The United States faces new coronavirus battlefields, houses of worship.

According to President Trump, religious temples are “essential”, and he called for their reopening on Friday, threatening to override governors who try to resist his decision.

All of the 50 states started reopening in the last two weeks, but some are still strictly banning large social gatherings, which includes religious services.

As the US coronavirus death toll approaches 100,000 people, some authorities are still against practicing religion in public houses of worship, following the case in California where a person who tested positive for COVID-19 had previously attended a service along with 180 other people.

The President’s decision, however, divided American society over the past weekend, just like people have opposite opinions about the mandatory masks and social distancing.

The Interfaith Alliance and the Council on American-Islamic Relations criticized Trump’s order, advising against holding services, while the Southern Baptist Convention was pleased by his decision.

On the other hand, European countries are still sticking to strict rules and started reopening religious temples last week for the first time, with obligatory use of sanitizers, masks, and seats placed at a safe distance from each other.