Legal Definitions - disturbance of public worship

Disturbance of Public Worship

Definition: Disturbance of public worship refers to any action or behavior that intentionally or significantly disrupts a group of people who are peacefully and lawfully gathered for religious activities or ceremonies.

Examples:

• Loud Noise During a Service: During a Sunday morning service at a local church, an individual repeatedly honks their car horn loudly and continuously directly outside the main entrance for several minutes, making it impossible for the congregation to hear the sermon or participate in hymns.

  Explanation: This conduct (repeatedly honking a car horn) intentionally interferes with the peaceful and lawful assembly of people gathered for religious exercises (the church service), preventing them from engaging in worship.

• Blocking Access to a Religious Building: A group of protestors stands directly in front of the main entrance to a mosque during Friday prayers, physically blocking worshippers from entering or exiting the building freely and causing significant delays and disruption to the prayer schedule.

  Explanation: The protestors' actions (physically blocking access) directly interfere with the peaceful and lawful assembly of individuals attempting to participate in their religious exercises (Friday prayers) by obstructing their ability to gather.

• Disrupting a Religious Ritual: During a quiet, solemn meditation session at a Buddhist temple, an individual enters the meditation hall and begins loudly playing a portable speaker with disruptive music, despite requests to stop, thereby breaking the concentration and peace of the participants.

  Explanation: The individual's conduct (playing loud music) significantly disrupts the peaceful and lawful assembly gathered for a religious exercise (meditation), preventing them from engaging in their spiritual practice as intended.