Is the difference between a hate crime and terrorist attack the desire to effect some sort of change through terror? E.g, someone shooting up a church is trying to terrorize churchgoers of that race to stop going to church?

I think hate crimes are terrorism, and I think all terrorism is bad.

And yes, this creates a chilling effect for immigrants and churchgoers. That's the intended result.

I understand many people don't want immigrants for economical or cultural reasons. That's okay. Killing everybody inside a mosque is not okay.

I completely agree with what you're saying. This is terrorism. This is Islamophobia. This is hatred. And all of that needs to stop.