Not sure what you posit here. If the decibel-level exceeds the ordinance, then both are illegal. (Don't shoot me, I'm just telling it like it is).
And yes, the decibel level has to be the defining metric.
But it was really sad, when the church bells were outlawed. Some part of our world died, that day.
Precisely. Freedom of religion is like any other freedom, it has to exist in the framework of a community where other's rights should also be observed. It is not carte blanche to ruin the quality of everyone else's life.
About 30 years ago I was living in Winter Park, FL. Some Christian church built a HUGE complex a few blocks away. It was way too large for the area infrastructure. We had terrible flooding in the summer. We had horrendous parking problems when they had services. I was 3 blocks away and had people parallel parking in front of my driveway. Our complaints about that had nothing to do with religion. Church or not, they needed to be subject to the same rules as the rest of the community. That is not restricting their right to believe or worship.
Because we were a residential area, I believe that a commercial business of that size and impact would not have been allowed to build to that extent.
My personal opinion is that all churches should pay the same property taxes as everyone else. They use the same services, local resources and infrastructure. By not doing so, the government is forcing me, as a taxpayer, to subsidize religious organizations. That certainly seems like a violation of the Constitution. Paying for government services that one receives certainly doesn't prohibit people form worshiping as they choose.