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Effect of O Centro Supreme Court Decision on RLUIPA Cases
The Effect of the Supreme Court’s Decision in Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao Do Vegetal on RLUIPA Cases
On February 21, 2006, the United States Supreme Court issued a watershed decision in Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao Do Vegetal, No. 04-1084, 546 U.S. __ (2006), applying the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (the predecessor to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act) against the federal government. While the decision is nominally about a separate statute protecting religious exercise and about drug use, its implications for church zoning issues are significant.
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