A Christian family advocacy organization is warning that California’s new “anti-hate speech” training requirements could create conflicts for pastors, churches and Christian employees who hold traditional religious beliefs.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1803 last month, requiring California employers with at least five employees to include instruction on identifying, reporting and confronting workplace speech that “vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred” against people based on protected characteristics as part of existing harassment-prevention training.
The measure does not add new training hours and does not define “hate speech,” according to legal analysis cited by the National Law Review. Employers whose current programs already address prohibited harassment and abusive conduct tied to protected characteristics may already meet the new requirement.
AB 1803 is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2028, alongside AB 1578, another measure Newsom signed the same day.
AB 1578 requires paid local officials, including city council members, county supervisors and school board trustees, to receive “anti-hate speech” instruction through existing harassment training. It also directs the state to create an online course “on responding to hate” for state officials.
AB 1803 does not expressly provide a religious or conscience exemption for churches or other faith-based organizations. Existing California law generally excludes certain nonprofit religious associations and corporations from the state’s definition of “employer,” which could place some churches outside the mandate, though the legislation itself contains no specific exemption.
While gay and lesbian advocacy groups have supported the legislation, some California pastors and Christian organizations have raised concerns about its potential effect on religious teaching and workplace expression.
California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt said the law’s broad language could subject traditional Christian beliefs about sexuality and gender to greater scrutiny.
“Pastors and Christian employees should request religious accommodations,” Burt told Tony Perkins’ Washington Watch on Tuesday. “This is one of those points in history here in California where civil disobedience is going to be necessary.”
Burt also warned that the law could open the door to government monitoring of and interference with what pastors preach from the pulpit.
“What I think the state is doing is trying to intimidate churches into following through with this,” he said. “They should not be receiving any sort of ideological training from the state on any moral issue.”
The dispute comes as Newsom has continued approving legislation expanding protections for LGBT Californians.
On Sept. 26, Newsom signed a separate six-bill package expanding privacy protections, assistance for LGBT-identified veterans, access to HIV prevention resources and protections for gay and lesbian students, while also revising the state’s restrictions on conversion therapy. He described the package as a response to federal actions affecting the LGBT community.
“The Trump administration has launched an all-out assault on the [gay and lesbian] community, using medical records to target U.S. servicemembers and civilians alike, hurting countless people and betraying hard-won trust,” Newsom said. “California will not stand for it.”
Burt and other critics of AB 1803 argue that the central issue is whether broadly defined standards surrounding “hate speech” could eventually be applied to traditional Christian teaching, particularly on sexuality and gender.
