Church Sues Over Denial of Zoning Permit

A lawsuit was filed last week in a Georgia federal district court by a predominately African-American Christian church against Coweta County (GA) charging that the county's denial of a conditional use permit for the church to build a place of worship on property it purchased violated RLUIPA as well as various provisions of the 1st and 14th Amendments. The complaint (full text) in All Souls Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. Coweta County, Georgia, (ND GA, filed 2/11/2011) claims that applications by other religious and non-religious organizations that are predominately White have received more favorable treatment. Alliance Defense Fund issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.