A new Pew Research Center analysis is offering a clearer picture of where state governments have drawn the line between protecting public health and ensuring religious freedom during the coronavirus pandemic .

Most houses of worship in the U.S. have been shuttered since mid-March to combat the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. But in some places, the closures have sparked showdowns between pastors and their local and state governments over whether houses of worship should be exempted from the stay-at-home orders that have brought many other aspects of American life to a halt.

Most states have built these religious exemptions into the guidelines theyve issued on the coronavirus, according to a Pew Research Center analysis published Monday .

About one-third of states havent imposed size restrictions on religious gatherings, fully exempting houses of worship from state regulations on social distancing, according to Pew. Some of these states places like Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee have deemed religious gatherings to be essential, lumping houses of worship together with health care facilities and grocery stores.