loved ones also will like to thank you for your ignorance.

It is ignorance. There are other ways to exercise your freedom of religion — services can be held over the phone or internet; recordings can be made to view later. Granted, it is not the same as sitting in a pew with fellow believers, but it is appropriate considering the crisis. Being asked not to meet in large groups to slow the spread of a deadly virus is not religious persecution. It is a way to express the self-sacrificing love Jesus Christ commanded all his followers to display.

If you insist on putting your butt in a pew, please, I beg you, protect the rest of us by self-quarantine.

Melissa Johns

Latrobe