An Illinois church has lost a battle with the Village of Hazel Crest over use of a building as a church.
The River of Life Kingdom Ministries purchased a building in an area zoned for various commercial uses, but religious services were not among those uses -- presumably so the vicinity would produce tax revenue for the community. The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city, but Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel believes it is a bad decision. "The fact of the matter is they can't simply zone out religion and they can't zone out churches. That was the point of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act," he argues. "There was an attempt by government entities around the country -- because of tax reasons -- to zone out from certain areas of the city, even outside of the limits of the city, churches because they were non-tax-paying entities." The Christian attorney contends the ruling cuts against the heart of the federal law -- and he believes the case ought to be taken to higher authorities. "Many other courts don't agree with this ruling," notes Staver. "Perhaps the United States Supreme Court ought to resolve this important situation." In enacting RLUIPA, the intent of Congress was to put religious organizations on an equal level with other entities.
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