Sen. Leonard Christian speaks on the Senate floor Friday. To see video of Sen. Christian’s speech, click here.

OLYMPIA – A bill that passed the Senate Friday forces clergy to choose between the law of God and the law of man, says Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley.

Senate Bill 5375 adds clergy to the list of those who are required to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement authorities. The measure passed the Senate Friday on a vote of 28-20 and now moves to the House for further consideration.

Christian said the bill forces those who have “given their lives, raised their hands, made an oath with God almighty, to choose between God’s law and man’s law.”

Christian joined all Republicans in voting against the measure; two Democrats also voted no. Opponents said the bill goes too far, intruding on the confessional and other sacred communications they say should remain privileged.

State law makes managers of non-profit and for-profit organizations “mandatory reporters” when they have reasonable cause to believe a person they supervise has committed an act of child abuse or neglect. However, the law exempts members of the clergy, priests, and Christian Science practitioners, recognizing the longstanding tradition of confidential communication within the context of religious practice.

Christian called the bill an intrusion by the state into the most sacred of relationships, between pastors and penitents, and said it is anathema to the principles of religious freedom upon which the nation is founded. He noted that the reporting requirements hold church officials accountable for acts they do not commit, yet it cannot affect those directly responsible for child abuse because of constitutional protections against self-incrimination.

“We are considering a bill that can put pastors in prison,” he said. “It sets up the legal framework to put pastors in prison, but not for their actions per se, but rather because of knowledge they have gained in their job.”

Christian offered an amendment on the Senate floor restricting the reporting requirement to cases where clergy believe “reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm” might be prevented, but the amendment was rejected by the majority. Christian said the failure to strictly limit the requirement opens the door to selective prosecutions of people of faith.