This County Tried to Kill a Church Building Project, Feds Just Stepped In

In North Carolina, Summit Church-Homestand Heights Baptist Church stands at a crossroads. For years, its congregation gathered faithfully at East Chapel Hill High School, but growth demanded a permanent home. Their solution? Rezoning land to build a new sanctuary. The Chatham County Board of Commissioners, however, slammed the door shut, denying the church’s application. This isn’t just a local squabble; it’s a glaring example of government overreach trampling on religious liberty, a right our founders held sacred.

The Justice Department, stepping in with a statement of interest filed on April 18, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, called out the county’s actions as a violation of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The church alleges the county treated it worse than secular groups and imposed unjust barriers to its worship. This case exposes a deeper problem: local governments wielding zoning laws like weapons to sideline faith communities.

Religious freedom isn’t a suggestion; it’s a cornerstone of American life. Yet, across the nation, churches, synagogues, and mosques face relentless hurdles to secure places of worship. The Summit Church case isn’t an outlier. It’s a symptom of a growing trend where bureaucrats prioritize control over constitutional protections, leaving congregations to fight costly battles just to practice their faith.

The stakes couldn’t be clearer. If a county board can block a church from building on its own land, what’s stopping others from doing the same? This isn’t about zoning technicalities; it’s about whether America still honors the principles that built it.

RLUIPA, passed in 2000, exists to shield religious groups from exactly this kind of interference. The law demands that local governments treat churches at least as well as secular assemblies, like theaters or community centers, and forbids zoning rules that unduly burden religious practice. Summit Church’s complaint nails it: Chatham County’s denial wasn’t just unfair; it was discriminatory, favoring nonreligious groups while stonewalling the church’s plans.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, minced no words. The county’s actions, they argue, flout RLUIPA’s clear protections. This isn’t the first time the DOJ has had to step in. Since RLUIPA’s enactment, the department has launched over 155 investigations and filed nearly 30 lawsuits to defend religious institutions. Recent cases, like Hope Rising Community Church in Pennsylvania and an Orthodox Jewish congregation in New Jersey, show a pattern: local officials repeatedly ignore federal law until forced to comply.

Courts have been equally firm. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Ramirez v. Collier clarified that RLUIPA’s strict scrutiny standard puts the burden on governments to justify restrictions on faith. When Summit Church filed for a preliminary injunction to force the county to approve its rezoning, it wasn’t asking for special treatment; it was demanding equal footing. Chatham County’s claim that zoning is a “legislative act” exempt from RLUIPA is a flimsy excuse, one the DOJ rightly challenges as a dodge to avoid accountability.

History backs this up. RLUIPA was born out of necessity in 2000, after years of evidence showed local governments targeting minority faiths and small congregations with exclusionary zoning. The DOJ’s Place to Worship Initiative, launched in 2018, doubled down on enforcement, reminding municipalities of their obligations. Yet, too many local officials still act as if the law doesn’t apply to them.

Some defend the county’s decision, arguing that zoning laws exist to protect community character, manage traffic, or preserve property values. They claim Chatham County’s denial was a neutral application of local rules, not an attack on religion. This argument falls apart under scrutiny. If theaters, gyms, or social clubs can operate in the same zones where churches are barred, the issue isn’t traffic or aesthetics; it’s unequal treatment. RLUIPA explicitly forbids this double standard, and courts have consistently struck down such excuses when they fail to meet the law’s strict scrutiny test.

Others might say local governments need autonomy to plan their communities. Fair enough, but that autonomy stops where constitutional rights begin. Religious freedom isn’t negotiable, and RLUIPA ensures that zoning boards can’t hide behind “neutral” regulations to discriminate. The data speaks for itself: minority faiths, like Muslim communities seeking to build mosques, face disproportionate zoning denials, a trend the DOJ has flagged in its growing caseload. The notion that these are just bureaucratic hiccups doesn’t hold water when the same patterns repeat nationwide.

The Summit Church case is a wake-up call. Religious institutions, especially smaller or minority groups, face a gauntlet of delays, denials, and legal costs just to secure a place to worship. Anchor Stone Christian Church in California and Lubavitch of Cambridge in Massachusetts fought similar battles, racking up massive expenses to overcome local resistance. These aren’t isolated incidents; they’re part of a broader assault on faith, where zoning boards exploit their power to frustrate religious exercise.

This fight matters to every American who values liberty. If a county can block a church today, what’s to stop it from targeting other rights tomorrow? The Justice Department’s intervention is a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough. Citizens must demand that local officials respect RLUIPA and stop using zoning as a cudgel against faith communities. The law is clear, the precedent is set, and the time for excuses is over.