Justice Department Issues RLUIPA Report

Marking the 10th anniversary of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), the Justice Department released a report today highlighting the federal government's role in enforcing the measure, and finding "that the law has had a positive impact on protecting the religious freedom of a wide range of faith groups, and had a particularly significant impact protecting the religious freedom of minorities."   

The department has opened 51 RLUIPA land-use investigations, filed seven lawsuits, filed ten amicus-briefs, and intervened in 71 lawsuits to defend RLUIPA’s constitutionality.

Jewish, Muslim and Buddhist land-use cases made up a disproportionate number of the department’s RLUIPA investigations–13 times their representation in the population.

Half of the department’s land-use investigations involving Christians have involved racial or ethnic minorities.

Of the 18 land-use matters involving Muslims reviewed by the Department of Justice, eight have been opened since May of this year.

When private lawsuits are factored in, the report indicates that "thousands of individuals and institutions from a wide range of faith traditions" have been actively protected by RLUIPA in its ten years of existence. This ia a bill that should make all Americans who care about religious liberty deeply proud. So long as it stays in place, never again can local governments hide behind the political mechanisms of the state (or remain oblivious to bias) in denying a church the right to build, or to deny a prisoner the right to practice his faith. If we have learned nothing else from the recent mosque controversies, it is that those rights must be protected by clear laws to avoid being trampled by political pressures.

Read the entire report here.