Virginia Ballot Will Have Proposal To Permit Churches To Incorporate

Virginia voters this November will be asked to approve an amendment (full text) repealing a provision in Art. IV, Sec. 14 of the state's constitution that prohibits the legislature from granting a charter of incorporation to any church or religious denomination. Today's Hampton Roads Pilot reports that the vote will have little practical significance since a federal District Court in 2002 ruled that the ban violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free exercise of religion.