Two megachurches have rebranded as strip clubs to skirt California COVID-19 restrictions, saying they will "strip the devil of his hold".
Under current restrictions churches are closed but adult establishments are allowed to remain open, after two California strip clubs brought their case to court in November.
Superior Court Judge Joel Wohlfiel ruled strip clubs were protected under the First Amendment and therefore California could no longer enforce policies that forbade them from operating.
The decision has infuriated religious leaders who have now rebranded as "strip clubs" to sidestep the law.
Pastor Jurgen Matthesius of Awaken Church in San Diego posted a video on Instagram of him taking off his tie in front of his congregation, saying his church is now "a family-friendly strip club".
"We strip the devil of his hold, power and authority over people's lives!" he wrote on Instagram.
Godspeak Calvary Chapel's pastor Rob McCoy did a similar strip tease when he removed his tie in front of his congregation while blasting the government for it's "tyranny".
McCoy has faced multiple penalties for flouting California's COVID-19 restrictions by holding in-person, maskless gatherings with no social distancing.
California has had more than 20,000 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 1 million confirmed cases.
New Zealand had a similar argument in May when the country reached COVID-19 alert level 2. National MP Simon O'Conner grilled the then-Health Minister Dr David Clark over why strip clubs could be open, but churches could not.
"People often attend services of worship for fellowship reasons," Dr Clark responded.
"They are there to worship, but they are also there to mix and mingle with others. The purpose of having rules around gatherings - places people gather to intermingle - is precisely to ensure we are keeping the space for people, the appropriate social distance, and keeping the virus out."
Dr Clark went on to explain that commercial premises such as strip clubs had their own requirements to ensure people did not intermingle.
