Are Church Bells a Freedom of Religion or Disturbing the Peace?

If the church predates the neighborhood and had been ringing bells all along, then leave it. It's grandfathered. If it moves into a new location which previously was quiet - then I think it should be required to not disturb the peace of the neighbors. Every half hour is excessive.

That is yet another state abuse of power. It is outrageous for the church leader to be given a 3yr probation for simply ringing some stupid bell. I mean get real--when does it stop? We might as well pull down the Stars and Stripes and run up the Hammer and Sickle. We are quickly reaching the point of Orwells 1984...

Charlie Gibson just said that the church bell's are a recording.. a recording is disturbing.. someone personally ringing the bell may be something else.. I just don't understand why the Bishop wants to cram it down his neighbors throats... He just said that he wants to continue crammimg .. wow !!

Silence those bells. Nobody should be forced to listen to church bells every half hour. Actually if I lived there it would be interfering with my right to religious freedom since I could not meditate with church bells ringing.

Next time you report on a Cathedral or Bishop you should do your homework and give more information. Cathedral and bishop are terms most commonly used in Roman Catholic or Anglican circles. This parish is reform episcopal. You are spreading misinformation.

OK who was there first the church or the neighbors? If the church was the judge is wrong.

Not only do I agree with the first comment but a true religious leader who supposedly follows the lessons of the bible should back down and compromise. Isn't that what churches are supposed to be teaching?

I am a Catholic Christian and I disagree with this Bishop's decision to ring church bells each day on the half hour. In a neighborhood this would be an intrusion into the peace and quiet of a home. If a Moslem Mullah shouted the call to prayer in a neighborhood five times a day they would be cited as disturbing the peace and rightly so. In fact this has been tested in the courts in, I think, Dearborn Michigan and the Moslems lost in court. Ringing church bells before services ONCE on Sunday is plenty. Not everyone shares the Bishop's zeal and it isn't right to drag the ears of others into his belief.

Do we want the Muslims chanting with amplified speakers from their mosques 5 times a day in America? I think not. I am a Christian. Jesus did not promote nor did He ever ask anyone to blare anything from the rooftops. He went around healing and blessing people with wisdom. He attracted millions with his service and sacrifice. The pastor of this bell ringing church needs to read his own Bible! Not in my neighborhood!

Bravo! Silence the bells of intolerance. Your religious freedom comes tax free, while my secularist non-religious freedom pays for it.

The article states that the church is new. DUH!

My husband and I live in a subdivision very near US Route 35 with the first traffic light east of Dayton. We hear traffic and trucks slowing/braking for the light from early in the morning to late at night AND the noise from the local speedway a few miles east of us even through double panes of window glass. It's so good to know that we now have a precedent to sue both our city and the speedway for disturbing our peace on a regular, daily basis. If a court upheld that a Church was annoying its neighbors with bells, I'm sure we would have a case since we are greatly disturbed by trucks shifting down and cars speeding around the race track. I'm just wondering what line the courts will finally draw?

To be a Christian is to have open season on them. Even the g--ys have special rights so the Bible is on trial just like the Word was 2k years ago. Nothing has changed but the year.

Noise, is noise, no matter that a church is the producer of the noise, there are still noise laws, the church ISN'T exempt from the law, I don't care how long the church has been there.

All you Christians do is whine about how you are being discriminated against. Such hypocrisy.

This Type of arrogance by the Bishop is why so many people continue to level the church. To INTENTIONALLY cause harm to someone is not what Jesus Christ teaches! Shame on your Bishop!

I meant to say this is why so many people LEAVE the church.

Why didn't ABC News identify the bishop ringing the bells as Anglican?

I checked several Phoenix newspaper sites and read stories on the church bell controversy. There are three
churches involved and the ABC News story is inaccurate. I side with the neighbors.

I grew up in a neighborhood where there were at least 4 Catholic churches within earshot - bells rang 15 minutes prior to the start of Mass (better than a wristwatch), at funerals and weddings. That was part of the fabric of growing up - just as the train whistles were as they went through intersections. There was one Daily Mass during the week, and Sundays had maybe 4 or 5 - so the mornings on Sunday got a bit noisy, but they only rang for a few minutes each time they sounded. I think this Bishop needs to love his fellow man and cut the neighborhood a break - bells would be lovely if they weren't so 'in your face'.