The first amendment to the Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
Now, America was founded on the notion that the government should not interfere with the religious practices of its citizens. Constitutional protections for the free exercise of religion are at the very core of the American experiment in democracy.
But what does that have to do with the hate crimes bill? Well, there is a real possibility that this bill, as written, religious leaders or members of religious groups could be prosecuted criminally, based on their speech and protected activities under conspiracy law or section 2 of title XVIII, which holds criminally liable anyone who aids, abets, counsels, commands or induces or procures its commission, or one who willfully causes an act to be done by another.
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For example, if a pastor included a statement in a sermon that sexual relations outside of marriage are morally wrong, and even quoted the Bible to make that point, and then a member of perverse intention in that congregation caused bodily injury to a person having such relations, that sermon could be used as evidence against that pastor.
Now, the real world effect of this, in addition to the possibility of prosecution, is the much greater and geometric possibility of a chilling effect. Putting a chill on pastors' words or religious broadcasters' programming or an evangelical leader's message, or even the leader of a small group Bible study is quite simply a blatant attack on the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of religion.
May 3, 2007 House Floor statement of Mike Pence (R-IN), speaking as chairman of the Republican Study Group
