Oklevueha Native American Church (Church) was established in 1997 in Utah by Plaintiff James Mooney and his wife Linda, who are each of Native American decent. According to the complaint in Oklevueha Native American Church...more
Christian Community Chapel Wesleyan Church, Inc. (the “Chapel”) was founded in 2000 and grew quickly to 125 members. Expecting continued growth, the Chapel purchased a 33,000 square foot building with seats for 600...more
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a request to review a church’s claim that the state of Missouri violated the federal constitution by prohibiting religious groups from obtaining state funding because of their...more
It’s maybe one of our favorite blog posts titles of all time: “Zombies Outshine Satan? More Controversial Holiday Displays, Including Baby, Fanged, Undead Jesus and Dogs in Costumes.” The case of Baby, Fanged, Undead Jesus...more
Fraternite Notre Dame, Inc. is suing the County of McHenry, Illinois, over the County’s denial of a petition to amend a conditional use permit. Notre Dame’s mission includes various charitable activities, such as a daily...more
In 2005, the Village of Lawrence (Village) granted permission to Bais Medrash of Harborview Synagogue (Medrash) to construct a synagogue on three contiguous lots. As part of its approval, Medrash entered a Declaration of...more
The Ninth Circuit, in Mesquite Grove Chapel v. Debonis, recently issued an important decision ruling that plaintiff Chapel did not suffer a substantial burden on its religious exercise under the Religious Land Use &...more
Vintage Church of Metairie, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana was never a source of neighborhood angst—that is, until the tent came. After merging with another local church in 2010, Vintage’s membership steadily rose. By 2015, the...more
It wouldn’t be the holidays without controversial nativity scenes igniting lawsuits across the country. Generally, these lawsuits are brought under the Establishment Clause, alleging that the government illegally endorses...more
Hillside Baptist Church (the Church) and Signs for Jesus (S.4.J.C.) (together, Plaintiffs) recently filed a complaint in the District Court for New Hampshire, seeking a declaration that the Town of Pembroke’s (the Township)...more
Summit Church, founded in 1991 in Elkins, West Virginia, is suing the Randolph County Development Authority for thwarting the Church’s plans to purchase property for its religious use. The Church already owns property in...more
Many view Thanksgiving week as a time for reflection and gratitude. Whether looking forward to the next turkey or reminiscing about the last, take some time for our semi-regular summary of news items involving local...more
What is Religious Exercise? remains a prevalent question in religious land use news this week. Below, find our semi-regular summary of news items involving local government, religion, and land use....more
10/26/2015
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Freedom From Religion Foundation ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Public Housing ,
Religious Displays ,
Religious Expression ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
Zoning Laws
In last week’s, RLUIPA Round-Up we reported about the case Hale v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (D. CO 2015) in which the court found that the Church of the Creator – a white supremacist movement that advocates “total racial...more
A federal court in Nevada recently dismissed a church’s claim that a music festival in “Sin City” Las Vegas featuring the likes of Stevie Wonder, Duran Duran, and Twenty One Pilots burdened its religious exercise....more
On September 24, Rock Church of Easton (Rock Church) filed an “Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and /or Preliminary Injunction” against the City of Easton, Pennsylvania (the City or Easton) and its Bureau of...more
10/8/2015
/ Affordable Housing ,
Building Codes ,
Building Inspectors ,
Churches ,
Community Development ,
Construction Industry ,
Demolition ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Institutions ,
Restraining Orders ,
RLUIPA
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s decision ruling that a twelve foot statute of Jesus near Montana’s Big Mountain does not violate the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. The statue, known as “Big Mountain...more
A few weeks ago, we reported on a new RLUIPA suit arising in Genoa Charter Township, Michigan, where Livingston Christian Schools is suing the Township over the denial of a special land use permit to operate a religious...more
Last month, we reported on the New York State Supreme Court decision that held the Town of Southampton, New York erroneously applied its sign ordinance to East End Eruv Association’s (“EEEA”) proposed eruv, which EEEA seeks...more
A federal court in Illinois, in Church of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ v. City of Markham, Illinois (N.D. Ill. 2015), dismissed some of the Church’s religious land use claims while allowing others to proceed. The case is...more
8/25/2015
/ Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Churches ,
Conditional Use Permit ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
SCOTUS
For the past 5-plus years, East End Eruv Association (“EEEA”) has been involved in federal litigation seeking approval to construct an eruv in accordance with its religious beliefs (East End Eruv Association v. Westhampton...more
As promised in our earlier post, Reed v. Gilbert: Impact to municipalities across the nation, this post provides a summary of Walker v. Texas Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans, a case that, coupled with Reed, has led...more
Religion Clause Blog reports that Indiana’s First Church of Cannabis is using the state’s recently enacted religious freedom law to protect its founder and two members from prosecution for possession of marijuana. The Church...more
7/13/2015
/ American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Churches ,
Controlled Substances ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Discrimination ,
DOMA ,
Drug Possession ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Freedom From Religion Foundation ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Marijuana ,
Marriage Equality ,
Prayer ,
Religion ,
Religious Institutions ,
RLUIPA ,
Same-Sex Marriage
In a case we have been following, Oklahoma’s Supreme Court has ruled that a Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds is unconstitutional under state law. We previously reported on the lower court’s decision...more
Independence Day—no better time to reflect on the numerous (enumerated and unenumerated) rights protected by our United States Constitution. Thanks to Obergefell v. Hodges, those rights are now more clearly focused. However,...more
7/3/2015
/ Churches ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Marriage ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Permits ,
Religious Accommodation ,
RLUIPA ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Zoning Laws