Digital Commons Network^™

Where To Pray? Religious Zoning And The First Amendment, Mark W. Cordes

Faculty Peer-Reviewed Publications

Despite emerging recognition that the normal rules do not apply when zoning affects first amendment activities, the Supreme Court has not yet definitively addressed zoning restrictions that affect the exercise of religion. As with other land uses, churches have been made subject to a variety of zoning restrictions. Concurrent with the growing municipal desire to establish and preserve residential communities has been the emergence of the modern church as a multi-purpose facility that serves a variety of functions. As a result, churches are more intense land users than their predecessors and are viewed with growing frequency as incompatible with residential …