WASHINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division hosted a forum today at Chapman University on the department’s continued efforts to combat religious discrimination and promote religious liberty through enforcement of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
The Civil Rights Division also issued a letter to state, county and municipal leaders throughout the country to remind them of their obligations under RLUIPA.
RLUIPA is a federal law that protects people and religious institutions from discriminatory and overly burdensome land use regulations.
During the forum, United States Attorney Martin Estrada and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Johnathan Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division discussed the continued importance of RLUIPA and highlighted the need to ensure that the public is aware of the critical protections provided by the law. They heard from members of different religious communities, land use officials and local attorneys about challenges involving religious land use in Southern California.
Today’s forum, held at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University, is the second in a series of nationwide outreach events designed to ensure that communities understand RLUIPA’s legal protections and are of the department’s enforcement of the law. The department held the first outreach event of the series in October 2023 in New Jersey.
“Today’s unprecedented gathering brought together local faith leaders, land use officials, lawyers and students to learn and discuss how federal laws such as RLUIPA protect the free exercise of religion,” said U.S. Attorney Estrada. “My office and the entire Justice Department is committed to protect religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. Over the past year, the civil rights attorneys in my office have worked closely with local religious organizations such as Micah’s Way and the Catholic Charities of Orange County to ensure that zoning officials do not run afoul of the RLUIPA statute.”
“At this time when many faith communities are experiencing antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of religious discrimination, the department is actively working to guarantee that all faith communities are free to worship and engage in religious exercise,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is an important federal law in the Justice Department’s efforts to combat religious discrimination. Our letter aims to ensure that state and local governments around the country are aware of and understand their obligations under the law.”
The Civil Rights Division’s letter to officials outlines RLUIPA’s land use provisions and emphasizes the protections they afford to religious institutions and assemblies. The letter, which describes documents and resources available from the Justice Department to help local governments comply with RLUIPA, was prompted by a concern, based on the department’s enforcement and outreach work, that many government officials are insufficiently familiar with law’s requirements.
RLUIPA was passed unanimously by Congress and signed into law on Sept. 22, 2000. The law contains provisions covering both religious land use and religious exercise by people who are incarcerated. Since RLUIPA’s passage, the department has opened over 155 formal investigations and filed nearly 30 lawsuits and 36 briefs related to RLUIPA’s land use provisions. In June 2018, the Justice Department announced its Place to Worship Initiative, which focuses on RLUIPA’s provisions that protect the rights of houses of worship and other religious institutions to worship on their land. More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is actively involved in enforcing RLUIPA, including recently filing a statement of interest in Micah’s Way v. City of Santa Ana, a federal lawsuit alleging that Santa Ana violated a faith-based group’s freedom to engage in protected religious exercise.
Individuals who believe they have been subjected to religious discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/civil-division/civil-rights-section or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Section at (213) 894-2879. Individuals may also contact the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (833) 591-0291 or submit a complaint through the complaint portal.
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