# 119-hr-10052: Right to Worship Act

119-hr-10052, Right to Worship Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Knott, Brad [R-NC-13] (R-NC); status introduced (as of 2026-10-24).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10052
- As of: 2026-10-24
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-10052
- Congress: 119
- Title: Right to Worship Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-08-06
- Sponsor: Rep. Knott, Brad [R-NC-13] (R-NC)
- Cosponsors: 28
- Policy area: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-24

## Summary

**This bill would create a federal civil regime that protects the free exercise of religion near houses of worship.** It would prohibit knowingly disruptive or obstructive conduct around entryways during scheduled services and create civil penalties and private and government enforcement tools. - Worshippers and families would be protected from a "course of conduct" that knowingly disrupts participation within 100 feet of an entryway and during the window beginning 1 hour before and ending 1 hour after a scheduled service. - Houses of worship would not be required to publish service schedules and the law says disruption is judged by manner like volume, duration, pervasiveness, and frequency rather than by the content of speech. - Protesters and organizers who conspire or engage in conduct that substantially affects interstate commerce could face civil liability under the bill. - Penalties and private remedies include civil fines of $2,500 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second, and $10,000 for third or later offenses per occurrence. Aggrieved persons could seek injunctive relief, damages including punitive awards, costs and fees, or elect statutory damages of $5,000 per violation before final judgment. - Federal and state enforcement options let the Attorney General bring civil suits and let state attorneys general sue in federal court on the State's behalf. Courts may assess a $5,000 civil penalty per violation when there are no actual damages.

## Cosponsors (28)

- Rep. Stauber, Pete [R-MN-8] (R-MN), 2026-10-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Peters, Scott H. [D-CA-50] (D-CA), 2026-10-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Susie [D-NV-3] (D-NV), 2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Frankel, Lois [D-FL-22] (D-FL), 2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Doggett, Lloyd [D-TX-37] (D-TX), 2026-10-22T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3] (D-NY), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17] (R-NY), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gottheimer, Josh [D-NJ-5] (D-NJ), 2026-08-06T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-08-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] (R-NY), 2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4] (R-IN), 2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gooden, Lance [R-TX-5] (R-TX), 2026-08-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [D-FL-25] (D-FL), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4] (D-NY), 2026-09-01T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3] (R-WI), 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC), 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Barr, Andy [R-KY-6] (R-KY), 2026-09-02T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2] (R-UT), 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Weber, Randy K. Sr. [R-TX-14] (R-TX), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cohen, Steve [D-TN-9] (D-TN), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thompson, Glenn [R-PA-15] (R-PA), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Reschenthaler, Guy [R-PA-14] (R-PA), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Lee, Laurel M. [R-FL-15] (R-FL), 2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Schneider, Bradley Scott [D-IL-10] (D-IL), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cole, Tom [R-OK-4] (R-OK), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moskowitz, Jared [D-FL-23] (D-FL), 2026-09-16T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kamlager-Dove, Sydney [D-CA-37] (D-CA), 2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Penalties and lawsuits for worship disruptions: mixed, high. If enacted, the bill would let the Attorney General assess civil fines of $2,500 for a first offense, $5,000 for a second, and $10,000 for each third or later occurrence. Individuals harmed could sue in federal court for injunctions, actual and punitive damages, and attorneys' and experts' fees, or…
- Ban on disruptions at worship services: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would make it unlawful to knowingly disrupt or knowingly impede participation in a scheduled religious service within 100 feet of any entryway. The time window runs from 1 hour before a scheduled service begins until 1 hour after it ends. The bill defines "scheduled religious s…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7148: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-452: Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act
- 119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-10052 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/10052)

## Related
- [119-hr-7148: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7148)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-452: Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-452)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [119-hr-3514: Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3514)
- [119-hr-1502: North Platte Canteen Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1502)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10052 (as of 2026-10-24).