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Federal Court Stops New Jersey County from Excluding Churches from Historic Preservation Grant

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December 2, 2024

News Release
 For Immediate Release: 12.2.24
Contact: Peyton Drew, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4454

Federal Court Stops New Jersey County from Excluding Churches from Historic Preservation Grant
Churches filed lawsuit for religious discrimination and unequal treatment following exclusion from grant funds, which were formerly allowed

Trenton, NJ—The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey issued a preliminary injunction on behalf of The Mendham Methodist Church and The Zion Lutheran Church Long Valley in Morris County, stopping a Morris County policy that excludes churches from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund. While centuries-old churches are excluded from the historic preservation program, grant recipients have included a theater, a Masonic lodge, and a restaurant. First Liberty Institute, Jones Day, Roselli Griegel Lozier, P.C., and the Pepperdine University Religious Liberty Clinic filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of The Mendham Methodist Church and The Zion Lutheran Church Long Valley.

A copy of the decision can be found here.

“Time and again, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared that all forms of religious discrimination by the government are unconstitutional, including the denial of historic preservation grants to historic churches,” said Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel with First Liberty Institute. “We are thrilled that the court recognized that religious institutions cannot be excluded from public funding programs like preservation grants simply because of their religious character or religious activities.”

The now-blocked policy arose from a 2018 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling, which held that Morris County’s long-standing practice of providing historic preservation grants to churches violated the New Jersey Constitution. The ruling reversed a lower court decision, and it precludes churches from benefiting from the grant program. Morris County then implemented that court ruling through a policy change that prohibits churches from participating in the program. Though the U.S. Supreme Court denied an application to review the New Jersey ruling in 2019, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, said New Jersey’s law appeared to violate the U.S. Constitution in a dissent from denial of cert, saying, “Barring religious organizations because they are religious from a general historic preservation grants program is pure discrimination against religion.”

Since Justice Kavanaugh’s writing, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, in cases like Espinoza v. Montana Dept. of Revenue and Carson v. Makin, that the federal Constitution prohibits the exclusion of religious institutions from generally available public funding programs simply because of their religious character or religious activities, resulting in today’s injunction. States and local governments that choose to provide a generally available public benefit — such as historic preservation grants — cannot exclude an otherwise-qualified applicant solely because the applicant happens to be, and operate as, a house of worship. The grants are about promoting and supporting historic preservation. Restoring and preserving historic churches enriches the entire community.

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About First Liberty Institute

First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans. 

To arrange an interview, contact Peyton Drew at media@firstliberty.org.

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