The Department of Justice is taking a stand on behalf of a community church in North Carolina over its plans to build a new church.
Summit Church-Homestand Heights Baptist Church said it believes the Chatham County Board of Commissioners has acted contrary to the law by refusing a request to build a new church on land it already owns.
The DOJ has sided with the church and indicated in a court brief that the church is correct in its allegations of violation of federal law by the county. The DOJ said it is a case of religious discrimination. The DOJ filing said the church is specifically protected from the county’s zoning denial by the "Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act" (RLUIPA).
The lawsuit filed by the church accuses the local county of treating it on less-than-equal terms to nonreligious assemblies. An assistant U.S. Attorney General said the act, "protects the rights of religious groups to exercise their faith free from the precise type of undue government interference exhibited here."
The federal lawsuit comes at a time when the Trump administration is developing a "Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias."
Attorney General Pam Bondi said during a meeting of the task force on Wednesday that the goal is to "to protect every American’s right to speak and worship freely."
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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