DOJ files religious liberty lawsuit against Troy, Idaho, for alleged discrimination against Christ Church

A small Latah County town violated a federal religious liberty law when it denied a conditional use permit application from Moscow, Idaho-based Christ Church, according to a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho.

The Justice Department alleged the city of Troy, about 12 miles east of Moscow, violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) when it denied the permit, the department said in a news release.

Christ Church outgrew the space where it was worshipping and was unable to find one to rent, according to the release. It then sought a permit to operate a church in the city’s zoning district where nonreligious assembly uses such as clubs, museums, auditoriums and art galleries were allowed.

Troy residents opposed the church’s application and the church’s beliefs, the release said. In its denial of the application, the city said the “great majority of the city residents” opposed approving the permit.

“RLUIPA unequivocally forbids local governments from deciding zoning matters based on their dislike of certain religious groups,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in the release. “The Department of Justice will not hesitate to file suit against jurisdictions that discriminate in land use matters on the basis of the applicants’ religious beliefs.”

The lawsuit alleged denying the permit imposed a “substantial burden on Christ Church and was based on the community’s discriminatory animus against the Church,” according to the release. It also alleged the city’s zoning code treats religious assembly use worse than nonreligious assembly use.

Todd Richardson, Troy city attorney, called the complaint “misleading and incorrect.” The permit would have violated city zoning, he said.

“The fact that it was this church had zero to do with the denial,” Richardson said.

Christ Church has divided the Moscow community over the years, with some residents boycotting businesses tied to the church. The conservative church made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic when church members protested the city’s COVID-19 mask mandate. The church’s website states its mission is to “make Moscow a Christian town,” and that church leaders support a theocracy in the U.S.

Reporter Alexandra Duggan contributed to this article.