Protecting the Right to Worship Without Disruption

The freedom to gather for worship is not a privilege granted by government but a right that government is obligated to protect. When believers assemble to pray, sing, hear Scripture proclaimed, and receive the sacraments, they are exercising one of the most fundamental liberties recognized in both the American constitutional order and the moral tradition that undergirds it. HB363 takes that obligation seriously by placing the act of disrupting a worship service in a distinct criminal category, making plain that such conduct is not a minor inconvenience but a serious offense against both religious freedom and public order.

Scripture commands believers not to forsake the assembling of themselves together. That assembly depends on conditions of safety and peace. When a service is disrupted by threat, intimidation, or deliberate interference, it is not merely a social disturbance but an attack on the community of faith itself. The state has long recognized analogous harms in other contexts, protecting schools, courts, and funerals from disruption. Extending that same protection to worship gatherings is not special treatment for religion but the equal application of a principle already embedded in law.

The bill is narrow and targeted. It does not regulate religious speech or practice; it does not favor one tradition over another. It simply establishes that those who deliberately disrupt a religious service will face a defined criminal consequence. That clarity is valuable. Without a specific statute, law enforcement may be uncertain about the appropriate charge, and prosecutors may lack a consistent basis for action. A dedicated offense removes that ambiguity and signals that the legislature takes the protection of worship seriously.

Reports of disruptions to religious services have increased in recent years, ranging from shouted interruptions to physical intimidation. These incidents can scatter congregations, silence worship, and create an atmosphere of fear that lingers long after the immediate disruption ends. A codified deterrent will not prevent every incident, but it establishes that the law stands with the congregation, not with those who seek to silence it.

The American Council supports HB363 as a principled and proportionate measure. It does not ask government to promote religion; it asks government to fulfill its proper role of protecting the peaceful exercise of religious liberty. That is a responsibility the state has always held, and this bill gives it clearer expression. We encourage its passage and commend the legislators who have advanced it.