Written by Don Byrd
A federal judge in New York has ruled a local church may continue to meet in a public school, despite a city law which prohibits the use of school buildings for religious worship, upheld as constitutional last year by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court surprised many in declining to hear the appeal of the Bronx Household of Faith, leaving the 2nd Circuit’s ruling in place.
Now, the same trial court judge that got the ball rolling – whose initial ruling the Appeals Court overturned – has again ruled in favor of the church in this long-running dispute.
The Washington Post reports that this new twist puts a crimp in the city’s plans, which gave churches through last Sunday to find a new home.
The BJC and many other religious liberty advocates decried the 2nd Circuit’s ruling on the grounds that principles of equal access demand churches to be afforded the same rights to school use as any other organizations. NY’s law does seem to discriminate against religious speech and run counter to the Supreme Court’s precedents establishing equal access. Still, I have to wonder what the 2nd Circuit will make of this judge again ordering the City to allow the church’s use of the school.
Then there’s always the chance that pending state legislation superseding the regulation will make this entire dispute moot….
