For generations, New Yorkers have sought solace, guidance and connection at houses of worship. Churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are sacred spaces where people mark life’s most meaningful moments and find strength in times of uncertainty.

But a rising tide of intolerance and hate threatens to prevent parishioners from praying in peace. What should be a routine act of faith has for some become an experience marked by anxiety, hesitation and fear. From antisemitism to Islamophobia, the rise in religiously motivated hate underscores the urgent need for policies that protect the right of all communities to worship safely and in peace.

Across New York and the nation, incidents targeting people of faith have increased in both frequency and severity. According to the FBI’s Hate Crime Statistics Act, or HCSA, data religion-based hate crimes remain one of the most persistent categories of bias-motivated offenses nationwide.

National and local reporting continues to show a sustained rise in antisemitic incidents, as well as a parallel increase in anti-Islam incidents — particularly those targeting visibly observant individuals and houses of worship. Given that many incidents go unreported, particularly within immigrant and visibly........

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