International Multi-Faith Coalition Backs Bipartisan Right to Worship Act, Urges Congress to Pass It
Los Angeles — Sept. 17, 2026
The International Multi-Faith Coalition announced its support Thursday for the Right to Worship Act, a bipartisan bill that would create a 100-foot protection zone around houses of worship during religious services, and called on members of Congress to move the legislation forward.
The bill, S. 5289 in the Senate and H.R. 10052 in the House, was introduced Aug. 6 by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Reps. Brad Knott, R-N.C., and Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"No American should have to walk past hostile demonstrators, endure an organized disruption inside their sanctuary or fear for their safety in order to pray," the coalition said in a statement. "The Right to Worship Act is a measured, constitutional response to a growing problem, and we urge every member of Congress to support it."
What Prompted the Bill
Supporters of the legislation point to a series of recent incidents. In New York, congregants were confronted by hostile demonstrators on their way to synagogue. In St. Paul, Minnesota, worshippers at Cities Church endured an organized disruption that made its way inside the sanctuary. In Washington, historic churches have been subjected to protests and vandalism.
According to ProtectingWorship.org, the coalition website organized around the bill, organized groups have learned to exploit a gap in federal law by surrounding houses of worship with amplified noise, blocking entrances and creating an atmosphere of intimidation designed to make worshippers turn around and go home — stopping just short of physical violence because the law stops there, too.
What the Bill Does
The Right to Worship Act would make it unlawful to knowingly disrupt a scheduled religious service, or to knowingly impede people from attending one, within 100 feet of any entrance to a house of worship. The protection zone would be in effect from one hour before a service begins until one hour after it ends.
The bill is content-neutral. It does not restrict what anyone may say; it prohibits disruptive conduct, judged only by its volume, duration, pervasiveness, frequency and impact. Speech and protest remain fully protected outside the zone and at all other times. The bill expressly preserves permitted activities and states that nothing in it precludes a person from speaking freely on any subject within the time, place and manner limits it sets.
Enforcement is civil only. There are no criminal penalties. The attorney general could assess civil fines of $2,500 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second and $10,000 per occurrence for a third or subsequent offense. Aggrieved individuals, the U.S. attorney general and state attorneys general could also bring civil actions for injunctive relief and damages.
Sponsors and supporters say the approach rests on settled law. The Supreme Court has upheld content-neutral buffer zones around private homes, funerals and polling places, and federal law already protects military funerals from disruption. Two independent legal reviews of the bill, by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and by Ben Flowers of Ashbrook Byrne Kresge LLC, are posted on the ProtectingWorship.org site.
A Broad Coalition
The International Multi-Faith Coalition joins a growing list of Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and civil liberties organizations that have endorsed the bill. As of this writing, the Protecting Worship Coalition lists the following supporting organizations:
First Liberty Institute
Orthodox Union
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations
Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA)
Family Research Council
Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM)
American Muslim & Multifaith Women's Empowerment Council (AMMWEC)
Agudath Israel of America
Hindu American Foundation (HAF)
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
StandWithUs
National Jewish Advocacy Center
IAC Coalition for Action
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Aish
Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA)
UJA-Federation of New York
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
End Jew Hatred
Kol Yisrael
UNITED SIKHS
NORPAC
New York Board of Rabbis
Union for Reform Judaism
Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)
Rabbinical Assembly
The Historic Mt. Zion Church of God (7th Day)
"I am proud of Senators Cruz and Slotkin and Representatives Knott and Suozzi, who stepped up today to protect the right to worship," said Moshe Davis of the Protecting Worship Coalition. "No American should be afraid to walk into their house of worship."
The Coalition's Call to Action
The International Multi-Faith Coalition is asking its member organizations, their congregations and all people of goodwill to contact their senators and representatives and ask them to co-sponsor and vote for the Right to Worship Act.
"Protecting the freedom to gather in prayer is not a partisan cause, and it should not be treated as one," the coalition said. "The bill has Republican and Democratic sponsors in both chambers. What it needs now is the will of Congress to act. We ask our members of Congress to show that will."
Constituents can contact their representatives directly through the campaign's action page at protectingworship.org/take-action, or by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
The full bill text follows below.
Full Text of S. 5289, the Right to Worship Act
119th Congress, 2d Session. Introduced in the Senate Aug. 6, 2026, by Mr. Cruz (for himself and Ms. Slotkin); read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The House companion is H.R. 10052. Source: Congress.gov.
A BILL
To protect the right to the free exercise of religion.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "Right to Worship Act".
SEC. 2. PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO THE FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION.
(a) Definitions And Rules.—
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(A) DISRUPT.—The term "disrupt", used with respect to conduct and a scheduled religious service, means conduct that meaningfully interferes with the ability of people to participate in the scheduled religious service, to the extent that the conduct causes a substantial interruption to the service's normal operation.
(B) HOUSE OF WORSHIP.—The term "house of worship" means a defined parcel of property or other space that religious adherents collectively recognize or religious leadership designates as a place to routinely or regularly gather to hold religious services.
(C) IMPEDE.—The term "impede", used with respect to conduct and a scheduled religious service, means conduct that unreasonably hinders or deters a person from entering a house of worship, or that threatens or intimidates a person, in a manner that prevents participation at a scheduled religious service.
(D) KNOWINGLY.—The term "knowingly", used with respect to a person and a disruption or impediment, means that the person is aware or reasonably should be aware that the person's conduct will cause such disruption or impediment, respectively.
(E) RELIGIOUS SERVICE.—The term "religious service" includes any collective worship or prayer service, class, or other event, at which individuals congregate to worship, study, or otherwise exercise, their religion.
(F) SCHEDULED RELIGIOUS SERVICE.—The term "scheduled religious service" includes any religious service—
(i) that is observably underway or imminently beginning or concluding, as evidenced by the gathering or dispersing of congregants at or by congregants approaching or leaving a house of worship;
(ii) the date and time of which have been communicated to the defendant by law enforcement, by a representative of the house of worship, or through a prior judicial or administrative proceeding, or of which the defendant had actual knowledge; or
(iii) follows a customary and regularly recurring schedule of which the defendant had actual knowledge.
(G) STATE.—The term "State" includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth or territory.
(2) RULES.—
(A) SCHEDULED RELIGIOUS SERVICE.—Nothing in this section shall require a house of worship to publish the schedule for a scheduled religious service on any publicly accessible medium.
(B) DISRUPTION.—For the purposes of this section, whether a person's course of conduct is a disruption shall be determined only by the manner in which the course of conduct is carried out, including its volume, duration, pervasiveness, frequency, and impact, rather than by the content of any speech or expression involved.
(b) Prohibited Activities.— It shall be unlawful for any person—
(1) to engage in a course of conduct that substantially affects interstate commerce, within 100 feet from any pedestrian or vehicular entryway of any house of worship, during the period beginning 1 hour before the start of and ending 1 hour after the conclusion of a scheduled religious service, by knowingly disrupting the scheduled religious service or knowingly impeding people from participating at the scheduled religious service; or
(2) to conspire to engage in, or cause another person to engage in, any course of conduct made unlawful under paragraph (1).
(c) Rules Of Construction.— Nothing in this section shall be construed—
(1) to preclude a person from freely speaking on any subject so long as such speech is conducted pursuant to the time, place, and manner restrictions set forth in this section; or
(2) to preclude participation in activities for which a Federal, State, or local government entity has issued a permit.
(d) Civil Fines.— Whoever violates this section shall be assessed, by the Attorney General—
(1) in the case of a first offense, a civil fine of $2,500;
(2) in the case of a second offense, a civil fine of $5,000; and
(3) in the case of a third or subsequent offense, a civil fine of $10,000 per occurrence.
(e) Civil Remedies.—
(1) RIGHT OF ACTION.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person aggrieved by reason of a violation of subsection (b) may commence a civil action for the relief set forth in subparagraph (B) in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(B) RELIEF.—In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may award appropriate relief, including temporary, preliminary, or permanent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, as well as the costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses. With respect to compensatory damages, the plaintiff may elect, at any time prior to the rendering of final judgment, to recover, in lieu of actual damages, an award of statutory damages in the amount of $5,000 per violation.
(2) ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General has reasonable cause to believe that any person (including a group of persons) is being, has been, or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section, the Attorney General may commence a civil action in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(B) RELIEF.—In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may award appropriate relief, including temporary, preliminary or permanent injunctive relief, and compensatory damages to a person aggrieved as described in paragraph (1)(A). In the absence of actual damages, the court, to vindicate the public interest, may assess a civil penalty against each defendant in the amount of $5,000 per violation.
(3) ACTIONS BY STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Attorney General of a State has reasonable cause to believe that any person (including a group of persons) is being, has been, or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section, such Attorney General may commence a civil action in the name of such State, as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in such State, in any appropriate district court of the United States.
(B) RELIEF.—In any action under subparagraph (A), the court may award the relief described in paragraph (2)(B).
(f) Severability.— If any provision of this Act (including a sentence, phrase, or word) or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, illegal, unconstitutional, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this Act and of the application of the provision to any person or circumstance, that can be enforced without the use of the offending provision or application, shall not be affected.
