Right to Worship Act

The "Right to Worship Act" aims to safeguard the free exercise of religion by establishing federal prohibitions against actions that interfere with religious services. Specifically, it makes it unlawful to knowingly disrupt a scheduled religious service or impede individuals from participating in one. This prohibition applies to conduct occurring within 100 feet of a house of worship's pedestrian or vehicular entryway, starting one hour before and ending one hour after a scheduled service, provided the conduct substantially affects interstate commerce. The bill defines "disrupt" as conduct that meaningfully interferes with participation, causing a substantial interruption, and "impede" as unreasonably hindering or deterring entry, or threatening individuals to prevent participation. Importantly, whether conduct constitutes a disruption is determined by its manner —such as volume, duration, and impact—rather than the content of any speech involved. The term "knowingly" implies awareness or reasonable awareness that one's conduct will cause such disruption or impediment, while still allowing for free speech within specified time, place, and manner restrictions. Violations of these prohibitions are subject to escalating civil fines, starting at $2,500 for a first offense and increasing to $10,000 for third or subsequent offenses, assessed by the Attorney General. Furthermore, the bill establishes robust civil remedies, allowing aggrieved individuals to file lawsuits for injunctive relief, compensatory and punitive damages, or statutory damages of $5,000 per violation. Both the U.S. Attorney General and State Attorneys General are also empowered to initiate civil actions to enforce these protections and seek appropriate relief, including civil penalties to vindicate the public interest.