«Bless me father for I have sinned: I have a sex slave in my basement. I rape him every day because I cannot control myself."
You don't report that and you're siding the continue commission of a crime.
Overall you're right about the first amendment, but it feels like that separating only goes one way, and I'm tired of religion getting the better side of it.
It's also so selective. I can't kill a live chicken to practice Santeria but it's fine for orthodox jews on Kaporos? We can't compel a priest to report a murder or testify but they can tell their constituents to vote for the candidate that bans women's healthcare?
The divisions aren't a result of right wing bigotry, but they are exploited by right wing propagandists.
What they actually do is frame all of these arguments without nuance. Then when corporate media goes with that framing you have reductivist talking points that bully out any reasonable debate.
This is a superpower that the GOP has and the DNC cannot replicate with the current level of public discourse.