Defining Worship: The Problem of Separating 'Worship' from Other Types of Speech (2010)

Undergraduates: Anne Newton, none none none

Faculty Advisor: Katie Pryal
Department: Political Science

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Freedom of speech is lauded as one of our most sacrosanct rights. One recent federal circuit court decision, however, impinges upon that right and sets precedent that would allow increasing infringement of free speech rights. In Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries v. Glover (2007), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a library was justified in excluding a religious group from using its facilities. In doing so, the court argued that worship could be separated from other types of speech. This is a vital free speech issue because in Faith Center the court classed worship as a subcategory of speech and denied it the protections normally extended to other speech. This distinction is flawed. “Worship” cannot be defined as a separate category of speech because worship is conceptually indefinable: it is not possible to delineate between worship and non-worship due to the diversity of worship practices between and among religions. In order to establish why worship is conceptually indefinable I first highlight the unwillingness of the scholarly community and the courts to define “worship.” Second, I examine the court’s decision in Faith Center in order to understand the reasoning behind separating worship from other speech. Third, I show that definitions of worship that have been used to argue for the categorical separation of worship from other speech are flawed because it is not possible to distinguish between religious and secular worship activities.