A unique religious freedom conflict is brewing in Toms River, New Jersey, where government officials are clashing with Christian leaders over an Episcopal church’s land.
Tension emerged last year when Christ Episcopal Church announced plans to replace its outreach office with a 17-bed homeless shelter and sought a variance from the township’s zoning board that would make the project possible, according to NJ.com.
Already facing an uphill battle for approval, the church learned last month that Toms River officials had a competing building project in mind: a waterfront park with pickleball courts, a skate park and a soccer field where Christ Episcopal currently stands.
“Local officials introduced an ordinance (on April 30) to acquire four properties through eminent domain, including the nearly 11-acre Christ Episcopal Church site,” NJ.com reported.
Town leaders who support the ordinance say the proposed park would benefit thousands of community members, while the church’s attorney say the use of eminent domain for the park would violate religious freedom protections.
“It is blatantly illegal, improper, and violates the United States Constitution, as well as numerous New Jersey laws and case law,” said attorney Harvey York to NJ.com. “No town has ever done this, let alone done it to a church and it‘s clearly retribution.”
Eminent domain and religious freedom
The phrase eminent domain refers to the government’s right to seize private property and convert it into a public benefit, like a railroad or highway.
Private land owners affected by eminent domain have a constitutional right to “just compensation” for the land but few options to challenge the seizure, according to the Justice Department.
Religious freedom laws create one of those options, and across the country, faith groups have used the First Amendment and other faith-related legal protections to fight government officials’ use of eminent domain.
The faith groups haven’t always been successful, but it’s fair to say that government leaders’ reason for seizing church property must be compelling in order to overcome a religious freedom challenge, per Church Law & Tax.
“The relatively few courts that have addressed this issue generally have concluded that church property is not immune from a proper exercise of eminent domain. However, they also have concluded that the government’s power of eminent domain must be balanced against the interests of the church, and that in some cases the church will prevail,” Church Law & Tax reported.
New Jersey battle
The situation in Toms River has not yet reached the point where Christ Episcopal Church would file a lawsuit over officials’ actions.
But the church’s rector told Episcopal News Service that the congregation doesn’t see the proposed park project as a legitimate reason to cite eminent domain.
“It’s just really shocking and surprising and very disappointing,” the Rev. Lisa A. Hoffman said. “There’s a lot of anger and frustration going on.”
At the April 30 council meeting, where the ordinance related to eminent domain was first discussed, community members came to the defense of the church, as did some council members.
“Council members yelled at each other, and one accused another of hating God, Christ, homeless people and humanity,” Episcopal News Service reported.
A decision on the church’s request for a zoning change related to the homeless shelter is expected on May 22, the article said. “Six days later, on May 28, the town council is scheduled to take public comment and make a final decision on the land-seizure ordinance.”