Belarus Dispute Over Taking Church For Economic Development

It is not only in the United States that courts are dealing with issue of municipalities using eminent domain to take private property, including church property, for economic development. Forum18 reports on a similar issue in Belarus. On July 21, the Minsk City Economic Court ruled that New Life Church must sell - at a low price - a cow shed that it remodeled to use as a house of worship. Officials say that the city of Minsk's Development Plan requires that the building be demolished. New Life has been unable to obtain official registration of its building under the country's Religion Law because itneverr got formal approval to convert the cow shed into a church.