The Department of Justice is taking a stand on behalf of a community church in North Carolina over its plans to build a new church.

Summit Church-Homestand Heights Baptist Church said it believes the Chatham County Board of Commissioners has acted contrary to the law by refusing a request to build a new church on land it already owns.

The DOJ has sided with the church and indicated in a court brief that the church is correct in its allegations of violation of federal law by the county. The DOJ said it is a case of religious discrimination. The DOJ filing said the church is specifically protected from the county’s zoning denial by the “Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act” (RLUIPA).

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