Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against the Village of Walthill, Nebraska, for Restrictions on Non-Denominational Christian Church Trying to Build a Place of Worship

The Justice Department today announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the Village of Walthill, Nebraska, alleging that the Village violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) by denying Light of the World Gospel Ministries, a non-denominational, multi-ethnic Christian congregation, a permit to construct a new church in the Village. The suit alleges that the Village imposed a substantial burden on the church’s religious exercise without adequate justification and treated the church worse than comparable nonreligious assemblies and institutions.