News Release
For Immediate Release: 9.24.26
Contact: Peyton Drew, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
North Carolina City Threatens Church with Fines for Renting Temporary Event Space, Yet Permits Any Other Entity
City allows health clubs, libraries, museums, wedding venues, and bars to operate in the area but excludes churches from having the same rights and opportunities.
Troy, NC—First Liberty Institute and the law firm McGuireWoods sent a letter demanding the City of Troy, North Carolina withdraw its cease-and-desist letter and warning citation that prohibit True Worship Ministries, a local church, from renting temporary event space the same as any other organization or group simply because the church’s gatherings are religious. The letter states that the city’s ordinance prohibiting churches from operating while allowing secular businesses is facially unlawful under both the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
You can read the letter here.
“Banning churches from the same space that any other organization or business enjoys just because it’s a church is wrong and unconstitutional,” said Ryan Gardner, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “The church is simply asking to be treated like any other entity or temporary renter in the area. The First Amendment and federal law protect the right of churches to operate free from unreasonable and intrusive government interference.”
“A church has the same rights as any other organization or group in the city,” said John Moran, Partner at McGuireWoods. “A city using zoning ordinances to target and prevent a church from temporarily renting event space at an otherwise available venue is an act of blatant religious discrimination.”
True Worship Ministries is a Christian church currently renting an event space until they can transition to their new, permanent location. In the meantime, it has been renting from the Innovative Action Center, a nonprofit focused on providing a space where minority communities can gather for a variety of business or community purposes. However, the City of Troy sent a cease-and-desist letter and a warning citation stating that allowing the church to rent space violated the city’s zoning ordinances because churches are not allowed to operate in the city’s Main Street zone. The city’s ordinances allow theaters, health clubs, libraries, museums, event and wedding venues, auditoriums, stadiums, liquor stores, and bars to operate as a matter of right, yet specifically targets and excludes churches.
The demand letter states: “The Town’s prohibition of the Church’s temporary religious gatherings is unconstitutional under the First Amendment… It is also unlawful under RLUIPA. Should the Town continue to persist in its denial of the Church’s right to religious exercise, the Church will pursue all available legal options.”
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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.
